1,400 Miles Traveled

August has been a wild month for NOK.

There have been a lot of miles driven, a lot of conversations, some incredible opportunities, new people joining the family, and plenty of moments where we’ve been able to look around and realize just how far this thing has come in less than a year.

And at the same time, we’ve realized something:

Maybe we haven’t done a good enough job explaining what NOK actually is.

So let’s start there.

1,400 Miles, Two Trucks & One Hell of an Experience

This month, Dylan and Scooter made the roughly 1,400-mile round trip from Salt Lake City to Post Falls, Idaho, to spend time with the crew at CW Wraps.

CW Wraps is a Post Falls-based team specializing in custom vehicle wraps, signs, and upfitting, and getting the opportunity to spend time with their crew and watch these trucks completely transform was something we’ll never forget.

CW Wraps: www.cwwraps.com

Both NOK trucks came home looking completely different.

Scooter’s truck went with an army green, brown, and khaki combination that fits him and the outdoors perfectly.

Dylan went the opposite direction a black base with an orange-bronze color throughout the design. Look closely and you’ll find pieces of what NOK was built around: deer, ducks, cattails, topographic lines, and the outdoors that have shaped so much of our lives.

And yes, the trucks stand out.

But that wasn’t the entire point.

We didn’t build NOK or wrap a couple trucks to try to convince everyone that we’re the coolest guys on the block.

We’re definitely not.

The trucks are rolling reminders of something we believe deeply:

Never Out Killed.

When someone sees those three letters, we want them to mean something.

Because everybody gets knocked down.

Everybody has days when life wins a round.

Everybody struggles with something. Business. Marriage. Family. Faith. Work. Finances. Failure. Doubt. Losing someone. Missing an opportunity. Falling short of the person you know you could be.

NOK doesn’t mean you never lose.

It means you refuse to stay down.

You wake up the next morning and decide:

I’m not going to be diminished today.

I’m going to stand tall.

I’m going to work harder.

I’m going to strengthen my faith.

I’m going to be a better husband, wife, father, mother, friend, hunter, outdoorsman, or human being than I was yesterday.

That’s Never Out Killed.

And that’s what we want those trucks and everything else carrying the NOK name—to represent.

Keep an eye out, because the full video from our time at CW Wraps will be dropping soon.

The NOK Pro Team Is Growing

Another huge part of this month has been continuing to build the NOK Pro Team, including welcoming Casey to the crew.

We couldn’t be more excited about the people representing this brand.

When we started thinking about a Pro Team, we didn’t want a group of people whose only purpose was posting a picture in a NOK shirt and dropping a discount code.

That’s not a team.

We wanted people who actually live this lifestyle.

People passionate about hunting, fishing, conservation, the outdoors, and getting after it—but more importantly, people who understand that none of those things matter nearly as much as the kind of person you are when nobody is watching.

Faith. Family. Character. Drive.

Those things matter here.

Our Pro Team members come from different places and different backgrounds, but they share the mindset that NOK was built around: keep moving forward, take care of your people, stand for something, and never allow life’s circumstances to determine who you become.

We’re extremely proud of these guys, and we’re only getting started.

“So… Is NOK Just a Clothing Company?”

We’ve gotten this question quite a bit lately.

Right now?

Yeah, clothing and content are a huge part of what we’re doing.

We’re building our YouTube channel. We’re designing clothing we’re genuinely excited to wear. We’re creating hunting and fishing content. We’re telling stories. We’re developing partnerships. We’re building our team and, most importantly, building our community.

That’s what we can execute well right now.

But it isn’t where this ends.

The long-term vision for NOK has always been much bigger.

We want NOK to become a place where outdoorsmen and women can find the gear they need, discover products we actually believe in, watch real hunts and adventures, learn something, laugh at something, and be part of a community that stands for more than killing the biggest buck or shooting a limit of ducks.

We want to build something that lasts.

But we’re not going to pretend we’re already there.

NOK is only about eight months old.

We’re learning.

We’re making mistakes.

We’re changing things.

We’re meeting incredible people.

We’re figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

And we’re building this thing one brick at a time.

There are a million companies selling shirts and hoodies. There are a million outdoor brands trying to make the next cool thing.

We don’t need to pretend we’re better than them.

We just need to be NOK.

So Who Is NOK?

NOK stands for Never Out Killed.

But we’ve learned that those three words mean something a little different to everyone.

For us, it started in the outdoors, but it quickly became bigger than hunting.

Never Out Killed is a mindset.

It’s getting punched in the mouth by life and getting back up.

It’s working when nobody is watching.

It’s keeping your word.

It’s taking care of your family.

It’s admitting when you’re wrong.

It’s getting better at your craft.

It’s having the courage to chase something when everyone else thinks you’re crazy.

It’s remembering where you came from when things start going right.

And above everything else, for us, it’s keeping God at the center.

We’re hunters.

We’re fishermen.

We’re fathers, husbands, friends, business owners, employees, creators, and regular people trying to become better every single day.

We’re imperfect people building an imperfect company around a message we believe in with everything we’ve got.

And maybe that’s something we need to talk about more.

Because NOK isn’t about never losing.

It’s about refusing to let a loss define you.

Built With You, Not Just Sold to You

The craziest part of the last eight months isn’t something Dylan, Scooter, or anyone else at NOK accomplished.

It’s what you guys have helped build.

Every order.

Every comment.

Every share.

Every person wearing NOK at the range, in a duck blind, on a mountain, at work, or just around town.

Every person who sends us a picture.

Every person who tells somebody else what NOK means.

You’re building this with us.

That’s why we’ll continue listening.

We want to know what products you want. What hunts you want to see. What gear you’re interested in. What we’re doing right. What we’re doing wrong. And what you think NOK could become.

We’re nowhere near where we want to be.

But we’re damn proud of where we are.

And we’re unbelievably excited about where we’re going.

August Black Label - The Canvasback

Before we go, one reminder.

Our August Black Label Canvasback Hoodie is available now.

The Black Label Series was created to give us a place to release something different each month a limited-run design that represents the birds, animals, and experiences we love.

August belongs to the bull can.

Once August 31st hits, this Black Label run is over and we’ll move on to the next design.

If you’ve been eyeing the Canvasback, don’t wait too long.

Thank You

We say it constantly, but we mean it every single time.

Thank you.

Thank you for supporting NOK.

Thank you for believing in what we’re trying to build.

Thank you for ordering something when there are thousands of other brands you could spend your money with.

Thank you for sharing our posts, watching our videos, sending messages, giving feedback, and telling your buddies about us.

We pray for this community.

We pray that your families stay happy and healthy. We pray for your success before our own. We pray that the thing you’ve been quietly working toward finally breaks your way. And we pray that when life inevitably knocks you down, you find the strength to stand back up.

One verse continues to feel fitting for this journey:

“Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up.” — Proverbs 24:16

That’s NOK.

You might lose a round.

You might have a bad hunt.

You might fail.

You might get knocked flat on your ass.

Get back up.

Keep your faith.

Take care of your family.

Keep moving forward.

Never Out Killed.

— The NOK Crew