Sweaty Bands

We always love to give back at Sweaty Bands, but Autism Awareness month has had a special meaning to us ever since we hired fulfillment staff member Jack two years ago. He is always one of our top performing employees, and brings immense amounts of joy to our office. To elaborate more on Jack's role and how we became lucky enough to have him as a coworker, his wonderful mom, Therese Wantuch, has written a guest blog post for us. We hope you take a minute read through it and consider the benefits of embracing diversity at your workplace, if you haven't already! xo, SB Our son is coming up on his second anniversary of becoming an employee of Sweaty Bands, a woman-owned business that sees the value in diversity. Finding the right fit and the right company is not easy when you have autism, but it can be done with tenacity and finding the right company to take a chance. Sweaty Bands has been a great employer and supporter of autism causes. Not only do they donate to Autism Speaks, they hired a person with autism, which is not just putting lip service to the cause. The Sweaty Band headquarters is less than three miles from our home and so when we started on the job search for Jack, who happens to have high functioning autism/Asperger’s Syndrome, it was a company we knew well and had read a lot about in the local press. Our first visit to the company was foretelling. We were greeted immediately and things were buzzing at the warehouse with a mission. The staff was very nice to us and there was no “alarm” we had felt when we visited other employers when Jack mentioned he had autism and had worked at an amusement park for six summers prior to looking for this job. The supervisor we met with immediately said they would be happy to consider Jack and that she would talk with the owners and for us to contact them back in a week. A week later we contacted Sweaty Bands and Jack went in with his job coach for an interview. Before the interview, we went to www.sweatybands.com and had Jack look up each Sweaty Band category and we printed each section of each page. We wanted him to know the product well. We killed a few ink jets that day! The plethora of bands and styles were so vast, but Jack was getting the hang of it. People with autism usually are very good at recognizing patterns and counting has always been a strong suit for him. We wanted him to be prepared for the interview and know what the job would entail. He got the job and started a week later. He was on probation for 90 days and then became a full time employee thereafter. Two years later, he still enjoys going to work each day and the company and the employees have been very accepting of him. He is taking classes at nearby Gateway Community College to start to learn programming and Sweaty Bands has been great in letting him take time off when he needs a class during work hours. He is also a talented cello player and during the warehouse sale, Jack played cello for the employees and the customers. Thanks Sweaty Bands for taking a chance on an incredibly talented young man who is not your typical employee, but who wants to work hard and see Sweaty Bands succeed! -Therese Wantuch – one proud mother! P.S. Please help us support Autism Speaks by shopping our Charitable Cause awareness print here! (15% goes back!)

If you celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style, chances are you're feeling a little groggy and over-served this morning. No judgement here! Instead, we're going to help you out by letting you in on our favorite tool for feeling lean and clean, even after the wildest nights: our signature Detox Water! We swear by it, and are pretty sure you will too after following these (insanely easy) steps. Happy detoxing! 1. STOCK UP -Mint leaves (we bought a package, but in the summer we love pulling them straight from the garden!) -1 - 2 limes -1 large cucumber -Sharp knife, juicer, and large pitcher 2. CHOP IT LIKE IT'S HOT -Cut cucumber into fourths and chop 1/2 - 1" wide slices -Cut stems off mint and thinly dice -Halve limes 3. GET IT JUICY -Juice the lime halves then add the halves in the pitcher -Add cucumber and mint 4. FILL 'ER UP -Fill your pitcher with water (we suggest using cold, filtered H2O & wearing this Motion of the Ocean Sweaty Band while you do it because we're fancy like that) -Give it a few vigorous stirs (added bonus of an arm workout here!) -Remove lime halves 5. ENJOY! -If you've washed out last night's pint glasses, now's the time to put them to use again! Pour in, and add ice as desired -Sit back, relax, and enjoy the full-body rejuvenation about to go down (again, feels even better when done wearing this gorgeous Sweaty Band) -Once you've finished off your glass, munch on the mint leaves and cucumbers for some added nutrition + digestive aids! ...see, wasn't that easy and delicious?! Do you feel as detoxed, refreshed, and ready to conquer the day as we do?!  Cheers!

