Spartan Profiles: Michael Budman & Donald Green

THEIR ROOTS RUN GREEN

            The 2002 Winter Games produced many winners, perhaps none bigger than Michael Budman, ’68, and his former MSU fraternity brother Donald Green.  They did not medal like Canada’s hockey teams, but nonetheless, they struck gold. 

             As co-founders of Roots, a $300-million Toronto-based clothing company with nearly 200 stores worldwide, Budman and Green beat the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Nike to become the official outfitters of U.S. Olympians in 2002 and 2004.  Mike and Don are now poised for a U.S. invasion, with plans to capitalize on the trendy “Roots” brand via the Internet and department stores.  “If you saw the athletes on the podium and what clothes they wore, well, that’s our niche,” says Budman.  “Thanks in part to our exposure in the Olympics, we’re the strongest brand name in the athletics lifestyle market today.” 

            Indeed, Roots was the overwhelming choice of U.S. athletes after they saw the smart, casual wear sported by their Canadian competitors in Nagano.  At Salt Lake City, the Roots Olympics beret emerged as the must-have souvenir from the games, resulting in four-hour lines and a five-week mail-order backlogs. 

            Mike and Don grew up in the Detroit area, first met at a summer camp in Canada, and chose MSU for college.  After graduation, Mike in communication and Don in history, they started Roots on a shoestring.  Their first hit was a negative-heel shoe that was popular with hippies (see p. 22, Sep.-Oct. 1975).  Today they are celebrities whose friends include the likes of Naomi Campbell, Robbie Robertson and Dan Aykroyd, who helped them pitch their Roots Skyservice Airlines, a side venture since 1998.   Despite their success, says Mike, they still retain strong MSU roots.  “We cheer for Morris Peterson (a member of the NBA franchise in Toronto),” he says.  “We love MSU.”