FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — From a younger age, Chris Cruz had a little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit.
He offered chocolate bars in elementary college. In center college, he’d carry Capri Suns to promote to classmates for $1.
“I suppose I form of all the time wished to be my very own boss,” mentioned Cruz, who medically separated from the Military at Fort Bragg final month.
The trail to turning into his personal boss continued with becoming a member of the Military — one thing he knew he wished to be in since he was 5.
“I used to be born in Guam, earlier than shifting to Kentucky, and most of the people from Guam just about be a part of the army to get off the island,” he mentioned. “However I joined for the service, too. Most of my household has been army.”
Cruz’s time within the Military led him to create his enterprise, Anubis Design Group, in 2018.
The title Anubis comes from watching the film “The Mummy” and is an Egyptian god that saved evil out of Egypt.
“It’s form of mysterious, form of just like how some folks within the army will come out of the shadows or darkness to cease unhealthy folks,” he mentioned.
The primarily on-line enterprise focuses on creating tactical nylon gear and comfortable items, together with personalized clothes for army service members, legislation enforcement and civilians.
Cruz mentioned his give attention to tactical nylon gear is as a result of he typically modified his personal army gear “to make it extra customized or higher.”
“Folks in my models would see that I used to be modifying my very own stuff and requested me to do no matter modifications they wanted, and it took off from there,” he mentioned.
In 2018, Cruz mentioned, certainly one of his buddies within the fifth Particular Forces Group requested him to switch a chest rig — a tactical vest used for holding gear — and so as to add a few patches to it.
The buddy was happy with the work and inspired Cruz to begin his personal enterprise.
Cruz mentioned he’s grown from hand stitching to utilizing heavier industrial machines.
He customizes and makes armor plate carriers that maintain ballistic armor, chest rigs that maintain ammunition and different gear, and general-purpose pouches.
“The vests are what we’re extra well-known for, however it’s not simply gear,” mentioned. “We’ve got T-shirts and hats and are attempting to department into different issues like images and landscaping.”
Cruz was in a position to showcase his gear throughout a dive competitors hosted by the third Particular Forces Group at Fort Bragg in June. He plans to be current at a gun present in Fayetteville earlier than he relocates to Texas.
Although shifting to Texas, Cruz mentioned he has 4 different troopers working with him, and the enterprise is primarily an e-commerce mannequin, which means clients can place orders on-line.
“We’ve got our extra available merchandise in inventory, however we will do customized orders,” he mentioned.
Cruz mentioned he welcomes military-connected clients but additionally desires to have a attain past the army, which is why he has gadgets that civilians should purchase, too.
Customized orders have a $35 non-refundable payment and take about seven to 10 enterprise days, however might take longer relying on the request.
“Aside from myself, the opposite guys are lively obligation, so it might fluctuate,” he mentioned.
