Naman Shrestha
There was reportedly little attention paid to the comfort level and sizing of men’s underwear until Jared Mortensen identified a gap in the industry and created more comfortable, size-inclusive underwear for men under his brand, Real Men Apparel Company. The founder made an appearance on the seventh episode of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 18 episode 7 and highlighted the issues that his company solves through his story. During his pitch to the Sharks, Jared also spoke at length about the business model and his future plans.
Real Men Apparel Company: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
Jared Mortensen brought the idea for Real Men Apparel Company to life by drawing on years of experience across various sectors of the corporate world. While majoring in finance at Southern Utah University, he was a Planning Engineer/CNC Programmer at Metalcraft Technologies, Inc., and a Manufacturing Research and Development Intern at Boeing for a few months in 2003. Jared returned to Boeing in May 2004 as a Finance Analyst, a position he held until June 2005, when he joined Spirit AeroSystems as a Financial Planning Analyst. Between late 2005 and early 2007, he owned Cascade Wholesale/The Mortensen Group, LLC before returning to Spirit AeroSystems in January 2007 as a Senior Financial Planning Analyst.
After working for more than three years at the company, Jared worked in the Operations Excellence department at Koch Industries and then as a Senior Procurement Commodity Manager at Textron/Cessna Aircraft Company. From October 2013 to April 2019, Jared was employed at Textron Aviation, where he started out as Director of Finance, then moved up the ranks to Value Stream Manager and finally Business Leader. He then served as Vice President of Administration at Cosmic Pet, before working at Doskocil Manufacturing as Vice President of Data Science and Analytics for a few months in 2022. While busy with his corporate jobs, Jared faced the same underwear-fit problems many other men do, which sparked the idea for Real Men Apparel Company.
In the initial stages of developing his own underwear designs, Jared studied more than 1,000 pairs from around the world to identify ways to make them more size-inclusive and comfortable. After a lot of research and development, he created full-suspension underwear that offers flexibility and an ABCD pouch sizing system, inspired by bra cup sizing. That’s when he launched Real Men Apparel Company in August 2021 out of his Haysville, Kansas, home. At first, in 2022, Jared sold his products on Amazon before expanding to TikTok in the following year. In the first year, Real Men Apparel Company reportedly made $1 million in sales. By 2024, Jared had officially opened the official website. The founder’s objective is not only to provide better, more comfortable underwear options, but also to raise awareness of the terminology for them in a non-embarrassing manner.
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Real Men Apparel Company: Where Are They Now?
Over the years, Real Men Apparel Company has shown steady growth, expanded its team, and built a solid presence in the apparel industry. The company has increased its local workforce by adding team members in Kansas, including two of Jared Mortensen’s sons. Furthermore, a remote team has also been set up with members in North Carolina, Bolivia, and the Philippines. In November 2026, Mortensen shared some insights on the company’s growth and his dreams for its future in an interview with Miami Herald. From not taking home a salary for two years at the beginning and being “underwear rich and cash poor,” to showcasing optimism and estimating the company’s sales would reach about $13 million, Mortensen and his baby, Real Men Apparel Company, have come a long way.
While the company’s warehouse is based in Wichita, Kansas, Mortensen quipped that he set up a global headquarters at his home in Haysville. In total, the team at Real Men Apparel Company comprises about 25 employees. He is also big on charity and donates returned customer products to those in need. “There’s a lot of homeless people walking around in pretty comfortable underwear — premium underwear,” he said. Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, he divulged, “You just see them laughing in their eyes” — now some people have even told him they had the same idea for a company but just didn’t do it. The thing is if you’re going to be an entrepreneur or do something really different, you have to have grit.”
The company deals in Boxer Briefs, Briefs, Bikini Briefs, Jocks, Thongs, Leggings, and Athletic Shirts. You can purchase a wide range of products, including boxer briefs, sport briefs, bikini briefs, strapped jocks, briefs, leggings, and more, from the company’s official website. The set of three ComfortFlex 7in Boxer Briefs is available for $39.99, while the set of three BrushFlex 7in V-Fly Boxer Briefs is priced at $49.99. The price of other boxer briefs ranges from $8.42 to $59.99, depending on the set. Marking a first in the history of Real Men Apparel Company, the team held a double launch in mid-November, dropping leggings and modal no-fly boxer briefs. Given its success, Mortensen has many plans for the company’s future, including introducing new product lines, ranging from pants and shirts to shoes. When asked about his vision, the founder stated that he aims for the company to reach $1 billion in sales.
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