Military Athlete T-Shirt Design Collaborative

We’re looking for t-shirt designs submitted by you, the Military Athlete. We will cover the design expenses and manufacturing fees, and your t-shirt design will be featured on the Mountain Tactical Institute website store. You’ll keep the profit, estimated at $4 per t-shirt. The MTI staff will pick the top five design submissions to be featured on the MTI store. Design submission deadline is June 27, 2016

The Designer:

• Active Duty Only
• Branch immaterial
• Rank immaterial
• MOS immaterial

Requirements for Submissions:

• The Design
  • This can be hand drawn sketches, adapted stock internet photo’s, photoshop craftiness (vector format), or a written description. Whatever method best depicts your design.
  • The design will be crafted through a graphic designer with your input guiding project.
  • Official branch emblems and unit emblems are not permitted due to Department of Defense Trademark Licensing. Link for reference… DoD Trademark
  • No memorial designs (example: Battlefield Cross with boots and rifle, KIA date). If you want the design centered around a fallen comrade, give us a design of what you remember about him/her.
  • Avoid the cliche military or strength and conditioning designs. Be original. The Bulldog lifting a bent barbell isn’t what we’re looking for.
  • The Military Athlete logo will go on the back between the shoulder blades, and your design will go on the front of the t-shirt (no wrap around designs).
  • T-Shirt Color: OD Green
  • Design and text Color: What color? Must be the same for both. One color only
  • Any additional information for your design

• The Story  
  • We want the story, behind your design, inspired by your time in the military. 600 words or less.
  • Provide a written description which will tell your story and explain the significance of your design. Your story will be featured in the product description on the Mountain Tactical Institute online store
  • We want your story from the worst ruck of your life, a deployment, a training event, whatever military inspired story you have.

• Personal Vetting  
  • We will need a photo of your Military ID (CAC Card) to verify your identity.
  • Basic training record which shows your PFT scores, military schools attended, and unit to which you are assigned. Please block out any personal information you do not want us to see. This information will be immediately deleted once you have been vetted by us, and will not be shared to any other parties.

How it Will Work:

1. You (the designer) will submit your initial design by June 27, 2016.
2. MTI will submit your design to a graphic artist. You continue to refine the direction of the design with MTI and the graphic designer.
3. Once the design is complete, we will print one t-shirt for you. You take pictures to “model” the t-shirt, which will then be uploaded to our website.
4. The shirt will be featured and sold on the MTI store. MTI will keep $4/shirt, and you’ll receive $4/shirt, paid to you quarterly.

Example Design and Story

The Story: You are on your first combat deployment in the Afghan/Pakistan border area, interdicting enemy supply routes through the brutal terrain of the Hindu Kush. You haven’t encountered the enemy yet, and the new guy excitement of your first deployment is quickly wearing down as you continue to move your ruck through this wicked landscape. On a seemingly routine security patrol, you hear the abrupt chatter of a PKM firing towards your squad from the ridge line 500m above. The crack of a round traveling by your head brings you back to reality. You hear the “contact” call and the immediate action drills you’ve rehearsed thousands of times takes over. You move to cover, return fire, and your squad begins laying down a volume of suppressive fire that would make the gods of war smile. You move to the sound of the enemy gun, getting to within range for your buddy to get his M203 in the game. He sends a three 40mm HEDP into the enemy position, and the enemy fire abruptly stops. You popped your cherry.

The Design: A sketch of the M203 with the slide forward

We’re doing a similar project on the Mountain Athlete side. Here’s a few examples of their designs and stories  

Rob’s Story: The two monster mule deer bucks lay butt to butt, tucked in on the uphill side of a couple scraggly pines, 200 yards from the top of the ridge.

Stalking from above was impossible. Both bucks lay looking uphill.

Downhill I scrambled, out of sight, and dipped over the basin ridge level with them. Shoes off, double wool socks on, I began my stalk. Slow, steady, with hill micro features and the scraggly pines hiding my approach. I couldn’t see the bucks. They couldn’t see me.

70 yards. 60 yards. 50 yards to the tree.

Slowly I rise, eager to get a peak of antler in the mid-morning sunlight.

I see antlers, alright, a whole rack, and his body, and his eyes. I’m busted.

The buck, snorts, turns and busts up over the top of the ridge, his sleeping buddy close behind.

Seven miles in, alone, tired, sunburned, discouraged, and nearly out of water, I alternate between self pity and pure adrenaline. So close, yet so far!!

I’ve rifle hunted most my life. Self taught. But I’m relatively new to bowhunting. At 48 I’ve come slow to the summer/fall sport which most perfectly aligns with my interests, limited physical abilities, and love of the mountains.

I love fishing too, but it’s quite not physical enough. Fast packing was my passion for a few years – I liked moving fast in the mountains, but no longer. Now like to linger, experienced and explore. Rock climbing? Too technical for me.

The allure of backcountry bowhunting lies in it’s rugged simplicity, and exponential complexity and wild beauty.

Rarely are you on a trail. It’s bushwhacking the whole way.

Details matter. The more I hunt, the more I pay attention. It’s a crash course in becoming mountain aware. A
ll muscle and rush sends you home empty. Finesse and patience are key.

It’s so beautiful. Steaming hot early fall days. Crisp, clear, starlit nights. Greens, grays, browns, blues and blacks. Cold, clear spring water straight from the rock.

The game. Nothing can break your heart like getting busted 20 yards from a monster mule deer. Nothing is as wild and raw as bull elk screaming at each other.

No design could capture all that a hunt gives. Mine only aims to make the suggestion, tug at our hunting instincts, and let the imagination fill in the rest.

Lindsay’s story: Throughout my life my dad has played an especially strong role in developing my love for the mountains.When I was younger, I was always chasing my dad, whether it was scrambling up a New Hampshire Peak, or drafting behind him on a road bike ride. When it came time to make any difficult decision, it was a family ritual for my father to choose a difficult ski run and we would continuously ski down that trail until we made the decision. This is how I chose the high school I went to and then a few years later, which college I would attend.

As I have gotten older and developed my own backcountry skiing and climbing skills, the role between my dad and I has shifted. Now I am the one that is leading him in the mountains and showing him the diffarent opportunities that skiing can provide. Together we have submitted Mt. Rainier, the Grand Teton, and ski toured off a sailboat in Norway.

The mountains continue to be an environment where my dad and I connect. By sharing these adventures together our relationship continues to get stronger.

This image is symbolic of a dynamic father daughter relationship and the environment which we share laughs, life advice, and adventures.

Interested or questions? Contact charles@militaryathlete.com