The Story

We're stoked you're here. Thank you for your time. Here's the story of this company and its founder, Evan.

A lot of guys that make the cut in Special Operations have similar backgrounds. Evan, our founder, was no different. He got into a fair amount of trouble growing up. Getting suspended and after school detention was a regular occurrence for him, usually for fighting. He was into hardcore/punk music in high school and would go to shows in Baltimore and Washington DC. He also didn't play standard sports in school. Instead, he was an avid climber. He frequented Seneca Rocks, The New River Gorge and smaller crags around MD and VA. He also travelled to France to rock climb one summer and made a winter ascent of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, after four winter attempts, with friends from a Search and Rescue group. Evan graduated high school by the skin of his teeth, but not because it was too hard.

"High school wasn't a good fit for me, and my behavior didn't help matters at all." Says Evan.  

He decided to see if he could make it through BUD/S after graduation, and it worked out as he graduated first in his class. 

"It's pretty crazy looking back on the transition from high school to the military. It was proof that once you find your calling and give it everything you have, things can turn out well. You have to be very willing to make personal changes and commit to positive growth." He said.

He spent 20 years in Special Operations, kicking doors and deploying a lot.

Evan says, "My time spent in the military was incredible. It was 90% awesome and 10% nightmare, like many careers out there that have high consequences. I sustained a couple of brain injuries, broke bones and got the usual joint problems that come with doing that kind of work. I spent time in two TBI specific facilities healing up and was discharged from the Navy in 2014. My first move was to head west and build a new life."

 

Evan and his daughter

Evan made his way to the mountains of Sun Valley, Idaho, to restart things. He picked Sun Valley after meeting Mike Torres, from Smith Optics, who encouraged him to consider the small ski town above other places he was considering. He was sold after checking the place out.

His first job was with Alpine Tree Service running chainsaws, dragging logs, and operating a 30-ton crane. That's where he met Weylin Barret and Alden Carter who taught him how to ski. He loves being a part of a team, doing hard work. His boss at Alpine, Pat Rainey, "Pat was one of the best bosses I have ever had." He says. Shortly after that he worked for Violent Little Machine Shop for a few months, learning the ropes of e-commerce from the owner, Yanne.

In 2015 Evan started Thirty Seconds Out, a commando inspired apparel brand. The name Thirty Seconds Out comes from the military. Let's say your flying in helicopters to a bad guy "hide-out." Time hacks get passed over the radio, and hand signals are given, so you know how close you are to the target. Standard time hacks are ten minutes, six minutes, three minutes, one minute, thirty seconds!  At the thirty-second hack, you know it's on, and you're likely not turning back. This is usually when the endorphins kick in. You know you need to execute and perform at the highest level. That's where the name comes from and we're sure you can relate from your life experiences!

There are a lot of parallels between this specific military experience and pursuits in the civilian world. You might be at the start of an important athletic event? Maybe you're about to make a presentation that you have to nail? Or you might be thirty seconds away from a potentially life-changing moment? 

At Thirty Seconds Out, our mission is to make incredible apparel and designs that inspire you to think critically, achieve success, laugh with each other and instill a dose of mental fortitude. 

We're expanding! We have been getting tons of orders from Europe over the years, so we opened warehouses in the UK and Germany, so our customers there can get our gear at local shipping rates, quickly!

Thanks for taking the time to learn about the brand we are building with an excellent team! Learn more about them HERE!

Onward,

Thirty Seconds Out Team