GETTIN PERSONAL

For the past few weeks I've been ramblin on and on about missions, goals, and products. So today I thought I'd get a little more personal.

My name's Pat Lange, founder and "3EO" of Ingzig. I'm a pacifistic idealistic kid at heart whose favorite sports are motocross and ice hockey. Yet regardless of the type of competition chances are you'll find me rootin for the underdog. I absolutely adore music and have been playin drums and dashboards on and off since I was thirteen. I'm a deeply impassioned person with an undermining tendency to be more moved than motivated, and little if anything moves me more than seein someone successfully doin what he or she loves to do. And quite frankly, little has affected me more adversely over the years than my own inability to make the same claim.

In the short story Cafes Are For Handicapping, a story Steve Chandler refers to in his book 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, Terry Hill writes about a character named Joe Warner, a reporter who was in the press box at Belmont when the now legendary Secretariat put away the Triple Crown by 31 lengths. "I looked around me as he was coming down the stretch, and all these hardened cigar-chomping New York newspapermen had tears running down their cheeks like little babies. Of course I couldn't see too clearly myself for the tears in my own eyes."

"This story," says Steve Chandler, "brings me closer to a question I've been asking all my life: why do we get all choked up when witnessing great accomplishments?" "My theory," he explains, "is that we weep for the winner in all of us, that in poignant moments like these we cry because we know for a fact that there is something in us that could be every bit as great as what we are watching. We are, for the moment, the untapped greatness we are seeing, and we get tears in our eyes because we know that that greatness isn't being realized."

The reason I bring it up here is because this story, along with Mr. Chandler's interpretation of it, pretty much describes me to a tee. You see for most of my life I too have watched others pursue their dreams while I passively sit on the sidelines thinkin, "I could do that." And I mean that quite literally. Ya see for years I'd buy concert tickets that were far from the most coveted seats in the house, opting instead for those that were way off to the side of the stage where I could get a much better look at the drummer. And there I'd vicariously sit, thinkin, "man that could be me." The sad thing is I still do the same thing today; watchin, wonderin, what if I'd stuck with it? What if I'd kept it up?

At thirteen I honestly had no idea of the impact my on-again-off-again relationship with drummin would have on the rest of my life. And today at fifty-one I can't even begin to tell ya. But hey, the good news is that for the past seven years (my longest stint to date) I've once again been playin on a regular basis. And I gotta say it's been both moving and motivating. Like the Charmin, I'm on a roll. See ya next time. Till then, keeep it up.

TEE TIME

Amidst all the uproar of racetracks and arenas last time around you may recall a remote reference to t-shirts. And that's what I'd like to talk about today, because as ambitious as our goals might be here at Ingzig, as sincere and excited as we are about pursuing them, for now, t-shirts (and a handful of stickers) are all we've got to rave about.

From its nineteenth century origins as something with a Henley neck and buttons to its current iconic status, the t-shirt (a long time personal favorite of mine) has become an American staple. And while we have absolutely no intentions of building a reputation as a clothing company, we're convinced that this beloved classic is a perfect fit.

Now as much as I'd like to tell ya our t-shirts are made of some of the finest fabrics from around the globe, and that we covertly whisk off to undisclosed exotic locations in search of these indigenous textiles, the truth is these threads are pretty much your run of the mill stuff. But once again, even here our prospective goals are nothin short of ambitious. Meaning that while we can't expect to be top of the line right outta the gate, we will (and continually do) strive to offer up the highest quality products within our price range.

What we feel is most essential right now, however, is that our growing line of products continue to reflect our foremost values and vision. And thus far, each and every individual design is in its own unique and spirited way doing exactly that by giving a well-deserved nod to the unadorned art of Everyday Earnest Effort, as well as, collectively representing an integral part of a much anticipated greater good.

Here at Ingzig we have a number of philanthropic programs we hope to introduce in the near future, and the success of our products will be instrumental toward implementing those programs. After all it's about much more than simply spreading the good word, it's about sharing some good will.

So ask yourself, do you need to be wearing an Ingzig original to realize your own potential? Of course not, and I'll be the first to tell ya that. Like Lieutenant Kaffee said to Lance Corporal Dawson in the film A Few Good Men, "You don't need to wear a patch on your arm to have honor." However, with that said, we'd be no less than honored if you chose one of our products to help celebrate that potential to the very fullest. Thanks for your continued support. See ya next time. Till then, keeep it up.