Think back to the first time you were urged to hike a 14er or ski
down one of Colorado’s many breathtaking landscapes; the rush of
adrenaline pumping through your veins, the fresh Colorado air running
crisp through your lungs, and that feeling in the pit of your stomach
that says this is where you Belong. We Coloradans have yet to
categorize this feeling of complete gratification, however; an
ambitious start-up, founded by Colorado Natives, as well as Colorado
School of Mines Graduates, aims to encapsulate and pursue an authentic
lifestyle represented by what Colorado means to a lot of us.
Belong Co-Founder, Shamus McNutt caught up with one of our reporters
and depicted why Belong Designs is more than just a Colorado Brand.
“Belong Designs was founded around the simple mindset that when you
follow your true passions in life, you realize where you ‘Belong’”,
says McNutt. The three founders were sitting in the final semester of
their engineering classes at Mines and determined that they wanted to
inspire their interpretation of the Colorado Lifestyle throughout the
world by creating what is becoming known as the Belong Movement.
Although the Belong Movement encompasses all people that believe in a
lifestyle of authenticity and doing what they love, Belong chose to
use extreme sports athletes as a representation to the lifestyle they
portray. Belong finds that athletes in the action
sports industry encapsulate the message most effectively, due to their
continual pursuit to better and push themselves doing what they love
most. Sponsoring over 22 athletes ranging from Amateur to
Professional, Belong handpicks their athletes, not only based on skill,
but more importantly based on character and moral compass.
Ben Thomson, Co-Founder, explains, “Our athletes are a direct
extension of why we founded the Belong Lifestyle. Their exhibit of
passion and drive is enough to inspire anyone to pursue an authentic
life. Our athletes originate anywhere from Colorado all the way to
Europe. They show that the pursuit of finding those moments; those
moments when nothing is on your mind but the bliss of what you are
doing right at that second, are worth pursuing. It’s the moment when
you belong. “
Founded in 2013, Belong hit its one year mark and the founders
couldn’t be happier with their success, however they have to continue
to be “innovatively curious”, explains McNutt. “The minute you become
content and complacent with your products and success is the minute
that your company is set to fail. You always have to be looking around
and thinking, how can I improve that product? Or how can I market
better? How can I make that retail deal? We have definitely obtained a
large tolerance for failure and an even better mindset for getting up
after we get knocked down.”
Having graduated with Bachelors degrees in
Mechanical Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, the three
founders have been self-taught in Business and Entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneur magazine, Google, YouTube, and a knack for learning things
quickly and efficiently are all sources that the founders attribute to
their success. They pride themselves on building belongdesigns.com on
their own, after several sleepless nights.
The uniquely designed products and logo can all be sourced to
Co-Founder and Creative Director, Mark Grubbs. Mark says, “learning an
art form is much like learning how to play an instrument or a new
sport.” Mark’s knack for creating designs stems from taking off on what
was an industry standard and goes in the direction of creating
something unique. He adds his own simple twist to his ideas that gives
it the distinct standard recognizes as a Belong Designs production.
Mark believes this relates to how everyone should be perceived when
they do something they think is normal. Most likely, they have a
different twist on many things they do that makes it beautiful and able
to stand on its own.
Belong is going to be launching full outerwear Ski and Snowboard
Jackets in September 2014 which will be available on BelongDesigns.com.
The trio believes that their new Outerwear Jacket will set new trends
for functional, warm outerwear apparel with a unique look and feel that
riders and people in general will surely love. The Colorado Lifestyle
is colorfully displayed on the face of the jacket and will turn many
heads on the slopes.
Keep an eye on this company; for the Belong Movement and Brand is
continually striving to grow and inspire people to follow their true
passions and find where they Belong.
By press release
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