Coronavirus masks have gone from embarrassment to fashion and social statement in the period of just a few weeks.
Among those helping to make masks cool is Tower 60 founder Alex Abad. The El Segundo Realtor founded Tower 60 in 2016 as a fundraiser for the El Segundo Education Foundation. He quickly sold over 2,500 Tower 60 coffee cups, with a silhouette of a lifeguard tower, numbered 60. Tower 60 is the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Tower at the foot of Grand Avenue, in El Segundo.
Then came Tower 60 trucker hats. He has sold over 30,000 of the hats.
Last week, he introduced Tower 60 masks. The initial 1,000 sold out within days.
“They look cool, they’re comfortable. And they’re made locally at Clockwork Enterprises in El Segundo,” Abad said.
All Tower 60 sales proceeds go to the El Segundo Education Foundation. As a result, the more Tower 60 sells, the more Abad is out of pocket. The hats alone have cost him $300,000.
Though nowhere on the Tower 60 products is there reference to Abad being a Realtor, he acknowledges that the brand has earned him good will throughout El Segundo. Last November, the El Segundo Chamber named him Citizen of the Year.
But he also acknowledges if Tower 60 continues on its current upward trajectory, he will need to make the brand self-sustaining.
He had hoped to do that this year. But then the pandemic hit and the opportunity to sell Tower 60 masks to raise more money for the Education foundation proved irresistible. ER
