- December 01, 2025
- By Karen Shih ’09
On the field when the L.A. Dodgers won the World Series. Lined up across the ice for the Washington Capitals 50th anniversary celebration. And soon, in the stands for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Ben Weiner ’17 might not personally be at all these epic moments—but his custom-designed, hand-stitched jackets are. His made-to-order outerwear, Jeanius Jackets, can be spotted at stadiums across the country and on sports stars and WAGs (the slang acronym for “wives and girlfriends” of athletes), as well as entertainers like Dua Lipa, Hozier and Adam Sandler.
“It’s a pinch-me moment almost every single week,” said Weiner. “Seeing my work being recognized by players I grew up watching, getting to share something with them that I poured my heart into, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Weiner has been shooting pucks since he was 3 years old, and growing up during Beantown’s golden age—four World Series championships for the Red Sox, six Super Bowls wins for the Patriots, and a “sprinkling” of titles for the Celtics and Bruins—turned him into a diehard fan.
He always wanted to work in sports and thought news would be his way in. At UMD, he studied multiplatform journalism with a minor in entrepreneurship, setting up a series of pop-up upcycled clothing shops as part of a class. But what put him on the path to Jeanius was a crisis when he played for UMD Club Hockey, which needed to change its uniforms just a month before the school year.
For students on the team, paying out of pocket would be expensive, so Weiner proposed a plan: What if the university agreed to a local licensing agreement that would allow the team to sell some of its new jerseys to the public? UMD agreed. He dipped his toe into design for the first time, hoping to just sell 50 to friends and family to cover costs (and pay for some rink time)—and instead sold more than 150.
That inspired him a few years after graduation when the pandemic hit. Stuck at home, working remotely in marketing for a tech company, he asked his mom for a sewing machine for Hannukah.
He started customizing generic jerseys with patches and letters and gifting them to family members. His first big hit was a hybrid (baseball on the front, hockey on the back) that would allow wearers to go from Red Sox to Bruins games in the same day. After going viral on social media, orders flooded in for six months. That’s when he got a cease-and-desist order for unknowingly violating copyright laws.
Weiner switched to jackets, evoking iconic Boston landmarks and colors without using logos or names. He started with denim—hence the name—but quickly expanded to silk satin, leather and other materials. Those early days were tough, balancing a 9-5 with his side hustle, but once he realized one day in 2023 that he had made more money in three months on Jeanius than at his day job, he decided to quit and focus full-time on growing his business (and yes, he now has all the proper licenses).
Weiner in UMD Club Hockey gear (Photo by Mandy Statland)
Former Washington Capitals players in Jeanius Jackets for the team's 50th anniversary celebration. (Photo by John McCreary)
NHL player Brad Marchand in a custom jacket for his 1,000th game. (Photo by Michael Penhollow)
Since then, he’s met heroes like NHL player Brad Marchand, outfitting the left winger and his family to commemorate his 1,000th game. He’s stepped on court at TD Garden to show off a Celtics-commissioned limited-edition 2024 championship jacket. And he’s even going international, outfitting the WAGs of the Swedish hockey team, a perennial Olympic medal contender, at Milano Cortina in February.
“I built my own doorway into the sports industry, getting even closer to the field and ice than I ever thought I could,” Weiner said.
The self-taught designer’s work has been recognized in Vogue and Parade, as well as called “timeless and well-crafted” and a “fan favorite” in an ESPN article. He’s known for using high-quality materials like tackle twill, a durable vinyl that he cuts and sews on for longevity, rather than cheaper printed or ironed-on designs.
The ebbs and flows of the professional sports calendar dictate Weiner’s life; March and April, as well as September and October, are “an absolute zoo.” He gets the most orders during playoffs, when wives want to make a statement in the stands. (While he’s mostly a one-man band, bringing in assistants when needed, he works with a vetted manufacturer for bulk buys.)
As his business expands into entertainment, getting orders from performance venues or stylists, he’s excited about new possibilities. And one day, the avid Terp fan hopes to see his wares at the University Bookstore, since he’s licensed to sell UMD apparel (currently available via custom order, starting with a $150 deposit, from his site).
“I always loved telling stories,” Weiner said, like combining soccer player Tim Ream’s World Cup, Premier League and university jerseys into one cohesive jacket. “It still feels like what I’m doing, telling the story of an athlete through stitches.”
Ben Weiner stitches a custom jacket for singer Thomas Rhett for his "Better in Boots Tour" at Fenway Park on July 19, 2025. (Photo by Matt Woolverton)