Spotlight: Jeff Schattner 2005 & John Glase 2005
/Jeff answers the Spotlight questions:
Why did you join Chi Phi? Being from out of state (Maryland) I didn't come to Michigan with a large network. A few friends on my hall freshman year in Markley rushed Chi Phi in the fall of '05 (Dave Slott, Adam Borson, Jeremy Minkin), and I had a great time every time I was at the house with them.
With whom do you stay in contact? At least once a year since I graduated I try to get together for a guys trip with Chris Perez, Eric Mirkin, Steve Bammert, and John Glase. All class of '05. Eric and Steve both moved back to Michigan, so I get to see them more regularly now.
Did you live in the house? No - I was a winter pledge and already had house plans by the fall for sophomore year. I lived off campus with Chris, Eric, Steve, and John after that, and we've been able to stay in touch the last 13 years, with us living from NY to Michigan to California.
If so, who were your room-mates? Tell us about a memorable time with them. So many good times. Ski trip to blue mountain, beer pong at the house, pig roasts, etc. Somehow we ended up with a "thrust machine" at our house senior year. Hilarious watching pledges get a good "thrusting" work-out in on the sidewalk in front of the house.
Can you tell us about your career? I graduated with a business & accounting degree and worked first for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and then for Chrysler. I left Chrysler in 2015 to do accounting for a smaller start-up while starting my own company, Lawrence Hunt.
Geographically, where are you now, and where have you been since leaving Ann Arbor? I've been in Royal Oak, MI ever since graduating. My wife and I try to get back to AA at least 1-2 times a year for football games, but it has been more difficult the last 6 years since kids came into the mix.
What do you miss about living in Ann Arbor? Miss the energy/activity. Walking to football games.
Why is it important to you that Chi Phi remains at 1530 Washtenaw for years to come? Made lifelong friends there. Great memories. Part of my life I owe a lot to, and would be sad to not see it there.
John answers the Spotlight questions:
Why did you join Chi Phi? During the first semester of college I made a lot of friends who were all in Chi Phi, so I decided to rush the 2nd semester.
With whom do you stay in contact? A handful of guys, but I remain very close with four good friends. We all live in different cities but gather on a yearly trip and attend a football game every year.
Did you live in the house? No, it was too dirty.
Can you tell us about your career? I am a co-founder of several start-ups and handle technology for Lawrence Hunt.
Geographically, where are you now, and where have you been since leaving Ann Arbor? Since leaving Ann Arbor I have lived in Los Angeles, Anchorage, Chicago, New York and I currently reside in Pittsburgh.
What do you miss about living in Ann Arbor? Tailgates, cheap but delicious pizza, good burritos that don't come from Chipotle, downtown.
Why is it important to you that Chi Phi remains at 1530 Washtenaw for years to come? Ann Arbor and Michigan would not be the same if it were moved.
Other musings from Jeff: As I mentioned, I started my own business, Lawrence Hunt, a few years ago. It's a company that sells dress shirts with sweat-wicking technology to fight pit stains. We're the only company that combines two different fabrics into one shirt, giving you a professional look/feel, with sweat-wicking performance benefits. We're slowly expanding into different types of dress shirts as well. I hated my life as an accountant, and always had a passion to start a business. The passion started in school with a few Chi Phi brothers...Chris Perez, John Glase, and I did a few business plan competitions and we traveled to Indiana for a competition. We used to go to Salvation Army on State Street, buy up vintage clothes and resell them on ebay for a nice profit. When I first launched a Kickstarter for my business in 2014, it wouldn't have been successful without the support of the connections/friends I made at Chi Phi. At least 20+ Chi Phi brothers supported the campaign and helped me launch the business. And then when we officially launched our website in 2016, I reached out to John Glase to be a part of the business, since he had a lot of tech and ad experience I didn't have. In just over two years, we've now sold 11k+ shirts around the world, partnered with Sterling Shepard (NY Giants) and James McCann (Detroit Tigers) and grown our email subscribers to 75k+. I couldn't have done it without the help of John. I owe a lot to Chi Phi from the lifelong connections to the help growing my business. I haven't been as involved in the house as I would have liked since graduating, but thought I could use Lawrence Hunt as a way to give back. I plan to go back to the house for a house meeting and speak with the students about starting a business. I want to provide an on-going discount to the students and alumni to purchase our shirts at a reasonable price, and then make a donation to the house for every time the code is redeemed. Especially for students during interview season, I thought this would fit perfectly.
