How did GRND Become a Brand | A Mission to Go Further

What is Purpose

In 2019 I was on a mountain in Afghanistan. After climbing several miles it felt like I was standing above the clouds and could see miles into the distance. After quitting football to join the Army, going through grueling training and finishing selection courses, I was on a deployment as an Army Ranger. Standing there for a second I had the thought, “what is purpose?”

We are all connected

During deployments I would call and catch up with close friends when I had dead space between hours. I called one of my friends who is a barber and asked him how he’s doing and he responded, “You know, out here on the GRND,” and as always I responded “same, bro” and we got off the phone. Several months passed by and I was flew to Northern Afghanistan. We got in pretty late and called it for a few hours so I reached out to one of my friends who was in law school. I asked him the same question and he responded, “Man Law School is Challenging bro it’s a real GRND.” Without much thought I assured him all the sacrifices would pay off in the end and to keep going further. I was near the end of my deployment and had reached BAF (Bagram Airfield). After checking in with my commander I decided to call one of my best friends. We had grown up together and he was in his 5th year in the NFL. Training camp was getting ready to kick off and he was fighting through a contract year. When I asked him how it was going he responded, “bro its a GRND at this level.” I knew I would be seeing him soon so I told him to lay it on the line and I’d be home to catch a game in no time. 

WHY

After that deployment and talking to several close friends in my life, I came to the realization that every single person is undergoing their own unique journey with the GRND. Whether you are a draft prospect trying to reach the next level, a soldier preparing for battle, or a nurse providing lifesaving interventions to patients, you have a connection with this idea. I believe we all resonate with the emotion of our alarm going off, and before hitting snooze we think about why we need to get up. Whether supporting our families, our communities, or our country, our WHY is clearly defined in our hearts. Our mission as a brand is to create space to draw awareness to your story and further inspire you to give 100% and then some through sport, fitness, and life.