Jeremy Picker crisscrossed the United States for a decade, managing merchandise for wildly popular Christian rock bands such as Switchfoot and Relient K. The Phoenix native enjoyed the nomadic lifestyle of waking up in different cities, living out of suitcases and pounding back unlimited booze. Life on the road could be grueling, but the excitement of concertgoers energized Picker, fueling him to set up more tables, train more volunteers and sell more T-shirts to fans.

The son of a pastor and a seamstress, religion and apparel is all he ever knew. He earned a bachelor’s in general business with a minor in theology from Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Without a clear path defined for him post-graduation, he turned to his older brother, who ran a California clothing brand. During every summer and Christmas break, Picker would help him sell T-shirts at live events. His brother had a connection in the music industry, and Picker needed to start paying off his student loans. It took him four years and thousands upon thousands of miles to clear his debt.

Despite good money and the perpetual adrenaline rush, Picker wasn’t fulfilled by his career. Perhaps his father’s preaching and parables had weighed down on him, as he felt compelled to make a bigger impact on the world. He reached out to the lead singer of Audio Adrenaline, asking if he could volunteer at the band’s orphanage in Haiti. It was perfect timing as the singer’s parents were taking a break for the summer and needed a substitute manager.

“I didn’t even know where Haiti was,” Picker says. “I didn’t know French or Creole. But I was brazen and wasn’t scared of a challenge.”

Picker managed a local construction crew, oversaw in-house staff, handled payroll and book keeping, and hosted volunteer groups from overseas. Learning the language from a handy Creole dictionary, he immersed himself in the culture and bonded with the children over soccer. He also studied the Haitian economy and how the poverty-stricken country became the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. History shows that since breaking free from French colonial rule over two centuries ago, Haiti has endured multiple foreign interventions, political instability and devastating natural disasters. But Picker argues that America contributed to the country’s economic decline.  

“Over-giving killed the Haiti economy,” he says. “American nonprofits would donate all these clothes, which killed the fashion industry there. Factories shut down because people were able to get used clothes from America cheaper than it would cost to make in Haiti. Now people are fighting over the same scraps when what they need is opportunity.”

Divine Intervention

In 2008, Picker finally came off the road at the request of his wife Zofia. She wanted him to settle down, so he took a job making $9 an hour at an apparel manufacturer. Learning the ins and outs of production, screen printing, embroidery and applique, he partnered with a friend to apply his knowledge and creative zest to a new company. That’s how he became the co-founder and CEO of Lakewood, CO-based AMB3R (asi/590243). (The 3 has many meanings, such as a perfect T-shirt consisting of three things: the right design, product and decoration method.)

Witnessing the power and profitability of merchandise in the music world, Picker applied that same philosophy toward the nonprofit market. As a result, AMB3R’s mission statement was to help nonprofit organizations create fashionable apparel that would generate both revenue and awareness.

“As I saw with bands, merchandise can build community,” Picker says. “Not only can they get extra money for their cause, but every time a person wears the T-shirt, they’re getting your mission out there to the public. But it has to have the same quality and aesthetic as what people are paying for in retail.”

AMB3R offers custom design on a plethora of apparel, including T-shirts, hoodies, outerwear, polos, dress shirts, uniforms, activewear and head gear. In recent years, the distributor has expanded its product line to include promotional products, such as drinkware, backpacks, journals, pins, keychains and tech accessories. In 2018, the company totaled $10 million in sales since its launch a decade prior.

Picker attributes his company’s growth to his small team of innovative designers, reliable customer service and his own dedication toward staying on top of the latest fashion. “Living on Pinterest,” he studies the hottest trends and eats up every decoration technique in the never-ending pursuit of creating a better product. “I feel like I need to have a bigger voice,” Picker says. “I want to build credibility with my customers so they trust that I know what I’m talking about. I’m opinionated, but I bring empathetic value.”

Picker created an offshoot campaign called The AMB3R Project, which has assisted the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through sales of “Hey! Tee” shirts. The campaign has raised $2,000 to purchase a filtration system to give the Hand's & Feet Project clean drinking water. The campaign also raised $2,000 to purchase a shipping container to house more non-perishable items and to have a safe storage place for Project Manana. Additionally, the campaign helped raise $2,000 to buy four refrigerators and two freezers so Project Manana could store perishable goods to feed the local children healthy meals.

In 2012, he and his business partner split up due to creative differences. As a result, Picker became the full owner of the company. That same year, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 lymphoma, which almost forced him to shut down AMB3R. Thanks to his fighting spirit and many answered prayers, Picker triumphed over the disease.

The battle isn’t over, though. He and Zofia – who has performed cancer research as a part of her PhD studies in photochemistry – have founded ÉSTAINE, a line of luxury accessories and apparel inspired by the hauntingly beautiful shapes, colors and patterns of the dyes and markers used in cancer diagnosis. Picker says a portion of the sales are donated to nonprofits and that the unique product line will hopefully inspire conversation and raise awareness regarding early detection.

In addition, he runs Pub & Grub Creative, which sells custom merchandise to the food and beverage industry. The company sponsors The GrowHaus, a Denver-based community garden that sells fresh vegetables at farmers’ markets and donates baskets of healthy food to folks with low income.

“I don’t want nonprofits to be shut down because of lack of funds,” Picker, 40, says. “So I’m constantly thinking about how I can use my expertise to show that a boutique T-shirt or merchandise can promote your nonprofit and give that year-long funding in between events and campaigns.”