Ranger Up is an American apparel company that is owned and operated by military veterans. Their primary T-shirt designs typically involve armed forces, mixed martial arts, historical figures and liberty-related themes. The company was founded in 2006 by Nick Palmisciano, a former US Army infantry officer. While working on his MBA at Duke University, Palmisciano began making T-shirts for ROTC students and selling them to military personnel as a way to stay connected to the community. Since then the brand has become a Top 1,000 internet vendor and has utilized its success to run programs for other veteran entrepreneurs. According to its founder, Ranger Up believes strongly in empowering other veterans to share their skills and talent with the private sector. They launched their line of premium Ranger Up Jeans in 2013 with the help of notable celebrity veterans like Brian Stann. The denim line has been by all standards a marked success. According to the website Internet Retailer, one of the big reasons for Ranger Up’s growth has been its ability to take advantage of social media. An article from January 7, 2014 stated that “Ranger Up’s Facebook posts and YouTube videos not only make people laugh, they also inspire them to pass the content on to friends,” making it second on the list of Internet Retailer’s Social Media 500—a list of companies that best use social media outlets to promote their business.
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MMA
A big part of Ranger Up is its involvement with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, specifically as it relates to the military community. Ranger Up sponsors over 100 MMA fighters who are either currently serving or have served in the United States Armed Forces. Some of their notable past and present fighters include Tim Kennedy, Brian Stann and Jorge Rivera.
The Rhino Den
Ranger Up started a website called The Rhino Den as a place for the staff to share stories about their military experience. It has covered topics such as the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 and how it affected military families to United States military veteran suicides.
American Sin Bin
In 2011, Ranger Up launched American Sin Bin, a brand dedicated to rugby apparel.
Unapologetically American
Ranger Up also created their Unapologetically American brand in hopes of reaching beyond a military-specific demographic. A line from the website sums up what the brand is about: "We believe strongly in personal responsibility and the freedom to make your own way. If you want something, earn it."
Videos
Ranger Up also has its own video channel on YouTube. With parodies of music videos by Katy Perry, skits on "Sh!t veterans don’t say," and even its own cartoon series, The Damn Few, Ranger Up continues to use entertainment as a means of communication with its customers.
Range 15
In 2015, Ranger Up collaborated with another Veteran run apparel company, Article 15 Clothing, to produce the feature length indie film, Range 15.