Ranger Up is an American apparel company that is owned and operated by military veterans. Their T-shirt designs typically involve themes from the armed forces, mixed martial arts, and historical figures.[1]
History
The company was founded in 2006 by Nick Palmisciano, a former US Army infantry officer and Tim Kennedy an Army Special Forces veteran. While working on his MBA at Duke University, Palmisciano began making T-shirts for ROTC students and selling them to military personnel as a way to stay connected to the community. In 2014, the brand was among the top 1,000 internet vendors[2] and has since utilized its success to run various programs for other veteran entrepreneurs.[3]
According to its founders, one of the goals of Ranger Up is to empower and encourage other veterans to share their skills and talent with the private sector.[4] They launched their line of Ranger Up Jeans in 2013 with the help of celebrity veterans like Brian Stann.[citation needed] The company had stopped selling jeans by 2017.[5]
In 2014, the company started a "vetrepreneur" program that entailed hiring veterans for one year, and then backing their start-up venture for another six months.[6]
In 2015, Ranger Up collaborated with another veteran-run apparel company, Article 15 Clothing (now out of business), to produce the feature-length indie film, Range 15. The movie cost $1.8 million to make, with $1.1 million raised via crowdfunding on Indiegogo. Range 15 premiered at the GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C., where it took the GI Choice Film Award.[citation needed] It later opened to the public at more than 350 theatres nationwide.[10]