Donna Browning, our Founder and Creative Director, is back for more fun tips and tricks! This month's list of must-haves is inspired by her recent family ski trip to Vail, where she, her husband Doug (also our CEO!), and their kids Belinda, Blake, and Brock had a great time staying active together on the slopes. Browse her list, and scroll below for links to snag these finds for yourself!  

1. 1. Hot Hands body warmers, $13.44/10-pack, available on Amazon.
2. 2. Ultima Replenisher, $16.19/30-pack, available on Amazon.
3. 3. COOLA Liplux SPF 30 Balm,  $12.00, available at COOLA.com.
4. 4. Flask, courtesy of our friends at Windsor Circle!
5. 5. GoPro Hero, $129.99, available at gopro.com (and kept secure on the wrist thanks to Sweaty Bands Keychains!)
6. 6. Oakley Goggles, $130.00, similar style here (and grab your 5/8" West Collection Sweaty Bands too!)
7. 7. Burton Ski Jacket, similar style on sale here.

Hey there! I’m Colleen, a Sweaty Bands accountant by day and a marathon runner by night (or sometimes by morning depending on when I get my run in for the day!) I qualified for the Boston Marathon in October of 2013 and am excited to run it for the first time this April. Although I have run three marathons prior to this upcoming Boston, each of those has taken place in the fall – meaning training during the heat of the summer. Since the Boston Marathon is a spring race, a huge chunk of my training has taken place (and will continue to take place) in these bitter winter months. I’m deep into the training cycle right now, and want to provide some tips to those of you who struggle with the cold…I know I certainly do sometimes! You have two options when it comes to winter running: brave the elements outside or stay warm on a treadmill. So far, I’ve found that my training has been about 50/50 indoors vs. outdoors. Some days I don’t have the courage to brave the cold conditions, but other days the fight against boredom on the treadmill seems more daunting. If you decide to run on the treadmill (or Mother Nature forces you to!), my top suggestion is to have the best playlist you’ve ever created at your disposal – i.e., songs that you know will get you pumped up and keep you on the move. I like to use my music to determine my workout on the treadmill. I’ll pick a slower warm-up speed to start with and then increase my pace or incline with every song change. Another strategy I use to help pass the time on the treadmill is to use a towel to cover up the dashboard after I set my initial speed. This prevents me from spending the entire time watching the time and distance slowly creep up. There isn’t much that goes by more slowly than a minute spent on the treadmill. And luckily, most gyms have TVs in front of them that you can divert your attention to. Even if I’m listening to music, I enjoy reading the news headlines and closed captioning scrolling across the screens. However, if you do choose to venture outside, running in the cold temperatures is all about layering and having the right gear. A fleece-lined shirt with a moisture-wicking base layer is what I have found works best for me, especially with one of the shirts having a higher neckline to leave as little exposed skin as possible. I occasionally will wear 2 pairs of socks, as well as a pair or 2 of gloves. There is nothing worse than running with a feeling of numbness in your fingers or toes! Besides just clothing, there are a few other items that are worth your investment for winter running. Most importantly, with the shortened hours of daylight, you will need reflective gear or blinking lights to attach to your clothes so you are visible to cars. I personally do not have a headlamp, but I know a lot of runners who love them to help see the ground in front of them as they run in the dark, as well as stay visible. Instead, I typically reach for our Sweaty Bands Reflective Runner headbands to stay safe, which not only work to keep my hair back but also produce a great reflective glare! Those are just some of the tips and tricks I’ve come to learn through my years of running – I hope you find them helpful! Happy running and stay warm!

We've been busy whipping up some serious snacks in the SB kitchen this afternoon! Today, we're featuring a heart-healthy caprese salad, complete with heart-shaped mozzarella in honor of Valentine's Day and Heart Health Month! This filling, nutritious snack is super easy to make and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Follow along with us using the recipe below: Prep time: 5 minutes Servings: 5-7 Ingredients:

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella
• 1 Large organic Tomato
• Fresh basil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Sea Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Small heart-shaped cookie cutter