After a four-year hockey career at the University of Michigan and two more seasons playing at the professional level, Lee Moffie has shifted his full attention from hockey to a different endeavor, hanging up his skates during the prime of his career to focus on the his new passion, State & Liberty Clothing Co.

Launched in January 2015, Moffie, along with close friend and Co-Founder Steve Fisher, have enjoyed building the clothing company which specializes in proper fitting dress shirts for the athlete and physically fit, into a successful brand which has exceeded expectations as they approach their first full year of business.

Moffie grew up in Wallingford, CT, loving the game of hockey.  He envisioned himself one day playing at the college level which was also encouraged by his family.

“My family was really big into college hockey.  I remember going to a lot of Yale and Quinnipiac games when I was younger.  I went to the Beanpot tournaments and events like that, so just being from the East Coast and being American, college hockey is kind of it for a lot of us.  It is very important to get an education in my family as well.”

Once his aspiration to play college hockey came true, he couldn’t have been happier to don the Michigan Wolverines’ Maize and blue.

“For whatever reason I’ve always just loved Michigan.  I remember playing NCAA football video games and always wanting to be the University of Michigan.  I’m not even sure why, but when I began speaking with them and they made me an offer I was really excited.  I always wanted the chance to play on the biggest stage in college hockey and compete for a National Championship.”

Moffie still reminisces about the team’s journey to the Frozen Four in 2011.  “My favourite individual moment would be playing in The Big Chill at the Big House [outdoor game at Michigan Stadium which set a Guinness World Record of 104,173 fans in attendance].  But the whole ride of going to the Frozen Four was amazing.  It is probably a better memory overall because you can remember the moments of being with your teammates, the adversity of going into a hostile environment in Minnesota.  Only having a sliver of Michigan fans at games and having the whole crowd against you, those memories are amazing.  That year we had a great team with a lot of great guys.  I have some lifelong friends from that team so it was just a blast.”

His coach at Michigan, the legendary Red Berenson, taught Moffie a lot more than just how to improve at the game of hockey.  “Red really emphasized the importance of being a student athlete.  He made sure we all took care of business in the classroom before coming to the rink.  He is a great leader and role model based on how he conducts himself and how seriously he takes things.  From that stand point he is a great person to learn from, he takes the sport and learning very seriously.”

After enjoying his time at Michigan, Moffie played two seasons of professional hockey.  He had been drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the seventh round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and split his rookie season between the Denver Cutthroats of the Central Hockey League and Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.

“That first year in pro wasn’t my favourite year of hockey. I got called up and down between the Central League and AHL six times before Christmas.”

Frustrated by the lack of playing time, Moffie looked past hockey and into the short-term future.  “After that year I decided that the following year was going to be my last year.  I felt like I had the ability to play in the American League and wasn’t really getting a shot so it was hard from that standpoint.”

Although he loved the game dearly and still does to this day, Moffie was motivated by his entrepreneurial ambition to create the company he had long thought about during his college days.

“It was tough, but at the same time it was a positive because that year motivated me to get serious about my life away from hockey.  It was eye opening because when you’re young you are a little more naïve and have your mind set only on making the NHL and having this long career.  I kind of sat back and thought maybe this game isn’t for me which led me to explore some paths away from the rink that summer.”

Utilizing down time while playing pro is something that Moffie chose to do and something that he feels is important for other players to do as well.  “There is a lot of down time in pro hockey.  Don’t spend it playing video games or taking three-hour naps.  I think guys should really take advantage of that time and educate themselves on whatever interests them.”

Along with close friend and fellow Michigan alum Steve Fisher, they launched State & Liberty Clothing Co. last January, and the outpouring of support they have received thus far from the hockey community is something they never could have imagined.  It ultimately led to Moffie hanging up the skates and shifting his full-time focus to building the State & Liberty brand.

“It is amazing how the hockey community has really embraced the product.  We launched a fall line on September 12^th, 2015 and received a great response.  It really confirmed that the company is something that needs full-time attention.”

A wide variety of colours and patterns are available from State & Liberty’s online shop.  “The Blue Gingham shirt which we launched as our first shirt has been our best seller overall.  It is kind of a staple dress shirt pattern.  But since September 12^th our best seller has been “The Hunwick” shirt.  It is a triple gingham, a little more casual looking shirt.  It was named after a friend I played with at Michigan.”

Since the launch of the fall lineup, the company has experienced tremendous growth.  “I would say we have blown our initial expectations out of the water.  You always hope for and prepare yourself to have success, but this has been just unbelievable.  We set some attainable sales goals at the beginning of the year and we have been able to essentially double those expectations.  It has been a really exciting past three months for us.”

Part of State and Liberty’s sales strategy was to get their brand directly in front of professional hockey players, and thus formed a partnership with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA).  This Fall, as PHPA staff meet with players from each of the 58 AHL and ECHL teams represented by the Association, State and Liberty shirts are brought into the team meetings and promoted during the presentation, among other activation initiatives.

“Working with the PHPA has been great.  (PHPA Executive Director) Larry Landon has been going around and getting the shirts into locker rooms during team meetings which is huge for us because you truly do have to feel our shirts and figure our what they are all about before pulling the trigger on a purchase.  Getting the shirts into the hands of our target market is challenging because we are an online business.  Not only are the shirts getting into the hands of pro players, but we feel like we are giving back to where we came from in a sense.”

Moffie recognizes the unique nature of the hockey community and wants to provide players with the best dress shirts possible.  The company has enjoyed a consistent source of feedback from players at all levels (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc.), as well as from other athletes.

“We want to be known as the company that is providing the best fitting, best feeling dress shirts for athletes on the market.  Word of mouth has really meant a lot to our success.  Guys are really liking the shirts and they are letting people know.”

With the first anniversary of State & Liberty around the corner, Moffie looks to build on the overwhelming success and carry it into 2016.

“I tell people all of the time, I have to be one of the only guys who owns a company where two guys that I have punched in the face and who have punched me in the face, have bought my products.”

For more information on State & Liberty Clothing Company and to view their complete product line, please visit http://stateandliberty.com

Follow Brendan Connolly on Twitter @BConnolly_