T-shirt line treasure hunts go viral in Cape Coral
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.
UndrDog Hemp, a company started by Cape Coral’s Chuckie Gregory, has racked up millions of views for its treasure hunts across Southwest Florida.
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.
“It’s been really fun,” Gregory said of putting together the hunts. “Especially in December because, you know, there’s a lot of families that have a lot of money that’s going out during the holiday season. Parents want to get their kids gifts. That’s why we did a Nintendo Switch, and a dad and his daughter found it. So it’s been really cool and rewarding to kind of be able to give back in that way.”
The idea behind UndrDog’s treasure hunts started with something deeply personal. Its founders say they spent years navigating infertility and eventually learning that polyester sheds — microplastics and chemical particles from synthetic fibers said to be linked to potential reproductive issues and other serious health risks.
“I’ve always loved blank T-shirts,” Gregory said. “I’ve 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.
Gregory had created a T-shirt brand with his partner before his research into polyester, as they were selling a polyester/hemp blend.
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’t keep selling polyester products.
So, his team paused for about eight months to figure out how to create a better shirt without any synthetic materials. That’s where they discovered bamboo, and intertwining hemp and bamboo together. They relaunched this past summer.
“I really found out how like detrimental wearing plastic is, and polyester is made of plastic,” he said. “So it was kind of eye-opening, especially since like all the men’s blank T brands on the market are all made with polyester.”
Gregory said he brought on partners and assembled a small team of guys that believe in the “get plastic off our skin” movement. They went to developers with the concept of doing only natural fibers, and specifically wanted hemp and bamboo.
“Hemp has insane durability, and bamboo adds a lot of airflow, so it keeps it cool and doesn’t trap heat,” Gregory said.
“That 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.”
That’s where the treasure hunts came in.
“So I’ve just kind of loved the idea of doing it really routinely here in Cape Coral,” Gregory said. “Not for necessarily the return, but just to give something fun in the city and to kind of give back a little bit. And it’s 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.”
The last treasure hunt of the year has already taken place, but Gregory said they’ll be starting up in again in January.
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.
“I mean, there’s 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’re washing dishes with, or cleaning ourselves with, or wearing,” Gregory said. “We need to get away from plastics. But the big message that a lot of people don’t know is that polyester is plastic. They’re hiding behind the word polyester instead of saying plastic.
“We’re 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’s just an insanely breathable blank T.”
Gregory said UndrDog has plans to expand into other clothing items, such as boxers, sweatshirts, shorts, and more.
To stay up to date on treasure hunts and for more information on UndrDog, visit UndrDog.com and follow the brand on social media platforms.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com