Drug lord and advertising phenom 'El Chapo' boosts US shirtmaker's sales
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman has inadvertently served as hugely successful advertising platform for a US clothing company which has taken advantage of the bizarre occurrence by plastering a photograph of the drug lord on its homepage.
Last week Rolling Stone published part of a video interview with Guzman conducted by Hollywood actor, Sean Penn. Since then US clothing brand Barabas Premium Apparel has reported a huge spike in sales thanks to the drug lord’s wardrobe choice.
In the video Guzman is seen wearing one of Barabas’ ostentatious blue and grey shirts called ‘fantasy’.
The internet quickly tracked down the origins of the long-sleeved shirt and designer and co-owner of the company, Shawn Esteghbal, told CCN that since the interview thing has been “crazy”
“We cannot keep them in stock, and we have a lot of demand from all over."
Shawn and his co-owner and brother, Sam, have taken advantage of the craze and have updated the LA-based company’s homepage with a picture of the Guzman wearing the shirt alongside the tagline ‘world’s most wanted shirt’.
The pair admitted that they were stunned to see El Chapo wearing one of their $128 shirts and were further surprised when the 'El Chapo' shirts began trending across social media.
The brothers say their phone won't stop ringing, and that their website has crashed twice in the last few days because of the demand.