In March 2020, the pandemic forced Greenwoodian Marvin McCain to temporarily shut down his business, Snack’s Tees, which makes graphic T-shirts as well as customized car tags and door decals.
He recalled that at the time he only had about $1,000 to his name.
After a month, he said he decided to get back to business by purchasing face masks in bulk and reselling them with designs of sports teams or people’s names on them.
McCain’s business is now booming, and he has ventured into producing a hot commodity — 3D T-shirts — which he began making in October.
McCain, 38, was born and raised in the Greenwood area. He grew up in the Rising Sun community and graduated from Amanda Elzy High School.
He then attended Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia for three years, taking classes toward obtaining a degree in health, physical education and recreation while working for FedEx in nearby Memphis on the weekends.
McCain said he got caught up in the social aspects of college life and later returned to Greenwood without completing his degree.
From 1995 to 2013, McCain assisted with the business run by his mom, Geraldine Viser, who used to teach seventh grade math at various public schools in Leflore County.
Her business, Viser’s Floral and Crafts, featured florals and other decorations for events, tuxedo rentals and even made T-shirts.
“She made stuff happen. Everywhere she went, she made an impact,” McCain said of his mom. “I know how to do all the stuff because I was with her.”
When his mom passed away in 2013, McCain said he decided to launch his own T-shirt business. Prior to that and in addition to helping out his mom’s business, McCain worked various jobs at different businesses in town, such as Walmart, Autozone and Viking Range.
He also worked as an in-school suspension teacher at East Elementary and Amanda Elzy High, where he said he would have students write words from the dictionary.
McCain began working for his business full time last year and finally hit a niche when he began producing and selling 3D T-shirts.
The shirts, which he said are his best-selling item, feature colorful images and graphics that are printed throughout the shirt, rather than just in the center.
They often display the name and face of a person and are worn for family events or school reunions. They’re also made to memorialize a loved one, he said.
He’s received orders not just from the Greenwood area but also from as far away as Wichita, Kansas, and cities in Texas, McCain said.
“I enjoy the look on people’s faces when they see how the shirts turn out.”
McCain said his mother wanted him to complete his education. This is something which he said he’d like to accomplish, especially since his son will be entering high school at Amanda Elzy this upcoming fall.
McCain said he intends to work again toward a degree in health, physical education and recreation, since he’s already obtained 60 class credits toward the degree.
He’s engaged to Bria Dates. She is formerly of Southaven and now lives in Greenwood.
McCain said his fiancee is working to obtain her broker’s license. The two are also working on starting a trucking business, he said.
nContact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
