John’s Crazy Socks celebrated World Down Syndrome Day with two days of events and openings, including the introduction to the company’s new store and prizes for other business owners with the condition.
John Cronin, who has Down syndrome, founded the company along with his father Mark X Cronin in 2016. John’s Crazy Socks has since ballooned in size and advocacy.
The father-son duo held a ribbon-cutting for a new warehouse store on Friday, March 21, to kick off its World Down Syndrome Day festivities. Between Friday and Saturday, roughly 1,500 people came down to 110 Bi County Blvd in Farmingdale for a wide variety of events.
“For nine years, people have been showing up at our office saying, ‘Hey, I want to buy some socks’ and we have to say, you’ve got to go online,” Mark said. “It’s a way for us to get close to our customers. We can listen to them.”
The store will only feature some of the socks that are on the website, according to the owners. Mark said he thinks of the warehouse store as an “open kitchen restaurant,” allowing people to see the products being made. The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
John’s Crazy Socks also named the five inaugural winners of the 3/21 Inclusive Entrepreneur Awards, which were given to trailblazing individuals with Down syndrome who have turned their passions into purpose-driven businesses.
“We’re always trying to highlight the achievements of people with different abilities,” Mark said. “We think entrepreneurship is an option for everybody, including people with different abilities, and so we created this award as a way to shine a spotlight on individuals with Down syndrome who have started running their own businesses.”
Each winner received a personalized award certificate and a gift card to John’s Crazy Socks and will be featured on John and Mark’s social media pages.
The weekend festivities also featured a live dance party, a fashion show and inspirational talks from the two founders. John called it “a weekend full of fun.”
But how did one of the largest sock collections in the world get its start? John was in his final year at Huntington High School without a true direction as to where to go after graduation. He and his father bounced ideas around before coming up with an idea that would take the country by storm.
“I want to create one,” John said about a job for himself.
John’s Crazy Socks began as a small business with a basic website and social media accounts that served as the company’s marketing. They received 42 orders on the first day, which were delivered by John himself along with a handwritten note.
“We loaded up the car, drove around and John knocked on doors delivering the socks,” Mark recalled. “I see him knocking on doors. He’s going inside. I’m sitting out in the car freezing. He’s inside drinking hot chocolate, telling stories and taking pictures. It was great.”
The company has since expanded drastically, now employing 34 people at a warehouse in Farmingdale. Twenty-two of the company’s workers also have a disability. As of 2023, roughly 22.5% of Americans with disabilities have jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a status that John’s Sock Company continuously fights for. The Cronins said that the new store will create more available hours for their workers.
John’s Crazy Socks has donated over $800,000 to a wide range of charity partners, including the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Society and the Autism Society of America. Father and son have also performed multiple TEDx talks, have spoken throughout the United States, have their own podcast and have created content for hundreds of thousands of people on social media. All of this relates back to the company’s simple but effective mission: spreading happiness.
“Down syndrome never holds him back,” Mark said about his son. “We don’t hide John. He’s the face of the business.”
John’s Crazy Socks has delivered 475,000 packages to 89 different countries and has grown into one of the biggest sock companies in the United States. Mark called John the owner of the “world’s largest sock collection.”
Mark X and John Cronin said that they will have more scholarship awards to give out in April during National Autism Awareness Month.
