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Meet a Spreadster: Thomas Spieß

Meet a Spreadster: Thomas Spieß

Thomas Spieß printed his first Spreadshirt tee in the year 2004. Back then he would never have guessed that he’d still be a Spreadster 11 years down the road. Find out how the IT brain and electro beats partisan has contributed to Spreadshirt’s success story.

Thomas, before you tell us your side of the story – who are you?

Sure thing. The name is Thomas Spiess, 37, a born and bred Leipziger.

When you got to know Spreadshirt, the company had merely hatched. How did you end up here?

I’d just finished an IT apprenticeship in applied software applications when my friend Markus told me about his new job in a T-shirt printing company. They were looking for hands in production, and I thought a little side job couldn’t hurt.

What defines Spreadshirt for you – back in the day and today?

Good work and nice colleagues. Work has never been monotonous, and initially there was a lot of room to get involved in shaping the company. And constant new challenges are what make working for Spreadshirt appealing.

There have been a lot of changes at Spreadshirt over the past decade. How was your experience the rapid growth and production changes?

What started out as a “student company” – a place where the majority of people were still enrolled at university – has turned into a full-fledged global enterprise. Lukasz Gadowski, Spreadshirt’s founder, was a young guy wearing a baseball hat and a rucksack on my first day at work, but even despite his relaxed aura you could feel a sound degree of natural authority.

Before getting involved with IT, you worked in sales. Was Spreadshirt the first place you got in touch with T-shirt printing?

To be totally honest, I had already printed T-shirts that a few friends and I wore on the parties we organized together. We printed designs on foil that we ironed on T-shirts. I never expected this to turn into a fulltime job as I still had my doubts that the business model would work [laughs at this].

Is there a job that would tempt you to leave everything behind, maybe something you wanted to do when you were a boy?

Good question! Maybe a new challenge in IT? Then again I couldn’t see myself behind a screen for the whole of the day. Oh, hang on; I’d love to review islands for travel agencies. That would be nice!

Word! We’re not really reviewing islands at Spreadshirt, but there are a whole lot of products that receive our attention. You’re the guy in the test lab who examines apparel and accessories before they’re added to the range. How do you recover from this onerous responsibility in your free time?

With electronic music. I’ve always been a big fan of electronic beats, worked as a DJ and created my own music. And since I once worked as an electrician, I can also piece together my own equipment.

What will you do 10 years from now?

I’m not really the type to make plans for the future. And unless I win the lottery, I’ll be enjoying the here and now the way I always try to do it without worrying about the future.

Can’t blame you there! So here’s a little game: I give you two terms, and you tell me which one you like better. Okay?

Okay, go!

Meet a Spreadster: Thomas Spieß

Please complete the sentence: “At Spreadshirt …

… you meet a lot of crazy folks.“

Thank you, Thomas! 

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