FARMERSTRENGTH™ - Building a Vision, One T-Shirt, One Connection, One Day at a Time

FARMERSTRENGTH™ - Building a Vision, One T-Shirt, One Connection, One Day at a Time

I started small—just two t-shirts that I quickly had printed at a small store on Cary Street in Richmond, VA, days before my flight to Costa Rica. With the charging bull design above the block letters of FARMERSTRENGTH™, those shirts represented resilience, strength, and determination. That image of a bull speaks to the very essence of the brand.

When I moved to Costa Rica, I had just come out of a confusing chapter in my life. The thought of leaving behind familiarity for the unknown was terrifying. Yet, I trusted the journey. Costa Rica provided the soul food I needed—nature, community, and a fresh start. With the clarity I gained, I realized my mission: to build FARMERSTRENGTH™ by selling apparel that embodies the brand’s ethos, with the goal of one day funding my freedom to do what I love most—coaching and giving back by turning FARMERSTRENGTH™ into a multinational fitness and sportswear company.

I have my own coaching philosophies regarding the fitness side of my company, but with the sportswear and apparel line, I wanted to channel the energy of Gymshark meets Carhartt. I had a very simple thought at the time: sell 1 million t-shirts with a $3 profit on each shirt, and that’s 3 million dollars! That should fund the mission, I thought. It was a simple idea, but a lot more hard work is involved in bringing that thought to fruition than I could have ever imagined.

From there, I began to build. I opened social media accounts and started to learn about print-on-demand (POD) services. Running a business from the jungle presented logistical challenges when sourcing and shipping apparel. I began with Millions.co and eventually moved to Etsy. www.farmerstrength.com is now hosted on Shopify and fulfilled through the POD service Printful. This allowed me to reach an international audience while keeping my overheads low.

To make the dream of FARMERSTRENGTH™ a reality, I’ve embraced modern technology to grow my apparel business. In 2024, my website saw a major upgrade thanks to incredible support from friends and AI technology, which has helped me create better visuals and designs for my apparel. POD services have allowed me to ship to customers in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Canada, Dubai, and even as far as Australia. POD is a printing method where products are printed only after an order is placed. Although delivery is a little slower compared to a large company like Amazon, POD reduces inventory costs, minimizes risk, and allows for customization. It's a flexible and efficient way to sell products, especially for small businesses.

For a number of years now, I’ve had a strong desire to give back. The boxing communities of Costa Rica have embraced me, and I wanted to give back as much as I could. I am proud to say I’ve funded my strength and conditioning work with local boxing gyms Boxeo Quepos and Hermosa Boxing Camp in Costa Rica, and virtually with Richmond Boxing Club, entirely through the sales of FARMERSTRENGTH™ apparel.

I’ve attended amateur shows in the USA to assist Richmond Boxing Club and traveled to many amateur national events in the vicinity of San Jose, Costa Rica, and as far south as Palmar Norte. Hermosa Boxing Camp is a two-hour drive north of Uvita, which I have been driving twice a week for close to 3 years now, and Quepos is about an hour north, which I try to visit once a month. My friend Ian Paterson can attest to this, as I enjoy his conversation every night during my commute home around the mountains, jungle, and through the Costa Rican rain. I’m very proud to say that in that time, I’ve never charged a dime and have funded the expenses through FARMERSTRENGTH™ apparel sales.

Every penny I’ve taken in so far has been reinvested back into the brand to continue its growth. From merchandise for the team at Hermosa to simple things like a ring timer for the team at Quepos, every contribution helps. One tremendous gesture was my friend Mike Hamway purchasing $1,500 worth of merchandise so that every athlete at Boxeo Quepos, Hermosa Boxing Camp, and Richmond Boxing Club had FARMERSTRENGTH-sponsored t-shirts for their affiliated gyms for Christmas.

In addition to volunteering with the boxing gyms, another cause close to my heart is the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. FARMERSTRENGTH™ created the FARMERSTRENGTH™ Fights line, where all proceeds are directly donated to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Click here for more information.

FARMERSTRENGTH™ has been represented on fight uniforms at Madison Square Garden, Live Casino Maryland, Sports and Entertainment Arena DC, Cordoba, Argentina, Federation Boxeo Buenos Aires, and USA Nationals. The apparel has been worn by hikers on Mount Toubkal in Morocco, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Mount Chirripó in Costa Rica. It has represented at an Ultra Marathon in Mooresville, Alabama and is even displayed on the trailer of a team that harness race horses. It has also sponsored my beloved local GAA team in Ireland, the Brocagh Emmets youth team. The list will keep growing. When I first got on that plane in Richmond, if you had told me all this lay ahead of me, I would not have believed it.

As the brand has grown, I’ve been able to add shirts, various hats, jackets, and accessories. It’s been a slow build, but with each piece of merchandise sold, I lay another brick in the foundation of FARMERSTRENGTH™. Selling fitness wear, sportswear, and accessories isn’t just about the item—it’s about creating a community that believes in what FARMERSTRENGTH™ stands for: resilience, interconnectedness with nature, and the pursuit of strength in all areas of life.

The Path Forward: Sell a Million T-Shirts, Build the Dream

Selling apparel isn’t just a strategy—it’s the fuel for everything I envision FARMERSTRENGTH™ to become. Each sale takes me one step closer to building the training sanctuary I see in my mind, a place where people from all walks of life can rediscover their connection to nature, their bodies, and their potential. My goal is to create a movement that inspires people to grow stronger every day.

I’ve been blessed by the support I’ve received—from volunteers who’ve helped me grow my website to strangers across the world who believe in the FARMERSTRENGTH™ mission enough to buy a t-shirt. With every sale, I am reminded that this dream is possible. Yes, the goal is big: sell a million t-shirts. But with each step forward, I’m getting closer to making FARMERSTRENGTH™ a reality.

And I’ll continue to build—one t-shirt, one connection, one day at a time.

Thank you for being part of the FARMERSTRENGTH™ journey. Every item you purchase helps build this vision, and together, we can grow stronger. SHOP NOW and join the movement!

Thank you for reading my blog to enjoy more stories about our journey, click here for more.