Fanatic U started out in 1982 as Action Toy Co. when its president Greg Every opened up a booth at the Gibraltar Trade Center. They sold battery operated cars and barking dogs, along with many other fun products. Then in 1984 when the Detroit Tigers made it to the World Series, Action Toy became Action Sportswear opening its first outdoor stand underneath the walking bridge on I-75 at Tiger Stadium. They were the ones who sold the famous "Bless You Boys" t-shirts.
Action Sportswear soon went on the road to sell at championship sporting events, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, Indy 500, Final Four and the like. They went on to market sporting wear at Super Bowl XXXI, Chicago NBA championships '91-'93, New York World Series 1986, Orlando NBA Championship in 1994, Atlanta World Series 1991-95, Olympics 1996, Lexington, Kentucky Final Four in 1985, Cleveland 1989 plus many of the Rose Bowls, MSU Final Four in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
After gaining so much on-the-road experience, Action Sportswear was never more successful selling tees, hats, flags and everything else that goes with winning championships than they were in Detroit. Greg knew that the absolute best FANS in the country were right here in the Motor City. Action Sportswear decided to open its first store in 1996 on Joy rd. and Inkster in Livonia and called it Fanatic U. After two very successful Red Wing Stanley Cups in '97 and '98, Fanatic U on Joy rd. closed and re-opened their store on Five mile and Merriman. Fanatic U now has five locations in the metro Detroit area. They are located in Garden City, Taylor, Brighton, Southfield and Detroit. The fine selection of Detroit memorabilia, including the latest 59Fifty Tigers on-field hats to all the current Red Wings jerseys like Datsyuk, Larkin and Abdelkader, is one of the most complete selections in the Detroit area.