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Vision without execution is just hallucination. - Old Chinese Proverb One year ago, almost to the exact date, Josh sat with me at my house's counter bar and we had a dreaming session. I asked him, "What is the one thing that we could do with this brand that you don't think is possible?" He told me he wanted to race Ultra 4 and we could film the journey of him never racing before to racing his first race. The budget and time commitment to do this were daunting. However, with hard work and determination, we finally had the resources to make it happen. This is episode one of that series. Watch as we tell the story of Josh Patterson, Founder of Off The Grid, go from never racing before to racing King Of The Hammers 2021. This is vision WITH execution. While it might be a one? two? three? year runway, if you believe it in your heart and pursue it, your dreams can come true. This is what this series is all about and we are proud to share it with you. - Bobby Klein, OTG CEO Featuring: Josh Patterson, Bobby Klein, Dave Cole, JT Taylor, Bryan Crofts, Dawson Allington, Matt Howell, Jason Scherer, Wes Inskeep

What goes on behind the scenes at King of the Hammers - The toughest 1-day race in the world?? We are Off The Grid, the official apparel sponsor for Ultra4 Racing and King of the Hammers, follow us as we talk to top race teams like the Gomez Brothers and discover how their outdoor, adventure, feature-rich clothing is put to the ultimate test. We also happen to be at the finish line when Raul Gomez comes storming back into Hammertown in a dust of glory.  

Today is my three year anniversary as CEO and managing partner Off The Grid Surplus, an apparel company founded by my business partner and clothing designer who purchased the "OFF THE GRID" trademark for apparel dating back to 2012.  I am a big believer that if you don't know why you are doing what you are doing, if you don't have a deep-rooted purpose, you will be unhappy, and the road will be difficult. But if you do have a driving purpose behind your action the road will be less emotionally difficult as what you are doing is needed in the world. You have locked in your "why." THE DO-DO CONVERSATION I always want to have the "do-do" conversation in anything I invest in. If you are not familiar with this exercise, it is pretty simple you keep asking yourself, what does what you do… do?  Here is an example: > Off The Grid makes functional apparel.  What does that do? > Functional apparel inspires people to seek out adventure.  What does that do? > Seeking out adventure creates opportunities for connection with other people.  What does that do? > Connection with other people creates opportunities for shared wisdom.  What does that do? > Shared wisdom could change someone's life for the better.  Based on these types of conversations, WE have gone through several "purpose" or "vision" statements, but we recently landed on one that I think is going to stick.  "We exist to inspire more connection through adventure"  In the last rendition we changed the ending to "connection through adventure." Let's be honest, we just ended 2020, and while we were the MOST ACTIVE on social media, we were the LEAST connected, and no one would argue that we were the MOST divided as a country.  Couple this with staying at home and not being able to connect with other people face to face; our vision statement is solving a very real problem. Let me just run through a few issues I have experienced in my life: You go on vacation and come back feeling even more exhausted than when you left.  You find yourself scrolling on social media and you didn't even remember tapping the app, it was just a subconscious response.  You constantly look at your email and it stresses you out.  Your mind is distracted with all the "drama" around you, maybe with family or friends, so much so that you can't think for yourself anymore.  You can't remember the last time having a legitimate face to face, one-on-one conversation with your wife, kids, or close friend? You feel you have lost all connection with your purpose, any kind of passion or reason for living. Your dreams seem like a distant memory. OFF THE GRID IS A STATE OF MIND There are many thoughts that one thinks when they hear the phrase "off the grid". Whether those thoughts are about food storage, bunkers, wells, solar panels, fifth wheels, dirt bikes and UTV's; I want to propose another way to think of this phrase.  In the most basic sense, getting "off the grid" is disconnecting to connected. Getting away from the grind of your day-to-day, with the purpose of making healthy connections in your life. Get time off from work, go on a family vacation.  Turn off your phone for a weekend and go on a retreat with friends.  Leave your phone at your desk, go on a walk.  Use the iOS "Screen Time App" on your phone to limit AM screen time so you can establish a morning routine.  Delete a social media account and start journaling instead of spending hours making political arguments. The list goes on and on.  How are you getting "off the grid" in your life?  Is it making you a better person?  Where could you start?    NEXT POST: HOW & WHY OTG'S CEO IS GOING OFF THE SOCIAL GRID IN 2021 (Coming Next Week)

