More than ‘just a hobby’: Geezy Tees owner turns SkillsUSA success into thriving business

ST. GEORGE —From big orders with small presses to his own shop and multiple employees, this young entrepreneur shows the world that turning a hobby into a career is more than possible.

Kyler Kelsch, owner of Geezy Tees, stands in his shop, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Kyler Kelsch, St. George News
Kyler Kelsch, owner of Geezy Tees, stands in his shop, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Kyler Kelsch, St. George News. 

Kyler Kelsch, 25, competed in state and national high school competitions and received college-level awards for his screen-printing skills. Backed by heart and talent, he put everything into building his own business. And it paid off.

Kelsch said he was first introduced to screen printing when he attended a school assembly at Dixie High School. The assembly was specifically set up to introduce clubs that were available for students to join, and that’s when SkillsUSA Championships entered the stage. A club that promotes technical careers and education with over 100 national competitions in various categories, Kelsch was intrigued.

“They had a T-shirt cannon and shot a T-shirt that hit me right in the face,” Kelsch said.

Inspired by the presentation and the T-shirt, Kelsch said he decided he wanted to learn the craft behind making designs. He first took a basic graphic art class his freshman year and learned graphic design and how to create promotional products such as T-shirts, business cards, bumper stickers and more.

By junior year, his skills had grown dramatically and he began screen printing. His then teacher and now good friend, Craig Milligan, suggested he compete in the screen printing SkillsUSA competition. He placed third — and fell in love with the process.

By his senior year, Kelsch was heavily involved in SkillsUSA and even became a state officer. He won the state competition that year and qualified for the national competition, where he placed fourth.

Kyler Kelsch stands with his teacher, Craig Milligan, during the Skills USA national screen printing technology competition, where he placed first, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Kyler Kelsch, St. George News
Kyler Kelsch stands with his teacher, Craig Milligan, during the SkillsUSA national screen printing technology competition, where he placed first, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Kyler Kelsch, St. George News

Kelsch said he then served a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints mission, and upon his return home, attended Utah Tech University. He competed in the SkillsUSA college-level competition and placed first at nationals. 

“A lot of my peers at the time kept saying that it was a great hobby, ‘You need to understand that, it’s just a good hobby.’ So I looked at it that way,” Kelsch said. “I didn’t think I’d actually make it a career.” 

At that time, Kelsch started to work in real estate with his mom. While he said he was not cut out to be a real estate agent, he connected with three men who wanted to start their own screen-printing business and make their own apparel.

While they ad no experience in the field, Kelsch brought his screen printing skills while another purchased $600 in print equipment. They then set up shop in a backyard shed owned by the grandmother of one of the men. Named after St. George’s slang nickname, Geezy Tees then was formed. 

Kelsch said he would drive back and forth between his home and the shed, print out the film and bring it back to his home under a blanket so he didn’t expose the screen, wash it out, then drive back to the shed.

Equipment is shown inside Geezy Tees' print shop, St. George, Utah, May 30 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Equipment is shown inside Geezy Tees’ print shop, St. George, Utah, May 30 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

“Knowing myself now, I probably would’ve just given up because it was so impractical,” Kelsch said. “I’m grateful to my younger self for doing that because now I get to do things a lot easier. I’ve found that everything good starts out pretty difficult.”

In 2018, Kelsch said Geezy Tees secured their first large order of 1,000 pieces. As a young screen printer, he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing or how much to charge clients. One night, as he began to create the order, he spent five hours printing the front and back of T-shirts and only got through three pieces.

“I was like, ‘This is not going to happen,’” Kelsch said. “One-thousand T-shirts and it took me five hours to get through 30. It was crazy.”

Kelsch said he realized something had to change. That’s when he went to the bank, was approved for a $3,500 credit card and purchased equipment he found on Facebook Marketplace in Idaho, all in hopes of completing the large order in time. After picking up the machine, he moved everything from the shed into his parents’ unfinished garage. The subcontractor who had initiated the large sale began to grow nervous that Kelsch would not complete the order in time and even came to help print the shirts himself.

“I thought I was making bank on that first big job when I probably made a fifth of what I should’ve made,” Kelsch said. “It was a really hard learning experience.”

The inside of Geezy Tees features a smaller print machine, St. George, Utah, May 30 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
The inside of Geezy Tees features a smaller print machine, St. George, Utah, May 30 2022 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

As Kelsch continued to line up print jobs of his own, he eventually bought out the other three men and continued to run Geezy Tees out of his parents’ garage for about two years while working at Costco. He purchased a condo and eventually sold it during the most recent real estate boom.

With the sale, he made enough money to pay back the uncle from whom he had borrowed money and purchased additional equipment for his company, along with a truck and a trailer — all the items he needed to make the company better. He quit Costco last July and has been officially operating Geezy Tees full-time ever since.

Employee Dusty Hart stands inside Geezy Tees, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Kyler Kelsch, St. George News
Employee Dusty Hart stands inside Geezy Tees, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Kyler Kelsch, St. George News

Dusty Hart, who has been working for Geezy Tees for a year and a half, took first in the SkillsUSA high school state competition last year and competed again this year on a college level, where he took first place. Kelsch said Hart is now headed to the national competition in just a few weeks.

“It’s definitely better than working for a bigger screen printing company,” Hart said. “It’s kind of all local and more mellow and not super strict on time. It’s an overall better work environment.”

Hart said Milligan, his graphic design teacher, knew Kelsch. When a big order came in for Geezy Tees and Kelsch was in need of more workers, Milligan connected the two of them. At the time, Hart thought it would be a one-time job, but he instead hired on and has been there ever since.

“The experience I’ve gained by working at Geezy Tees would allow me to work in a screen shop anywhere in the country,” Hart said. “I now have more experience than most. I’ve printed thousands upon thousands of shirts manually.”

Aside from his business, Kelsch is also a graphic design program substitute teacher. He said he’s been able to substitute all over Washington County and was even a long-term substitute, covering maternity leave for a teacher in Hurricane. As a substitute, he has the unique ability to recruit high school kids he sees true talent in, to work at his downtown St. George screen-printing shop. 

“I’m the best shot for these students because there’s a lot less stress than working at large shops. They get to learn a lot more,” Kelsch said.

Kelsch said Geezy Tees is also the only shop in town that offers on-site event printing. He takes the press to various events such as high school sports games. This gives customers the ability to choose the design and apparel they want and have it printed on-site. Kelsch also said he was a wrestler in both high school and college and loves that he’s been able to screen print for all the wrestling tournaments in Washington County.

“Tyler gives back,” his mother Malissa Kelsch said. “He gives a percentage back to the schools. They made money and aren’t required to do anything. It’s a really neat opportunity.”

Geezy Tees offers a variety of services, which include graphic design, screen prints, live event prints, heat transfer vinyl, online preorders and embroidery. Kelsch said his goal isn’t to be the biggest screen print shop in the area, but a better one. For more information on Geezy Tees, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

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