Hi, I'm John Ames Jr., and this is my wife, Nicha Sangiampornpanit, a Thailand native who loves adventuring and exploring the outdoors just as much as I do. The idea for JOOB came to use after a visit to Thailand, a country known for sparkling tropical beaches, vibrant culture, opulent palaces, but also a national poverty rate of almost 10%. Nicha said to me, “I wish I could help Thailand.”

That was the catalyst, but the idea had been brewing for a while. During our travels and outdoor adventures, we struggled to find versatile, high quality and ethically made clothing to fit our lifestyle. While living in Japan, we admired the simple elegant style of the Japanese, and noticed they seemed to wear stylish clothing for hiking, fishing, travel, skiing, yoga, running, biking. Different clothes for each activity. We thought, why not have clothes that can be worn across all of these activities?

We're also passionately committed to healing and preventing further damage to our planet. As volunteers for local environmental initiatives (like the Huron River Watershed Council), we often see the effects of pollution first-hand in our beloved Ann Arbor rivers and lakes. We're also conscious of the fact that the clothing industry was a major culprit of environmental pollution and poor labor practices. We think it's time to change this.

Upon returning from our trip to Thailand, Nicha and I set to work building a company that would create innovative styles to be used across a variety of activities, would be fair trade sourced, and would give back to its employees, its partners, and to mother nature. Before we even launched our website, we became a 1% for the Planet partner. We're launching in Ann Arbor with manufacturing partners across the United States, but our eye is on opening a facility in Thailand in the future.

JOOB is for those who want to put themselves out there. To explore new places, activities, foods. Bring your JOOB gear with you anywhere adventure takes you — fly fishing, bouldering, or sinking into Lotus position on the beach. You’ll feel good knowing it was made to last, with environmentally conscious fabrics and ethical business practices.