At the beginning of this COVID crisis, Disney's CEO stepped down and many others did the same.  I understand why. The amount of stress on a CEO for companies big and small is significant during times of economic uncertainty.  But to quit? Now that is something I will never do.  In my life, I have been through some difficult times, and every single time they have made me a stronger and better person. The benefits of some of these struggles took longer rather than shorter to materialize, but that is due to MY mindset and MY action.  So to speed up the process, I am not operating in fear, despite having hundreds of delayed orders in our Las Vegas 3rd party warehouse waiting for a depleted staff to scan them into their system so they can ship out.  I am not going to operate in a poverty mindset as shipping timelines have extended out not just for us but for many direct to consumer companies....even Amazon. Today, I am looking forward to the new storefront lease we signed on Grand Ave. in Escondido, CA. I recognize our future is not just selling purpose-built clothing online but also creating a meeting place for a community to come together, which is needed now more than ever.  Fear told me, you should NOT spend any money on this Willys because this round of pants is coming in small AFTER the last round came in big; so save that money to help pay for returns and exchanges. Fear tells me, how are you going to afford rent on the new lease? You should just try and get out of it.  Fear tells me, don't hire that new staff for the store, because you can't afford her.  Faith tells me, this too shall pass, DO NOT OPERATE IN FEAR. Take care of your customers, hire the new staff, and buy that Willys. Let it be a memento of getting through tough times.  Put that Jeep® in the center of your showroom floor as a reminder every day you step foot on the hardwood floors...this too shall pass.  I can't help to think about what people felt in 1944 when this model of "WWII" workhorse was a military-only vehicle.  Did they expect the war to end that year? Or did they think it was the end of the world as they knew it? The parallels are interesting to ponder.  This vehicle was considered such a valuable vehicle that General Eisenhower wrote that most senior officers regarded it as one of the five most important pieces of equipment used to win the war.  Winning sounds good right about now, I think I'll take it.  So stop by our showroom floor when we open next month (September 2020) and see what progress looks like even during tough times.  Speaking of progress, this actual Willys was built in 1948, three years after the war ended, as the CJ2a model. CJ stands for "Civilian Jeep". It was the catalyst to launch the Jeep® brand.  Out of war, out of hardship, out of struggle, a company emerged to produce in a time of peace.  We optimistically want to do the same. Join us on our journey.  For more stories like this, and If you want to tag along with us on the journey you can subscribe in the way YOU want, at the link below. https://offthegridsurplus.com/pages/subscribe We try to be as real as possible, sharing the good times and the difficult times of an apparel start-up company. We would NEVER sell or spam you and if you are not getting the value you deserve, you can opt-out at any time.  More Willys-Overland "Cherry Bomb" content coming soon!

The number one question we get asked on our social media ads is this... Are your products MADE IN THE USA!?!? And the answer is complicated, so buckle up. When Josh started this company, he did so by selling the brand out of his backpack.  He wanted to bring a true outdoor lifestyle brand to the off-roading, motorsports, adventure community, creating apparel specifically made for this audience.  But, there was one issue. As a husband and father of two living in Southern California, he wasn't rich, nor did he have a rich uncle.  So he would design and screenprint branded t-shirts and go to events like King of the Hammers and Sierra Del Sol, selling them out of his backpack.  He did this knowing that if it took off, even just a little bit, he would maybe have enough capital to truly serve this community with his expertise...cut n' sew product (which is very expensive to produce).  He was selling an idea on a budget... He knew that some of the other outdoor brands were against OHV use in the trails of our great country and he was over it.  He scraped together just enough time (while working full-time as an apparel designer for other major brands) to finally launch an Indiegogo campaign that raised just under $11,000 to finally launch our first cut n' sew product.  After getting all the money stolen in a wire transfer scam (another story for another day), he finally got the first round of Trailblazers... now known as the 1.0's... produced.  These pants sold out in 6 weeks and yes, they were made overseas.  Why?  TWO REASONS NUMBER ONE, It was cost-effective. Josh wasn't backed by a big investor.  Without this option, there is likely no Trailblazer 1.0s, and without the Trailblazer 1.0s it's also likely Off The Grid doesn't exist today. NUMBER TWO, technical fabric is extremely difficult to source in the USA.  There are little to no mills that produce exactly the function that was important to Josh, the fabrication,  stretch, weight, hand-feel... everything he knew he needed in the pants.  BUT WITH ALL THIS SAID WE ARE READY TO MOVE FORWARD... We have had a few years under our belt and with the current climate in this country, we have decided if we can make product in the US, we will. If we can't source it now, we won't stop until we at least have an option for USA made products (even if it costs us more). At the end of the day, USA made is more expensive, but that is OK, we believe if our audience wants it they will put their money where their mouth is and pony up.  This journey has already begun and has created some awesome new relationships with Multicam™ and  American factories that we are currently working alongside.   We are excited for our future in American made product.  For now, we are starting with what we know we can produce here.  T-Shirts and Hoodies. From here on out all OFF THE GRID Tees will be American-made.  Will they be a bit more expensive? Yep. But if you support this initiative we will continue to produce it, the more we produce the less costly it becomes. Simple supply and demand. SO... the question for you is this: If made available, is it important to you to buy American-made even if it costs a little more? 

