Brian Carpenter knows quite a bit about the jan/san distribution business. The CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Aries Supply Inc., is also familiar with the X’s and O’s on the football field. Not only did he once star as a defensive back at the University of Michigan, but Carpenter later went on to play four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) after being drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys in 1982. In fact, Carpenter may be the only jan/san distributor who can proudly brag about playing in a Super Bowl. (Sadly, his 1983 Washington Redskins team lost to the Los Angeles Raiders, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.)

After retiring from pro football in 1986, Brian dabbled for a few years in sales, which in turn helped get his foot in the door of the jan/san industry. Fifteen years ago he started his own jan/san distribution business from the ground up. Nowadays his company takes pride in supplying 75 percent of the governmental facilities in the nation’s capital as well as a number of sports facilities including FedEx Field, RFK Stadium and Redskins Park.

Q: How did you jumpstart your business in its early stages?

A: I worked for a company called State Chemicals, that’s sort of how I got started in the industry. And then I left State Chemicals and went to work for a lighting company. I started selling chemicals and paper for him and then I said, ‘hey, I can do this myself.’ My wife was pregnant at the time and he was moving the company in another direction and I wanted to branch off and do it myself. So, I did it and I had opened it up and I had good people to work with me. Matter of fact, Darrell Green, who just went into the NFL Hall of Fame, he came in with me and started doing stuff with me and Rick “Doc” Walker, who has one of the top sports radio shows over here also did some stuff with me. They were both former teammates of mine with the Washington Redskins and so it kind of blew up from there.

Q: Would you say that your status as an ex-NFL player has opened things up for you in the business world?

A: No doubt about it. But you know what, it’s being able to transition the competitiveness and the competition of the game and learning to use it to market what I do, market myself, market the company, but also learning how to compete. Especially in today’s marketplace, the biggest thing is learning to compete. And especially now, it’s becoming a global economy and all of the things going on in this marketplace and you have to learn to compete. And you have to try to get salespeople who know how and learn how to compete. And that becomes the biggest problem is that people learning and learning it at a high level and the sacrifice it takes to compete. The hours that you put in.

 

There was an old saying we used to use that said players don’t become all-pros at practice, players become all-pros when they’re not at practice. It’s what you do when you’re not at practice. And I tell my people that all the time. It’s what you do when you’re not at work, are you picking up the products, are you learning how to demo it, are you learning how to say it better, talk about it better, are you learning about products and your competition? It’s the same way as it is with football. You know who you’re competing against on Sunday, but are you prepared to compete when you go in?  And that’s what it takes. And that’s the biggest thing that you learn is learning how to compete and learning how to win.

Q: What makes your business stand out from other distributors?

A: We provide quality service and go above and beyond for our customers in training. We also bring unique products to the table. And, we’re definitely one of the tops in terms of minority participation.

Q: What was your greatest accomplishment on the football field as a NFL player?

A: Always going to the Super Bowl. Walking on to the field and realizing that this is the big dance and I’m in it. And that’s one thing no one can take away from me.

Q: How many years did you play in the NFL?

A: Four. I was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, then I was traded to the New York Giants, and then I played with the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills.

Q: What was your favorite NFL team to play for?

A: I really liked playing with the Redskins. We went to the Super Bowl. I liked Bill Parcells in New York, when he was my coach. I was blessed. I played for Hall of Fame coaches. I went to Michigan and played for Bo Schembechler, and at that time Lloyd Carr was the defensive backs coach, he was my position coach. I played in the East-West Shrine All Star game for Paul “Bear” Bryant. I was drafted by the Cowboys and played for Tom Landry, got traded to New York and played for Bill Parcells and at that time Bill Belichick was the defensive coordinator for the Giants. Then I played for Joe Gibbs in Washington. I played for a number of Hall of Fame coaches. It doesn’t get any better than that. People pay thousands of dollars to see how these guys work and I’ve been up front and personal with them and got it for free. If nothing else, that’s what I’ve been able to learn and transition from football to the work force. I’ve been able to see how they do what they do and how they’ve been successful and competitive. And it works.

Q: Who was your favorite coach to play for?

A: Bo Schembechler. Bo was a special guy and that was a special time in my life. My brother Alden “Butch” Carpenter just died and I was 18, a young man. And at that time I was leaving my parents house and entering into manhood. And I was at a big time program. He basically became my second father. Even after I got through playing, he was a guy you could call up and he always answered the phone. He was always there for me and my family. And that was just the way he was. He made us work hard but he made us understand, especially at a young age what we were working for. And so when you get into the business side of playing pro football, it’s just like anything else, it’s a business. But Bo made us understand and he would always say one thing. ‘If you play for the money you always fall short. But if you play to be the best, you always make the money.’ And so that’s kind of what I do here with Aries. I tell my people all the time that we’re working to be the best company. If we are the best company, then everything else will come with it. And that’s one of the things that I learned from Bo.

Q: I know you root for Michigan on Saturdays, but who you root for on Sundays?

A: It’s hard. I’m a football fan, I like good games. I like the Redskins, but also the New England Patriots because I like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady because he went to Michigan. So I follow my Michigan people like Braylon Edwards who is an All-Pro with the Cleveland Browns. His father Stan Edwards and I are best friends. We played together at Michigan. So I’ve known Braylon since he was a baby.

Q: What memory stands out most from Super Bowl XVIII?

A: Well, that wasn’t good. That was the game when Marcus Allen had that 74-yard touchdown run. We should have won that game. But I’ll never forget running out on the field for the opening of the game. I’ll never forget the bus ride to the game. That sticks out to me because we were stuck in traffic and we had a police escort and they had to get out and bang on the cars to make people move over to get us there. It was like being a gladiator and you’re being led to the arena. You’re getting ready to go perform and everybody is in town and here to see you. And you run on the field and you see all the cameras and the people and you can glance around and you’re seeing movie stars and people around you. Everybody’s there to see you. And I talked with my father down on the field. And I’ll never forget that, talking with my father at the Super Bowl on the field.




POSTED ON: 7/1/2008