The founder of Undrdog, Chuckie Gregory, with his son. Gregory has created viral treasure hunts around Southwest Florida giving away cash prizes and more. His clothing company touts plastic-free fabric with a lifetime guarantee. PROVIDED<\/p>\n
From plain T-shirts to treasure hunts, a clothing company founded by a Cape Coral resident has seen videos go viral over the past few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
UndrDog Hemp<\/a>, a company started by Cape Coral\u2019s Chuckie Gregory, has racked up millions of views for its treasure hunts across Southwest Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n What started as a simple, fun idea exploded, as the brand began dropping cryptic clues on social media. Locals chased the riddles, searching through parks and neighborhoods to find boxes that were filled with cash prizes and more.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really fun,\u201d Gregory said of putting together the hunts. \u201cEspecially in December because, you know, there\u2019s a lot of families that have a lot of money that\u2019s going out during the holiday season. Parents want to get their kids gifts. That\u2019s why we did a Nintendo Switch, and a dad and his daughter found it. So it\u2019s been really cool and rewarding to kind of be able to give back in that way.\u201d <\/p>\n The idea behind UndrDog\u2019s treasure hunts started with something deeply personal. Its founders say they spent years navigating infertility and eventually learning that polyester sheds \u2014 microplastics and chemical particles from synthetic fibers said to be linked to potential reproductive issues and other serious health risks.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always loved blank T-shirts,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a blank T person. And a couple of years ago, my wife and I were trying to have a baby and had fertility issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gregory had created a T-shirt brand with his partner before his research into polyester, as they were selling a polyester\/hemp blend.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the fertility issues, Gregory said he started going down a rabbit hole, and discovered what he said a lot of people find, which is, what we clean with, what we wash our bodies with, what we eat, and also what we wear can impact our health. Gregory said when he discovered the negative impacts, he decided he couldn\u2019t keep selling polyester products. <\/p>\n So, his team paused for about eight months to figure out how to create a better shirt without any synthetic materials. That\u2019s where they discovered bamboo, and intertwining hemp and bamboo together. They relaunched this past summer.<\/p>\n \u201cI really found out how like detrimental wearing plastic is, and polyester is made of plastic,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it was kind of eye-opening, especially since like all the men\u2019s blank T brands on the market are all made with polyester.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory said he brought on partners and assembled a small team of guys that believe in the \u201cget plastic off our skin\u201d movement. They went to developers with the concept of doing only natural fibers, and specifically wanted hemp and bamboo.<\/p>\n \u201cHemp has insane durability, and bamboo adds a lot of airflow, so it keeps it cool and doesn\u2019t trap heat,\u201d Gregory said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the idea, and then we launched and have been scaling up. And we have tried to come up with different fun ideas outside of just, you know, running ads like we do now. We have to kind of raise awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the treasure hunts came in.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019ve just kind of loved the idea of doing it really routinely here in Cape Coral,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cNot for necessarily the return, but just to give something fun in the city and to kind of give back a little bit. And it\u2019s kind of crazy, just like a fun little movement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, of, you know, people looking for the treasure and giving them something to do on Sundays.\u201d<\/p>\n The last treasure hunt of the year has already taken place, but Gregory said they\u2019ll be starting up in again in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the T-shirts, Gregory stands behind the product, and said for any guys out there that love a plain shirt, UndrDog is the way to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, there\u2019s just a lot of things that unintentionally have happened over the last few decades that have put a lot of chemicals and poison on us with what we\u2019re washing dishes with, or cleaning ourselves with, or wearing,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cWe need to get away from plastics. But the big message that a lot of people don\u2019t know is that polyester is plastic. They\u2019re hiding behind the word polyester instead of saying plastic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re made with only natural fibers and specifically, hemp and bamboo, which just makes for an insanely durable product, which makes it so we can sell it with a lifetime guarantee and it\u2019s just an insanely breathable blank T.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory said UndrDog has plans to expand into other clothing items, such as boxers, sweatshirts, shorts, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n To stay up to date on treasure hunts and for more information on UndrDog, visit\u00a0UndrDog.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow the brand on social media platforms.<\/p>\n