We got the 4Runner stuck...really stuck. Hi-centered and we had to dig it out... in 100-degree heat.Fortunately, we had two strapping men to get the job done. We were out in Ocotillo Wells, CA (on private land) for a video shoot to show all the features of the new Thunderbolt Shirt. What we didn't know is that this (unplanned) circumstance gave us what we have come to believe is the BEST unintended feature of this amazing shirt. You see, Josh (OTG founder) and Jordan (Josh's brother-in-law) are known to sweat significantly while working, and digging out a hi-centered vehicle is some serious manual labor. Josh was wearing a typical cotton tee and Jordan was wearing the new Thunderbolt short-sleeve button-up. This is the first true test for the Thunderbolt Shirt and Jordan couldn't believe what he experienced. The shirt is a legitimate work shirt and comes in decently heavy; the small weighs nearly a pound so one would expect that it wouldn't do well in high heat.But... the way Josh designed the shirt it outperformed our expectations. Jordan couldn't believe how cool he stayed while sweating inside the shirt, he opened the front vent pocket and felt the slight breeze run through the shirt and out the back centerline vent. He said, "I literally feel cool right now, this shirt is insane". The air was hitting the sweat on his body and was keeping him cool. Now, this is how sweat is supposed to work, it evaporates and keeps us cool, but typically you look like Josh (pictured below) as the sweat seeps through the shirt and makes you look like you just got out of a dirty sauna. Jordan's shirt, on the other hand, looked nice and fresh, but still kept him cool because the Thunderbolt has a Teflon™ coating that is stain and water-resistant. So the sweat evaporated while staying on his body and did not seep through making him look like Josh. He was looking nice and fresh and believe me, he sweats just as much as Josh, if not more.Jordan owns a plumbing company called Major Plumbing out of Escondido, CA and he said that he couldn't wait for his guys to get in the shirt because they can sweat a ton, the shirt will keep them cool, AND they will still look professional.He has since ordered 50 shirts and is going to get them embroidered with his company logo for his plumbers. We wanted to share this with you because it is a great lesson that even when things don't go your way (like getting your rig stuck in the hot desert) the outcome might be very positive.Hence, the Thunderbolt shirt, now (as Jordan put it) with "built-in AC". Until next time, stay healthy and when everything opens up we will see you out there!  

The last 4 months have been rough. Rough for our customers, rough for our country, rough for us. There has been a significant amount of uncertainty.Our focus here at OTG, has been to stay positive and not get wrapped up in the fear. There were times when we thought we were not going to make it.We lost our warehouse, we delayed a lease signing of a new location, we had a month gap in which we couldn't ship anything, causing us to turn off all advertising and lose a majority of our cash flow.But we choose to believe that we AND our country will prevail and will be stronger because of this. Those who weather the storm AND NOT GIVE UP will recover.I can't help but think about the scene in Forrest Gump when all the shrimp'n boats were destroyed in a big storm, except for the Bubba Gump boat. It was because they stayed out at sea that they prevailed. Click below to watch the scene. We have stayed out at sea and continue to push forward, just today we wrote two new PO's for future product putting us on the hook for more $$. We have a mission and a vision and we are not putting that on hold because of some rough waters. We heard some of the stimulus checks were starting to roll through... please if you need them for your bills obviously take care of your families.If you have any left-over consider supporting any small business, they need you right now.We, unfortunately, are "too small" for the fed's PPP loan program, long story, but we may not get any assistance during this time and know that there are many other small businesses in the same boat. If you haven't seen already, we have put all our most popular products on sale to help out on our end. Thank you for your support during this time. P.S. Thunderbolt Shirt Preorder is currently live & Trailblazer 4.0 / 4.1 and Trailblazer Pro preorders will start in the next week. SHOP THE STIMULUS SALE SHOP THE THUNDERBOLT PREORDER

If you haven't heard what is going on at OTG, please read our post on our current situation here. This is a follow up to that post. Our customer's response to the delay has been mind-blowing, nearly 100% supportive. We are so grateful we have a customer base that is understanding during a troubling time.  I am happy to say we now have an end in sight.  Our #1 goal through this whole ordeal was to serve our customers in the best way possible. In the short term, to get the orders out quickly and in the long term, to ensure they will continue to receive excellent shipping times and service for many years to come.  We strongly considered bringing shipping back in-house as this would guarantee ship times for the short term, but considering our growth goals as a company,  it would very quickly turn into an operation too big for us to handle, not to mention take us away from our primary functions in the company.  So the only option was to find a 3rd party logistics company that is not only proven but also could receive our goods quickly to ship out. We talked to several and finally found one we feel is a great fit for what we do. They have gone head over heals to remedy this situation for us, pushing us to the front of every queue and will receive and start shipping in record time.  The good news? Barring a nationwide blackout shutdown, we will be shipping by the end of next week. Our inventory is already at the new facility in Las Vegas, NV getting checked in as I write this.  Again, thank you for your understanding and support during this trying time. We feel the love and will continue to work hard to provide you the best possible service and communication.  P.S. If you do want to support us during this time there are a couple of ways to do so. 1. Buy our upcoming preorders, the Thunderbolt Multi-Functional Button Up is already live at up to 25% off. Trailblazer 4.0/4.1 and Trailblazer Pro is coming soon. 2. To give back to you, we also put all our most popular products on sale (15-40% off), consider it our own little OTG stimulus package. Take a look and see if there is anything you want to restock on. Remember shipping is delayed until next week.  SALE PAGE Sincerely, Off The Grid Surplus Josh, Bobby & Patrick

