Fmr. UST Basketball Captain Founds 'True You' Clothing Business

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A former St. Thomas varsity basketball captain is hoping for a future pro contract overseas, but in the meantime he's staying busy in business.

This Saturday, 1,300 University of St. Thomas students will walk across stage to earn their bachelor's degrees; one of those students is Marcus Alipate.

Alipate comes from an athletic family: His mother was a college athlete. His father played in the Canadian Football League and the NFL, including for the Vikings. Both his brothers also played college football.

Alipate left quite his mark on Tommie tradition, too. His team won seven of eight MIAC regular season and playoff titles, but hoops wasn't the only thing keeping Marcus's hands busy during his college career..

He's always been a stylish guy. That's when during one of his first entrepreneurship classes he decided to start his own clothing label, called "True You."

"True You stands for being true to yourself, chasing your goals, your dreams your aspirations," Alipate said.

The line consists of hats, shirts and hoodies that are meant to make a statement.

"It's a lifestyle brand, it's not necessarily all about the clothing," Alipate said.

Marcus built the company's website from the ground up. He has three other paid employees and the brand continues to evolve with this idea in mind.

"It's more about the personal message and how you're expressing yourself," Alipate said.

He has tried to emulate his dedication to his company similar to his work ethic on the court.

"The more you learn about business, yourself, it's about learning how to pivot when you need to pivot," Alipate said.

As for the future of his company, he plans to continue to work at it wherever his career on the court takes him.

"Right now, looking all over -- Europe, Spain -- right now, it's open," Alipate said.