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You will see a lot of companies now online saying they make the best - the best hoody, the best t-shirt, the best shorts, the best tech pant, the best underwear, the best of the best - blahblahblah. That has always made me laugh because who really has the arrogance to say they are the best. The consumer makes that call and that has to be consistent over years.

When I started working on FR. over 10 years ago - my goal was simple. Build quality products the right way while doing the right thing. That means a lot and it covers a lot of ground…but it is really quite simple.

Engineer quality fabrics.

Understand how fit is dictated by the fabric.

Use quality construction methods that have been proven over decades.

Treat your supply chain with the utmost of respect. That took me time over my career to understand what that actually meant. Nobody wants to make mistakes. They just sometimes happen because there are so many people involved who touch a single piece of clothing like a hoody or a t-shirt. The key is for everyone involved to work together to make everyone happy…something a lot of brands need to learn.

In my work life today, I pretty much live in a t-shirt and when it's cooler, I put on a hoody because of the sheer feeling of comfort that goes with it.

Times have changed significantly since my music days in the 80s. I am almost 60 now, so I am basically an old man. I am an old man.

I dress the way I want and haven’t wore a suit since January of 2019 when I stood at the PGA Show selling shiny shirts and pants.

A hoody seems like its pretty easy to design and make as there are a million out there ranging from 20 bucks to 1500 depending on the brands justification for charging that.

It took me years to get the FR. hooded jacket right because it's complicated to get it right.

I wanted to use organic cotton that draped perfectly and held its shape. The fit had to work for the build of an athlete. It had to get better with every wear and wash. The zippers had to be hardwearing but minimal.

The hood had to have some body to it when you pulled it up.

We spent months and months developing this fabric and fit to make sure we can have consistency with our sizing.

We launched this hoody last month and put it in the fr. shop when it was 30 degrees Celsius outside. But people always seemed to stop and feel the fabric and wanted to learn more about it. Some people bought them right away and some wanted to wait until the weather was going to change, which is now.

I live in this hooded jacket - I only have a black one because I am trying too keep my wardrobe as simple as possible. It goes perfectly with my 3 year old RGT jeans and an FR. T-shirt. It's great for hanging out on the couch watching Youtube videos on Japanese camping or motorcycle videos so I don’t crap my pants in a tight corner.

I wear before my rides and after.

When I get on a plane again - it will be the only piece I will travel with.

I will never say we make the best of anything, but I can assure you that we put years into creating this hoody because I want it to be in someone's life for years.

Making locally means - Knit here. Dyed here. Sewn here. - Not the bullshit of made in Canada, but oh yeah our fabric is from China like a lot of brands are doing. I don’t like that. We make everything here.

If you are considering adding a new hoody to your rotation, I hope you will take some time to research why ours is built the way it's built. Because I just want to build good product the right way that lasts…


Thanks for reading

- Ralph