Zach Levet Illegally Selling Nike Embroidered Apparel?

Just listened to his podcast. This kid is a child. He just got his first apartment and acts like its a major achievement. He thinks that making $1000 a week is bigtime. That's REVENUE, not profit. $1000 a week is average. Has the depth of a child.

He'll be back to his van by the river by New Years Day.

Bashirs tactics are fire!

The FBI's tactics are fireblow!

Libertarian Centrist wrote:

Disgusting. He should be in jail for a long, long time.

Maybe not for a long, long time but these guys should get arrested and spend a night or two in jail. If you steal a t-shirt from Target or any other store and get caught, you’re going to get arrested and spend a few hours or a night in jail. When it’s a “white collar” or internet crime like this, there’s a double standard and there may be legal repercussions but those guys are probably not not spending any time behind bars. They essentially stole thousands of dollars through the use of trademark infringement and they may get sued.

One of the most interesting threads I have seen in a while. I used to share some of videos when he was still in college. But I unsubscribed when he dropped out of school and went into what soon reminded me of Chris Farley in the "Van down by the river skit". Cloning products and copyright violations are often not tolerated by companies. I've been peripherally involved in some of the instances. The companies usually have their own crews of contracted private investigators. The PI's are well aware of the components of statutory violations, the ones I have seen in action were very aggressive. They make sure it ceases immediately, and they usually involve the appropriate law enforcement entities. One rough thing about all this activity is that the PI's I was aware of were calculating the loss to the company and the charged violation to the subject at the top suggested retail price provided by the legitimate manufacturer. Even if the knock offs were selling at fractional amounts of the suggested retail price of the genuine items. So the damages seemed to easily exceed the sales of the knock offs. Im interested to see how it all shakes out.

Not A Trademark Attorney wrote:

Googling Defintions wrote:

Libertarian = Minimal state intervention in the free market and lives of citizens.

An argument could be made that government enforce of trademarks is beyond the "minimal" government intervention believed to be necessary by libertarians. A stronger argument could be made that enforcement of trademarks through criminal law (i.e. putting a violator in jail) is beyond the scope of minimal government intervention believed appropriate by libertarians.

I think trademark infringement is primarily a civil issue and not criminal.

Though it is possible for federal or state criminal prosecution to occur it is very rare.

That’s the problem. When a poor person (often minority) steals a piece of crappy merchandise from a brick and mortar store it’s considered criminal and they are arrested, even if it’s a citation-release, and they are taken to jail in cuffs and it goes on their criminal record, affecting job opportunities, etc. in the future. When it’s a crime like this and it’s done indirectly, people view it as a civil infraction or “taking it to the man”, even though this Levit guy pocketed tens of thousands of dollars through deception and forgery. Imagine what the repercussions would be if you broke into a Nike store, or any other store for that matter, and packed $100k in merchandise into a truck and took off.

zachary busted wrote:

this entire thing screams super fishy

removing videos, referencing the company but not getting into details, and then being in that photo.

always thought he was pretty full of himself and he probably thinks he will get away with it

Part of me says more power to them. Make that bank. But the other part me says if you’re going to be so cavalier and flaunt it you deserve the punishment.

Runner10287 wrote:

zachary busted wrote:

this entire thing screams super fishy

removing videos, referencing the company but not getting into details, and then being in that photo.

always thought he was pretty full of himself and he probably thinks he will get away with it

Part of me says more power to them. Make that bank. But the other part me says if you’re going to be so cavalier and flaunt it you deserve the punishment.

Law and order

Bashir and Rachel McCarthur gonna regret hitching a ride on his wagon! These dopes get obsessed with social media, number of followers, likes. Tryna make a quick buck. Gotta be smart, do it honest, do it legal or your life is gonna be ruined - be hard to shed that Criminal label. Nike is not the monolith to mess with - he could be facing some serious financial penalties, legal challenges. Didn't he have any legal/financial advice when setting up this business??? Or is that too old-school?

Kudos to the machine that is letsrun for cracking this one. I can't look away from this thread. Feels like an impending trainwreck has to be near........

The scale of this isn't that big to Nike, but it just seems so so so so easy for them to pursue litigation on this. I'd be surprised if a cease and desist is all that comes from this. Seems like too easy and too high profile of a chance to protect their brand.

What would you do if you were Zach Levet and you woke up and saw this thread?

He must have some Nike channels, reach out there and apologize?

first time, long time wrote:

Kudos to the machine that is letsrun for cracking this one. I can't look away from this thread. Feels like an impending trainwreck has to be near........

The scale of this isn't that big to Nike, but it just seems so so so so easy for them to pursue litigation on this. I'd be surprised if a cease and desist is all that comes from this. Seems like too easy and too high profile of a chance to protect their brand.

I have nothing against him, but he seems pretty arrogant for thinking he could get away with this. He should face the consequences for his actions.

Sales and Profit is VERY different.

Any updates from Zach on his social channels?

What is wrong with you two?

Interesting post - makes it seem like he has sales beyond etsy? Perhaps selling to small shops?

1800 etsy sales x $60 per sale is already north of 100,000 in revenue, who knows how much additional was being sold wholesale to retailers? Not to familiar with clothing infringements, but in at least in software, infringement violations usually lead to a 3x payout to the plaintiff.

Say he had another 50,000 in whole sale revenue, owing nike/channel ... 150,000x3 ......$450,000 combined would not be a good position to be in.........

This whole thread is just talk. Not over till we see some litigation.

hay guys, sorry I haven't posted any videos in awhile. It has been a CRAZY couple of weeks! Me and the guys just moved again, we're now I'm living in a dungeon underneath Nike headquarters. Alberto Salazar is my next door neighbor, and there are 1000 Chinese kids down here too. It's been SOOOO CRAZY I can't talk long but I promise I'll make a new video soon take care live better

kirkandorules wrote:

hay guys, sorry I haven't posted any videos in awhile. It has been a CRAZY couple of weeks! Me and the guys just moved again, we're now I'm living in a dungeon underneath Nike headquarters. Alberto Salazar is my next door neighbor, and there are 1000 Chinese kids down here too. It's been SOOOO CRAZY I can't talk long but I promise I'll make a new video soon take care live better

lmao. this is great

Dude, we get it. My gods. Although I will say that I'm surprised the reaction here is so strong. Ripping off a mega corp? Who cares? It isn't like he is screwing over a small mom and pop shop. Nike is a sh*t company anyway, just like all the other huge ones who employ south Asians to make their stuff for pennies a day.

letsagree wrote:

this is hilarious.

The impression I get from Zach is that he prides himself on being a "free thinker" and that too many people are held back by "rules" that needlessly restrict. And so he markets himself as this personality who lives his dreams at all costs and isn't held back by convention. And it's this kind of thinking that leads to selling counterfeit NIKE apparel. In the end, a tiny bit more commonsense may have served him well.

just do it.

Yep. The irony is that an actual free thinker would be creative enough to come up with their own idea. Counterfeiting someone else's brand is pretty much the exact opposite of free thinking creativity.