I was able to work with a lot of different businesses at a young age, helping to solve problems and learning from a lot of mistakes and missteps. I worked as an associate at a small firm which invested in private businesses. What is your background? How did you come to start the brand? After leaving Alaska, I went to work in the “real” world. I’ve finally decided to pull the trigger again and go for it again. The big difference is that I now have the maturity and business experience – and I think the right idea with Poncho – to make this dream work. So then, fast forward to today and I still have this dream of combining my love for wildlife and the outdoors with my day job. After a year, I made the decision to leave and go get a “real” job. I was ridiculously happy but also hopelessly broke. I ended up at this really remote lodge that was float plane access only, fishing every day on these insanely beautiful rivers and streams with bears, moose…all sorts of cool and dangerous stuff. I was obsessed with fishing, so I packed up without a lot of thought and moved to the Talkeetna Mountains to work as a fly fishing guide. I’ve always dreamed of making a living doing what I love, and Poncho is actually my second attempt. I wanted something that fit better and was designed better, so I just went out to make the fishing shirt that I always wanted.īut there is probably a little more to it. What is the history of Poncho? I love to fish and I was really unhappy with the big, baggy, fishing shirts covered with all of those unnecessary, cluttered pockets. You’ll look like an adult, and for $69, it won’t cost you much to be the most comfortable guy there.Īs for Poncho, Clay was nice enough to give us some deep insight into his company: So keep that in mind…here’s a great shirt you can wear to that summertime birthday party outside, or to a Braves game, or to any event where it feels like you are standing on the surface of the sun…and it doesn’t give off that “Salt Life” vibe. The collar has a bit of structure to it so it looks good on and off the water.
It has all the functionality that you’d expect from any fishing shirt: deep front pockets with magnet closures, subtle back vents, and a hidden zip chest pocket for extra goodies. It’s a fishing shirt that doesn’t look like a fishing shirt. What I like most about the shirt is the simplicity. The sun protection won’t deteriorate after a few washes. It features an integrated 50 SPF that isn’t sprayed on. The fabric is really interesting: it’s extremely soft, with just a bit of stretch. In Poncho, I wear a Large Slim to have a good fit on the chest (~22.5″ pit to pit) and sleeves that aren’t too short. From a fit perspective, it is a true to size cut, in both regular and slim fits. The Poncho shirts focus on a couple things: fit, fabric, and comfort, all with simplicity in mind. He had very similar opinions of fishing shirts, so took it upon himself to create the right one. He’s from Texas, and has fished just about everywhere between the Lone Star State and Alaska. They are new outfit based out of New York, but their founder Clay Spencer is a serious fisherman.
If you are like me, then it’s tough to find the right size.Įnter Poncho Outdoors.
The poly/nylon blends have done wonders for breathability, but the pockets are still everywhere, and the fit is still…like a parachute. Over the past ten or so years, the world of fishing shirts has changed, but mostly from a fabric standpoint. Remember back in the 2000s when the Columbia PFG shirts were all the rage? The button up fishing shirts with a million pockets in pastel colors… They were somewhat innovative for their time, but they were really ill fitting and made out of some cotton blend.