Hello and welcome to Fire in the Gut – Innovative Performance Shirts for Athletes with a Warrior Attitude.  My name is Tim Grizzell.  I started this company because I am passionate about technical clothing and how it can help inspire others to pursue extraordinary athletic endeavors.

Fire in the Gut is all about motivation, strong will and determination.  Fire in the Gut gets its origin from the United States Navy SEAL teams.  The “Fire in the Gut” award is presented to the graduating Navy SEAL candidate in each Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) class who demonstrates the best attitude throughout the entire 26 weeks of BUD/S training.  It is an award that is voted upon by your fellow classmates.  In short, Fire in the Gut is the “No-Quit” attitude of a Navy SEAL warrior.

I am a former Navy SEAL officer who conducted special operation missions in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.  I am originally from the Pacific Northwest and growing up I was a middle distance runner.

PHOTO: Picture of Me just before BUD/S graduation, June 1993

Since leaving the SEAL teams, I have run a number of marathons and plan to run numerous more.   I paddle kayaks.  I am an avid alpine skier.  My favorite place to ski is in Telluride, Colorado where I can get my fair share of bumps and tree skiing.  I am a husband. I am a father of three children.  I coach AYSO youth soccer in my spare time.  My 6-year old son has already informed me that he will be playing for the Denver Broncos.

My passion for athletic clothing started at an early age.  I always saved any birthday money or money earned from chores to spend on products at the local sports store.  When I was in the SEAL teams, I used to make some of my own gear with the sewing machines kept in the Air Department (where all the parachutes are kept).  I have always been fascinated with how fabric technology can help improve an athlete’s performance.   

It is this passion that led me to embark on a journey to design, develop and manufacture the most innovative performance shirts in the marketplace.

Photo: Blowing our competition out of the water!

The first step in the process was to identify a unique fabric technology that would truly make a difference in an athlete’s performance.   Let us face it – as an athlete, you sweat.  So, I wanted to manufacture a shirt that would absorb a lot of sweat and that would dry really fast.  By doing this, the shirt helps regulate body temperature.  For an in-depth discussion on this topic, I invite you to read my first blog entry, please click here.

I also wanted to develop a shirt that would not smell during or after a workout.  I am sure most of you still have workout clothing in your drawer that you would not think of wearing again after one workout because the odor emanating from the shirt is so foul.  There are many benefits to not smelling like a dirty old gym sock.  In my mind, there is one benefit though that serves a higher purpose.  This benefit is that it helps our planet because the shirt does not have to be washed after every workout if it does not stink.  Statistics indicate that 82% of the carbon footprint of apparel comes from the consumer washing a garment, not from the manufacturing process.  Just think about the positive change you are making to our environment by not washing your garment after every use.  If your Fire in the Gut shirt does not smell, I encourage you to wear it again before you wash it.

The fabric technology we identified to meet these two requirements was Cocona Fabrics.  In addition to the benefits of regulating body temperature and being odor resistant, the fabric also provides UV protection – up to 50 SPF.   To find out more about our fabric partner, please click here.


Once the fabric was identified, the final goal was to design a shirt based upon the theory of “form follows function.”  The shirt had to serve a function for its intended use.  The function is two parts (1) allow your arms to move freely without any abrasion of seams against your skin and (2) the shirt has to provide a close enough fit that allows the fabric technology to do its job.

	How did we do this?  We relocated the seams on a basic shirt.  The seam on the sleeve is on the outside (top of the shoulder) instead of underneath the arm where it usually is for most shirts.
	Also, the seams on the main body of the shirts are relocated towards the back.  By making these small adjustments, you do not have two seams rubbing against each other when you move your arms.
We also used flatlock stitching so the seam lies flat against your skin instead of being abrasive.  Design-wise, our shirts are semi-fitted which means they skim the contours of the body – allowing the fabric technology to work.  Now you can see that the design of our shirt follows the function of the shirt.

The primary design use was originally intended for running

We have had wear testers use this shirt for hiking, cycling, yoga, paddleboarding and even doing CrossFit (www.crossfit.com).

We believe that there is always room for improvement and we welcome any and all feedback at Fire in the Gut.  In the SEAL teams, we had a saying, “There is no ‘I’ in team!”  At Fire in the Gut, we cannot go at this alone and develop in vacuum without the help of our customers (our teammates).

I will close by saying that I am fired up to bring our products to all of you.  Go pursue the extraordinary in your athletic endeavors!

Tim Grizzell