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Hey guys! Happy new year to you! As you may know, Into the Dark Blue has transitioned from 2020 - The Year of Clarity, to 2021 - The Year of Growth. It doesn’t need to be said that 2020 was a crazy year, but will say however, we have learned many valuable lessons at Into the Dark Blue over the past 12 months. At the end of January last year, I (Zach) left my full time corporate job to focus all my efforts on building up the Dark Blue. I jumped in full throttle with a trip to Ireland for market research, plans for a national tour of kickoff events, and goals to launch our men’s groups nationwide in the Fall.
Reality Trippin’
Unfortunately though, while traipsing about Ireland, the reality of the impacts of COVID hit hard and fast… Just to give you some perspective, THEY CANCELLED SAINT PATRICK’S DAY! One morning about half way through my trip, I woke up to a multitude of messages from friends and family in the US who were concerned about my ability to reenter the country. At this point it was time to do a couple things. First, set aside the notion to panic, and instead evaluate the situation with informed logic. Second, look at the big picture and begin to understand how this was going to affect my business plans.
Despite friends and family suggesting I get on the first plane out of Dublin, I went ahead with my plans to tour the Ring of Kerry with a good friend I had met years ago in Scotland on my first solo international trip. The airport was bogged down with people in panic, and the US was still allowing citizens to return home hassle free, so after careful deliberation, I took a deep breath and finished out my stay. The time is now, after all. Upon the return home, however, it was time for action.
Game Changer
When the year began, the plan was to travel to Ireland in March, move from Washington to Texas to cut costs, go on a national brewery kickoff tour in late spring, then launch the men’s groups in the fall. Between shutdown procedures and increasing apprehension surrounding COVID, as well as corporate requests and feedback from some of the breweries I was attempting to partner with, I realized it was time for a new game plan. First thing first though, I needed to make things official.
With the help of some good friends in the business, I was able to find an amazing lawyer to help me file for nonprofit status. I postponed our 2020 spring national tour, and instead started out with a mini tour in Texas only in the late fall, which was mostly successful with a few learning lessons along the way. We also did a soft launch of our virtual men's group, featuring guest coaches and On top of all that, you may have heard the phrase, “Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.” Well, with the help of a corporate sponsorship from our friends at Sheath Underwear, we did just that! We launched our merch during 2020 including t-shirts, pint glasses, and stickers. We went as far as to get business cards! But seriously, the goal was to come out of 2020 looking shiny and clean, ready to make an impact in the minds and the communities of men around the nation!
The Road Ahead
We are extremely excited for what is coming up for Into the Dark Blue in 2021! With our nonprofit status on the horizon, we are looking forward to applying for funding which will help us follow through on a number of programming initiatives, including:
Continuing virtual men’s groups with an added monthly trivia night
Real talk blog will include organization updates and articles
Spring/summer brewery kickoff tour
Launching In person men’s groups at Texas breweries
New 2021 merch
Launching the official Dark Blue Crew
And even more to come!
If you would like to support our current and upcoming programming
Make a one time donation on our Go Fund Me page!
Support or mission monthly on Patreon!
Thank you for being a part of the Dark Blue Crew, and we look forward to having you along for the ride! As always, if you need someone to vent to, or some direction for personal growth options, contact us any time.
Cheers!
Zach Jewell
Founder/Executive Director
Into the Dark Blue