JONESBORO — Two Jonesboro natives have decided to venture out into the fashion world with their new line of ski-wear, which will be available in the fall, through their new company called Aprèsbros.
Though they are not quitting their day jobs, Dr. Michael Warren Boone II, or Warren as he prefers to be called, and his life-long best friend Dr. Frederick Michael Isaacson, who goes by Erick, are medical doctors who have decided to team-up as entrepreneurs in sports fashion.
Growing-up in Jonesboro, they have known each other since elementary school.
Boone is the son of Mike and Tonya Boone, and Isaacson is the son of Micheal and Julie Isaacson, all of Jonesboro. Both graduated from Jonesboro High School in 2002.
“Erick and I met in elementary school but started hanging out almost every weekend in high school,” Boone said.
Isaacson added that they became best friends while living together for all four years of college as they completed their undergraduate studies at Rhodes College in Memphis in 2006, and then for another year in Fayetteville before going their separate ways.
After which, Boone would complete medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, while Isaacson would complete his doctorate at the ATSU Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Mo.
Now they are both working in the medical field as Boone does his residency at the Medical University of South Carolina and Isaacson serves his residency at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago.
“We went our separate ways starting in med school,” Boone said, “but we’ve been traveling together ever since, skiing of course, or going to Europe, or visiting wherever the other happened to live at the time.”
Which is how they came up Aprèsbros, according to Boone.
“Sometime in our early thirties,” Boone recalled, “we started sampling ski suits, ski onesies. We enjoyed skiing in them, but we couldn’t find any that combined both form and function, so to speak. The ones that were fun, the ones that were retro or themed or both, didn’t make use of current advancements in insulation and breathability and then the ones that were more about insulation and breathability were kind of boring, just not the look we were going for.”
“Why can’t we just do it ourselves?” they kept asking themselves, year after year.
Though they didn’t really know how or where to start, Boone said that when he started dating his wife, Nikki Boone, she was working with a consulting firm out of New York that helps people like them figure out how do make their idea into a reality.
“So we had a couple chats with them,” Isaacson said. “This was in 2020, right when the pandemic was kicking off. Warren said he’s doing it, and I knew I had to be on board too.”
While looking for name concepts for the new venture, they came up with Aprèsbros, which Isaacson said really just sounded great for a product line.
“We were batting around lots of names, lots of concepts,” Boone said. “We wanted something catchy, of course, something that sticks with you, and something that reflects what we’re about.”
Isaacson explained, “Aprèsbros combines two words that we hope encapsulate our vision. Après is that time when you get together over a fire and tell stories about adventures, and bros are those people you’re closest to, your friends, your family, those people that make it all worth it.”
They are very proud of their logo, they said, and where it came from, noting that it is also an homage to Isaacson’s grandfather.
“We love freedom and our country,” Boone said.
“My grandfather was part of the 10th Mountain Division in WWII,” Isaacson said, “Warren and I have always been very inspired by those guys, so we designed our logo as an homage to the division’s logo by replacing the swords with skis.”
Isaacson’s grandfather, Dr. Lloyd Isaacson, and his division specialized in mountain and winter warfare, Isascson noted, adding that they trained in the mountains of Colorado, during World War II.
So they said they tried to combine both mountain life with patriotism while designing their brand.
The suits should be available for purchase around October or November they said, just in time for ski season and the holidays.
Boone said that they had hoped to have them out in time for this present ski season, but supply chain issues got in the way of that, like they have for so many people and businesses.
They said their new ski suits are different from many other brands because of how they are designed.
“There are lots of other ski suits out there – that’s very true,” Boone said, “For the most part, they either attempt to be the most fun suit on the mountain, the Vogue suit on the mountain or the most functional suit on the mountain.”
Isaacson added that other suits they tried were fun but were lacking in several aspects, “mainly performance technology and durability.”
The men’s suit has many built-in features, such as, the American flag cape which rolls up into the suit, the three-in-one (jacket-vest-pants) combo, the zip-out vest, the faux-fur collar and several convenient pockets (similar to a game pouch they said) for goggles, snacks, phones or whatever.
They said that there is also a more feminine and stylish woman’s version with less pockets, which is slimming, and extra lining in the legs for warmth.
Isaacson said they love lots of aspects of the active lifestyle and would like to expand their presence elsewhere, probably starting first with the fly fishing and golf worlds.
Boone said they want their company and it’s products to be “a ticket to a beautiful day, both on and off the slopes.”
“Like Warren said,” Isaacson added, “we want our suits to be more than just another ski suit, we want them to be an experience.”
For more information about their brand and products, visit their website at www.apresbros.com or on Instagram at apresbros.
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