Meet Daniel Costa | Hockey equipment brand

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Costa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Well, we used to own a different company called Verbero and we wanted to make a better version of it. Once we sold Verbero in 2018 we got to work on making products that were different and a cut above the rest. We also got to work on making them affordable, which has been difficult with the pandemic and the state of the world as a whole. The name is actually cool as well, as it encompasses everything about my family in one, easy to look at word, 3P1C (said like Epic). The story behind the name is pretty cool in my mind. When I got together with my now wife, her son wanted to come up with a name to call our new family. There were 3 of them and 1 of me at the time. Their last name was Pascua and mine is Costa. So, the 3P1C, actually stands for 3 Pascuas 1 Costa.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started working at a young age in either my father’s restaurant, my uncle’s restaurant or my godfather’s restaurant. The idea of hard work and a work ethic was never a four letter word for me. After high school I worked for my dad at his company in the embellishments department. That is where I got my love for custom apparel and my eye for making things look a certain, professional way. From there I opened my first business which was a roller hockey rink in Ripon California. I was very fortunate that my parents were able to do this for me at such an early age. I had so many great moments and experiences at my rink. From the rink I met my former partner in Verbero Hockey and we ran that company for about 5 years together. When Verbero sold we immediately began work on 3P1C Hockey and we debuted our new company in March of 2022 at the Let’s Play Hockey Expo in St. Paul Minnesota. The road to get here wasn’t the conventional one, but it honestly made me who I am today and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve learned that anything worth doing is never, ever easy. If you aren’t willing to put in the work and willing to lose some sleep, you really can’t expect the world to reward you for what you haven’t done. And if you don’t put in the work you can’t complain when you don’t get rewarded for the work you didn’t do. What the world should know about 3P1C Hockey is that we will always operate like a family owned business because we are one and we are incredibly proud of that fact. We strive for the highest quality at the very lowest price we can get.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, in honesty I don’t know the area all that much as I am from Northern California. But I love Anaheim, as I am a Ducks fan. I know, a weird combination. But I would absolutely catch a Ducks game. The Pond is MY happiest place on earth. Then, I would say the other “Happiest Place On Earth”. I could seriously live in Disneyland if they would only let me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

There are so many people that helped me along this journey, and most I won’t do justice to. My family is paramount in this or any other business to me.

Starting with my wonderful wife, Marissa, who is either my accountant, day manager, event coordinator, agent, inventory specialist, etc. Just depending on what part of the day or week we are talking about. She makes us all better just by being in the building but she goes above and beyond the call of duty, day in and day out.

My mother, Denise, for being the brains behind mine or my father’s corporations. We depend on her so much to be the money watcher, the voice of reason, or the only one that understands how to file any kind of paperwork.

My dad, Dan, for being not only a fantastic mentor and role model, but acting as the company’s lone consultant. He is a brilliant leader and even smarter tactician of business and if he gives his two cents, it’s absolutely worth listening to.

My brother in law, Almar. He is my wing man at every trade show, tournament, or any event really. Not to mention he is the one who optimized the company on Google. He rebuilt the website to make it what it is today. He basically takes care of everything technical that I really don’t understand.

My son, Blaze, is the one that came up with the name and logo. He also is about to start making amazingly creative advertising for the company. He is a visionary and we can’t wait to see what he makes for us.

My oldest daughter, Mykeah (my-key-ah), for being the greatest product tester and ambassador ever. Any brand would kill to have her and we are lucky she is involved.

Other than my family, the list is still very long of my friends and people that have just volunteered to make things happen for the company in any aspect.

Gerry Yang is our brilliant designer. Basically, I come up with crazy things I want the products to have and Gerry breaks the laws of physics to bring it to life. He is a true mad scientist, and if Gerry wasn’t here, this company would still be testing things and just hoping to get it all right.

The social media boys, Josh Pollock and Anthony Romero. These guys have basically volunteered their time to make the social media accounts worth something. They live and breathe hockey, to them the image of the company is as important as the gear we churn out. They make us look good to the public everyday and I can’t thank them enough.

My friend Jimmy Hauger is the best salesman I have ever met, bar none. He is out there at his kids’ practices just sharing his wonderful gift of gab about our company and what we stand for. He is the reason for our foothold in the state of Minnesota. Him and him alone.

We have amazing fans and players that really enjoy our stuff. From D1 college athletes to rising young stars, and even a bunch of beer leaguers. We make products that we would use ourselves. Hockey gear for players by players. Simply put, if we don’t like it, it doesn’t get released. Hockey is what unites us all, and this brand is a little part of every single one of us. I love what we are building here. I am extremely proud and thankful for everyone on this list and the others I haven’t even mentioned. Thank you all.

Website: Epichockey.com

Instagram: @epichockey

Twitter: @epichockey

Facebook: @epichockey