Decorator Profile
Eat, sleep, cheer, print and repeat
A love for a sport which started in childhood has now matured into a successful business venture. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey speaks to Ryan Cleaver of Power Nation to find out more about both his sporting and professional achievements.
A
t the age of 26, Ryan has achieved more than most. Not only is he a world champion cheerleader, but he is also the owner of a flourishing business. Ryan’s story begins at the tender age of five when he was struck down with meningitis. After five weeks in hospital, Ryan recovered from the infection, but was left deaf in one ear. It was recommended that he start gymnastics at a local sports centre to help regain some of the balance he had lost as a result. At the age of eight, Ryan joined a gymnastics club as he was clearly a natural at the sport. He progressed to a high level becoming a member of the junior GB squad. At one point, Ryan was putting in 28 hours’ worth of training a week and coaching other gymnasts.
Ryan discovered cheerleading through his gymnastics coaching. A friend of his suggested sharing his coaching abilities with the local cheerleading squad, in particular tumbling which is where Ryan’s strength lies. And with this skill, he entered the world of cheerleading at the age of 16 in 2010 and joined Coventry Dynamite, one the leading cheerleading teams in the country.
“It was a sport which I didn’t really know much about, but I quickly became attached to it,” he explains.
During his time at Coventry Dynamite, Ryan competed on the world stage seven times. The highest he placed at club level was fifth at the US All Star Federation competition and with Team England, of which he is just one of two athletes that has competed every year since the team’s inception in 2013, he placed third in 2016, second in 2017 and in 2018 the team won, becoming world champions at the International Cheer Union competition.
On the coaching front, one of the teams he coached alongside Sarah Biggs, head coach of Coventry Dynamite, placed third last year on the world stage, something which he is incredibly proud of and something that was a first in the club’s history. This is the first year that Ryan is not competing in the States. “I will still be attending and supporting some of the teams that I sponsor. I am on the team’s roster, so if anyone gets injured, I can jump in if need be,” he says. It’s certainly true to say, that Ryan has had an incredible career as an athlete and these achievements really do speak for themselves. Now Ryan is emulating this success in the business world.
Enter garment decoration
At the age of 18, like most people his age, Ryan started university. He attended for about a month, before realising it just wasn’t for him and quickly returned to coaching and the world of cheer.
His first dalliance with garment decoration began when himself and Sarah wanted to source merchandise and practicewear for Coventry Dynamite. After doing a little bit of research, Ryan purchased a direct to garment printer and set about printing T shirts and other items for the cheer team all in his garage. For Ryan the timing could not have been more perfect. “At
| 68 | April 2020
Ryan Cleaver during his time with Team England
Power Nation’s unit in Rugby
this point teamwear for cheerleaders was just about
starting. Footballers and other teams had their own practicewear and cheerleaders said ‘you know what, we want to have a T shirt for this, that and the other’.”
He started to gain a customer base and working long hours to fulfil orders. With some sound advice from his dad, Adrian, about running a business, Ryan took the plunge and in 2013 created Power Nation, specialising in cheer apparel. Seeing a great business opportunity when it presents itself, Sarah and Ryan eventually went into partnership with each other, becoming joint co-owners of both Coventry Dynamite and Power Nation. Eventually, Ryan moved Power Nation out from his garage and began to rent a small portion of space in a unit owned by his dad. He initially outsourced a lot of work that required screen printing via a family friend, but undertook all DTG printing and vinyl printing himself. Even teaching himself how to do basic design work to give cheerleaders the bold, in your face, designs that they desired.
As work picked up, Ryan could no longer carry on doing all of the design work and production himself because time just would not allow. Putting his feelers out among the cheerleading community, he employed fellow cheerleader Alex Bestwick as a freelance graphic designer. She joined the business on a permanent basis in 2015. Being an ex-cheerleader, Alex was expertly positioned to know what cheerleaders wanted from their uniforms and practicewear.
In 2016, Lewis Briggs was recruited to the role of factory supervisor, becoming Ryan’s first full-time employee. Lewis was at university studying sports science, but had reached a crossroads not knowing where this degree would take him. During his breaks from university, Lewis would provide a helping hand at Power Nation, and it was during one of these stints that Ryan offered him the opportunity to join the growing business and Lewis jumped at the chance.
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
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