We wanted to share what is currently happening at Off The Grid as we think it is important to stay 100% transparent during this time.  First, a quick rundown on what is happening. We were expecting a 1-2 week delay on all orders starting 2/24, which we communicated via website notifications and emails. This was due to a planned 3rd party warehouse move. Everything seemed to be on track until the new warehouse would not receive our goods so we could start shipping.  Two weeks passed and we were told COVID-19 was the reason, which was understood, but this last Friday, 3/20, we were told differently. On this day we received notice from our new warehouse that they had been acquired by another company and our goods would need to be moved to another warehouse before any processing of orders could take place, adding another "2 weeks" to the delay. Our ENTIRE inventory is sitting on pallets at a warehouse that has been acquired by another company, who is no longer operating out of that warehouse.  Quite honestly, we couldn't have been more frustrated, considering this likely was the reason all along our goods were not received. The lack of transparency is very disheartening.  We are now weighing options of going with the new company, moving the goods to another 3PL or just sending everything home and shipping ourselves.  We have reached out to several warehouse locations to see what a timeline would be to receive our goods. Due to the current situation with COVID-19 we are looking at up to 6-8 weeks. Not good news. We have reached out to all the customers who ordered post 2/23, and for the most part they have been amazingly patient, some of which have been waiting for a month to receive their goods. See our Instagram post on the matter here.  This is a critical time for us here at OTG and while it has been a painstaking process, we are keeping our heads high and are reminded that, at least, we currently have our health during this uncertain time. If you didn't know we are a small start-up, currently only 3 full-time employees and it is easy to get nervous about the impact of not only this but also what COVID-19 could do to us as a whole. Even with these ensuing thoughts, we believe that we have created something special with this company and these difficulties will only make us stronger in the end. If you appreciate our efforts to inspire people to get "off the grid" and supporting OHV use on BLM land, then we could use your help. Here are a few ways you can increase our chances of making it through this time.WAREHOUSE SPACE If you know anyone with extra warehouse space in North County San Diego, where we can sublet for a few months to buy us some time, please let us know. Our customers are our #1 priority and more than likely we will be shipping ourselves to get the orders out the fastest, but we need space to do so.  ORDER THE UPCOMING PREORDERSWe have three preorders tentatively scheduled - Thunderbolt Shirt - 3/24, Trailblazer 4.0/4.1 - 4/24 & Trailblazer Pro - 5/24 for delivery in May/June/July of this year. If you are a fan of our products and would likely order them anyway please order them in our preorder as this will help with our cash flow and allow us to stay afloat. We are giving an even bigger discount than we would typically give on these products to help  Get notified here. BE PATIENTIf you decide to make an order of in-stock items to support us, we have put several of our most popular products on sale to help on our end, please be patient, your order WILL get to you as soon as we can ship. We will be as open as possible to let you know when that will happen. It is times like these we can be encouraged by the goodwill of mankind that overpowers any works of evil in the world. If you can stand with us please do. We will continue to update you as we make these critical decisions to get operations back up and running.  Thank you for taking the time to listen,  Off The Grid Surplus Josh, Bobby & Patrick THERE IS AN UPDATE TO THIS POST HERE. 

Our very own Josh Patterson discusses his history with King of the Hammers and how this year was the best year yet. The 2019 race featured Off The Grid as the "Official Apparel Sponsor. AND Josh getting a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride in Tribe 16's 4510 race car with Matt Howell...DURING QUALIFYING!

WE CAN’T BELIEVE IT! When Josh started Off The Grid in 2012, it was one of his dreams to be a sponsor at King Of The Hammers. Josh grew up watching off-road racing and has been a huge fan of Ultra4 Racing, attending the race the last six years. The last three years we have been a vendor, scraping up enough money to get out there and support the Off Road & Rock Crawling crowd.

It's Labor Day and we just loaded out site up with some new product, so why not start moving it with a SALE! 15% off site wide, use code: LABORDAY18. Does not include Trailblazer 2.0 Presale or Trailblazer Sell Off Event.