Al Andrews, athleisure wear success, dies at 78

Al Andrews, who built tasc Performance into a nationally successful business selling clothing made of a blend of bamboo and organic cotton, died June 8, 2023, at his New Orleans home of prostate cancer. He was 78.

Al Andrews, who built a business that found national success selling clothing made of a blend of bamboo and organic cotton, died June 8 at his New Orleans home of prostate cancer, his son said. He was 78.

Andrews went into business with his son, Todd, in 2010 to form a company formally known as tasc Performance Inc. The family-owned enterprise takes its distinctive name from the first-name initials of Todd and Al Andrews; Todd’s brother, Scott; and Al Andrews’ wife, Cindy.

When tasc was launched, the category of apparel known as athleisure wear, a hybrid of clothing suitable for sporting and leisure activities, was dominated by products made from synthetic fabrics that felt itchy and smelled awful, Al Andrews said in an interview last year.

The new warehouse location of tasc Performance in Elmwood is seen Oct. 19, 2022, with company founders from left, Scott Andrews, Todd Andrews and Al Andrews.

"I knew that if we could come up with an all-natural product that could match them on performance, people would love it," he said.

His prediction has proved to be accurate. The company now has merchandise at high-end specialty stores and resorts across the United States, and the family said it is on track to reach $100 million in sales by 2025.

The youngest of six children of a Methodist minister and his wife, Alvin Andrews was born in Battle Creek, Michigan. He graduated from Benton Harbor High School and earned a basketball scholarship to Tulane University, where he was named team captain and Most Valuable Player all three of his varsity years, and made the All-Southeastern Conference team and was named an Academic All-American for two seasons.

He also earned a degree from Tulane’s law school in 1971, and although he passed the bar examination, he never practiced law.

Here’s why: He and his wife were renting an apartment from the Pulitzer family, which owned the Wembley Tie Co., and younger family members encouraged him to join that business, Todd Andrews said. He started by running a suit factory that was part of Wembley and moved on to become president of Resilio Sportswear Co., another division.

His work entailed traveling to Hong Kong and, later, India, to get men’s sportswear made. It was the start of a career path, and relationships, that would eventually result in tasc.

Through Andrews’ networking, he befriended Harvey Sanders, founder of the sportswear company Nautica, who offered him a job in New Orleans. That worked so well, Todd Andrews said, that Sanders asked him to work in New York City, but Andrews and his wife didn’t want to move. In 1996, father and son started Andrews Sport Co., making clothes for the corporate market, “anything with a logo,” Todd Andrews said.

“We were growing, but we weren’t building a brand,” Todd Andrews said. “It was our product, but we would have to provide it for everybody else.”

Then they started working with a family-owned factory in India and exploring the potential of bamboo with the factory’s owner, a textile engineer.

Developing the fabric took 2 ½ years, he said. “Bamboo is very challenging to work with. My dad was the driving force behind it. … That was why we kept at it for such a long time.”

Todd and Al Andrews, a son and father team, opened a tasc store on Magazine Street in New Orleans in 2017. Its first retail store showcases activewear that the company makes from a blend of fibers, including viscose from bamboo.

Tasc originally was designed as a wholesale business, and that category still accounts for about 58% of company revenue. It opened a store in Uptown New Orleans in 2017, followed by outlets in Houston and Alabama, and developed an online market.

Building this business was natural for his father, Todd Andrews said. “He loved his business, all the relationships, because you get to use your whole mind.”

Survivors include his wife, Cindy Andrews; two sons, Todd Michael Andrews of New Orleans and Scott Edwin Andrews of Mandeville; a brother, M. Edwin Andrews Jr. of Duluth, Minnesota; two sisters, Audrey Andrews Walter of Sebring, Florida, and Joyce Andrews McIlhenny of Sun City, Arizona; and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled Saturday at noon at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church, 3900 St. Charles Ave. Visitation is to begin at 11 a.m.

Greenwood Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Contact John Pope at [email protected].