If not this, what? If not now, when?

Sometimes the universe sends you a sign, then hits you over the head with it. Like so many Ptown residents, Paul Nesbit’s arrival 9 years ago came on the heels of adversity. His corporate layoff turned out to be a ticket to the end of the Cape, but not the end of the world.

Paul came here having built a distinguished career in retail. From window dresser to store manager, buyer to product developer, he had learned and loved the business from every angle. But after the abrupt end to that professional chapter, Paul elected a simpler life here. One that would allow him to recover from corporate cruelty in a kinder setting. He became a lifeguard, a swimming coach, a bartender, and time just went by a little aimlessly.

Remember the part about the universe hitting you on the head? Well, it was a back injury that woke Paul up to the time that had passed. While healing, he had to reimagine the life he wanted to live. Physically, bartending was no longer an option, but his dream of opening his own store – a dream he had for more than 20 years but somehow had forgotten – was a very real option.

“The only thing stopping me was fear of success,” he said as we sat in his new, freshly painted, fully-stocked store called Mate. T-shirts, tank tops, and long-sleeve thermals emblazoned with Paul’s Ptown-centric designs – landmarks from lighthouses to Spiritus, depictions of the hazardous Ptown bike culture, and the iconic Mate logo that is at once a friend, a partner, and a command – surround us in living-out-loud color.

Paul’s vision elevates the vacation T to wearable commentary and personal expression. No matter who you are, if you love Ptown, you’ll love Mate. And that’s an order.