GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — If you've ever driven down Michigan Street in Grand Rapids, you've likely see the giant 'Howies Hockey Tape' logo painted on the side of an old photography studio.
It's not an extreme example of marketing that found its way onto a random building. Rather, it's the symbol for a picture-perfect idea, developed in Grand Rapids and growing into an international success.
That photography studio was owned and operated by the father of a man named Howie Sieplinga. Most of his friends call him Max, so that's what we'll go with.
Max is a true West Michigander. He was born and raised in Grand Rapids and attended Grand Rapids Christian High School and Calvin University, both of which were minutes from his home.
A hockey stick was on his hip that whole time.
"I've been playing since I was three," Max said.
His hockey career peaked in the 2003-04 season when he raised a D-3 National Championship trophy at Calvin and won National Player of the Year.
Even the sport he loved most, though, wasn't perfect.
Max noticed something missing in the market that opened the door for a power business play on the other side.
“in my opinion, there was never a product that, on the hockey tape side of things, would be, like, just a cut above," he said.
The season before, Max started testing different materials before landing on the perfect formula.
The hard part came later when Max tried to sell his product.
"A lot of cold calling," he said. "I'd be like, 'Hey, this is Howie from Howies Hockey Tape.' They'd be like, 'Who in the world are you?' and They just hang up the phone.”
He continued, "I'd call them back three weeks later and say, 'Hey, you remember me? When you hung up the phone?' So, I was pretty stubborn.”
Max said his first big break came during his first year playing in a men's league for hockey.
"One of the other guys I knew was like, 'Dude, you don't even know who you're sitting next to. You're sitting next to the equipment guy for the Griffins,'" he said.
After making that initial connection, lighting the company lamp became a habit. Howies Hockey Tape's reach kept expanding, selling to college programs like Notre Dame, Ohio State and even the defending Stanely Cup Champion Las Vegas Golden Knights.
At the same time, Howies' catalog continued to evolve.
"We would get a bunch of customers, and they'd be like, 'Man, you guys do a great job selling us tape. What are all the other things that you can sell us?'" he said.
Well, that simple ask laid the foundation for a huge part of the business today. Howies has stamped a logo on basically anything you can imagine, from car fresheners and beanies to beach towels beer koozies.
Let's not forget about the Howies Hockey Tape candle that started as a joke.
"It was an April Fool's joke that we put on Instagram," Max said. "We're, like, 'How are these candles?' People were, like, 'I'd buy one! I'd buy one! I'd buy one!”
By now, Howies has shipped to six continents, completing the international double-hatrick, and helping the company break into the sports medicine field.
“I think we have ten of the Big Ten teams right now," he mentioned. "We've got a handful of NFL teams, and yeah. So there's a lot of big programs using us.”
Even though Howies Hockey Tape is now a household name, each sale is treated like it came from that photography studio on Michigan Street.
"Every single person that orders online, we call them just to say thanks," Max said.
Max admits Howies Hockey Tape will never be at the same level as Steelcase or Herman Miller when it comes to his company's reach and recognition.
Still, he understands the impact Howies Hockey Tape can have in West Michigan and beyond.
Max hopes there will be a point when "people are watching an NFL game and they're seeing a guy get taped up, and say, 'Oh, that's Howies Hockey Tape. That's West Michigan.'"