From a younger age, Chris Cruz had a little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit.
He bought chocolate bars in elementary faculty. In center faculty, he’d carry Capri Suns to promote to classmates for $1.
“I suppose I form of all the time needed to be my very own boss,” stated Cruz, who medically separated from the Army at Fort Bragg final month.
The trail to turning into his personal boss continued with becoming a member of the Army — one thing he knew he needed 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 part of the army to get off the island,” he stated. “However I joined for the service, too. Most of my household has been army.”
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Cruz’s time within the Army 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 much like how some individuals within the army will come out of the shadows or darkness to cease dangerous individuals,” he stated.
The primarily on-line enterprise makes a speciality of creating tactical nylon tools and smooth items, together with custom-made clothes for army service members, regulation enforcement and civilians.
Cruz stated his concentrate on tactical nylon tools 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 stated.
In 2018, Cruz stated, one among his buddies within the fifth Special Forces Group requested him to switch a chest rig — a tactical vest used for holding tools — and so as to add a few patches to it.
The pal was happy with the work and inspired Cruz to start out his personal enterprise.
Cruz stated 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,” stated. “We’ve T-shirts and hats and try to department into different issues like images and landscaping.”
Cruz was capable of showcase his gear throughout a dive competitors hosted by the third Special 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 stated 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.
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“We’ve our extra available merchandise in inventory, however we are able to do customized orders,” he stated.
Cruz stated he welcomes military-connected clients but in addition needs to have a attain past the army, which is why he has objects that civilians should buy, too.
Customized orders have a $35 non-refundable charge and take about seven to 10 enterprise days, however may take longer relying on the request.
“Apart from myself, the opposite guys are energetic obligation, so it may range,” he stated.
Clients wanting modified gear are requested to ship a return label earlier than work begins and is agreed upon.
To take a look at Anubis Design Group, go to www.anubisdesigngroup.com and observe the enterprise on Instagram.
Clients can attain out instantly by emailing information@anubisdesigngroup.com.
Workers author Rachael Riley could be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
