Texas apparel startup to introduce shirts incorporating veterans’ uniform fabric and stories as it outlines plans for a future veterans wellness center
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cowboy Athletic Club, a Texas apparel startup founded by former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret Jay Musgrave, announced plans to pre-launch its Hero Shirts collection on November 11, 2026, Veterans Day. The collection is designed to incorporate pieces of veterans’ military uniforms into limited-quantity apparel, with individually numbered collectible cards linking to interviews about their lives and service. The company also intends to use proceeds from merchandise to help advance its longer-term plans for a veterans wellness center in Lockhart, Texas, serving greater Austin.
Every military uniform carries a story. Most will never be told.
Somewhere in America, a combat uniform is sitting in a closet. The person who wore it remembers where it has been. Most of the world will never know.
Somewhere, folded inside a cardboard box or hanging behind clothes untouched for years, is a uniform that once traveled halfway around the world. It may have endured the scorching heat of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan. It may have witnessed lifelong friendships, unimaginable sacrifices, or moments when someone wondered whether they would ever make it home.
Today, it may hang silently. To most people, it’s an old uniform. To the person who wore it, it represents a chapter of life that words may never fully explain.
Musgrave saw the possibility of giving those uniforms another purpose: preserving veterans’ stories and, through an apparel business, working toward a place where veterans could find community, support, and belonging.
Every Veteran Has a Story Worth Telling
Throughout his military career and civilian life, Musgrave met veterans whose stories rarely reached beyond their families and friends.
While military podcasts and documentaries often spotlight elite Special Forces operators, Musgrave recognized that important experiences weren’t limited to elite units.
There were Marines rebuilding their lives after devastating injuries, soldiers struggling with the transition to civilian life, and veterans discovering new careers and purpose after leaving the military.
Their stories weren’t simply about war. They were about what happened afterward.
Musgrave wanted to share those journeys, particularly with veterans searching for direction, hope, or reassurance that life after service could still hold possibilities.
He saw apparel as a way to tell those stories while creating a potential source of funding for a larger project. That became the concept for Cowboy Athletic Club.
Wear a Piece of History: How the Hero Shirts Work
Every Cowboy Athletic Club Hero Shirt is designed to carry something that cannot be replicated: a genuine piece of a military uniform once worn by a veteran. Fabric that accompanied its wearer during military service would be given a new purpose—preserving part of that veteran’s history and sharing a story that deserves to be heard.
But the fabric is only the beginning.
Every limited-quantity shirt is also designed to include an individually numbered, baseball-style collectible card honoring that veteran. On the back, a QR code will connect customers to a YouTube interview sharing the person’s military experiences, challenges, and life after service.
A customer may choose a shirt because of its design. Scanning the card would introduce them to someone whose story they might never otherwise hear.
“We live in a world where athletes who hit home runs and score winning baskets are idolized as heroes, their faces immortalized on collectible trading cards. I believe there should be room in those same collections for the real American heroes, the men and women who put on a uniform and went to war on our behalf,” Musgrave said.
For Cowboy Athletic Club, the concept combines limited-edition apparel, collectibles, and digital storytelling with a mission that extends beyond merchandise.
A Marine’s Story of Life After the Uniform
The company’s first Hero Shirt will honor Nick Perales, a former Marine Scout Sniper whose journey represents the reason Musgrave founded Cowboy Athletic Club.
After losing a leg while serving in Afghanistan, Perales faced challenges that fundamentally changed his life. Yet his story reflects something Musgrave believes transitioning veterans deserve to hear: a military career may end, but the opportunity to build a meaningful life does not.
Perales contributed his uniform for the project because he believed its next purpose could be greater than preserving it in a closet.
His shirt will carry a piece of his military history. His collectible card and interview will share the person behind it. His journey may reach another veteran facing an uncertain future.
Perales’ service and recovery have also been documented by Brooke Army Medical Center, which reported on his 205-mile Veterans Day walk in 2022 in support of wounded service members.
Building More Than a Brand
For Musgrave, apparel is the beginning of a larger undertaking.
Cowboy Athletic Club intends to direct proceeds from merchandise toward developing a flagship athletic club and veterans wellness center in Lockhart, Texas, serving greater Austin.
The company’s proposed facility would integrate fitness and recovery resources, with potential access to physical therapy, massage therapy, and chiropractic care. The plans call for a facility that would welcome civilians and veterans, with a long-term goal of offering memberships and selected wellness services to veterans at no cost.
Musgrave, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has described the importance of community for veterans navigating injuries, isolation, and the transition to civilian life.
He believes that sometimes the most valuable thing a veteran needs isn’t another program. It’s a place to belong.
“I want to build a place where someone notices when you do not show up,” Musgrave said.
A place where someone knows your name, notices your absence, and cares enough to check on you. That’s the community he hopes to create.
The proposed facility remains in the planning stage, with financing, partnerships, and an opening date yet to be finalized.
From a Texas Startup to a Nationwide Mission
Musgrave’s plans extend beyond one location.
Within five years, he hopes Cowboy Athletic Club will have reached at least 2,000 veterans worldwide, established relationships with veteran-serving organizations, and expanded its apparel presence into retail stores under the message ‘Apparel With a Mission.’
He also envisions exploring potential retail collaborations and, over time, additional wellness facilities. The company has not announced any brand partnerships or additional facility locations.
A first-generation college graduate with studies in psychology and cybersecurity and an Executive MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, Musgrave hopes to combine commercial sustainability with meaningful community impact.
The Next Chapter Begins November 11 (Veterans Day)
November 11 was no coincidence. Cowboy Athletic Club chose Veterans Day for its planned Hero Shirts pre-launch because recognizing those who served is central to the company’s purpose.
The collection will begin with Perales’ Hero Shirt and the story associated with his service, as the company works toward expanding the project to feature additional veterans.
Additional information about the planned November 11, 2026, pre-launch is available at www.cowboyathleticclub.com.
About Cowboy Athletic Club
Cowboy Athletic Club is a Texas-based apparel startup founded by U.S. Army veteran Jay Musgrave. Its Hero Shirts concept pairs repurposed military-uniform fabric with collectible cards and interviews about veterans’ experiences. The company is also planning a future veterans wellness center in Lockhart, Texas.
MEDIA CONTACT
Contact Person Name: Jay Musgrave
Company: Cowboy Athletic Club
Email: info@cowboyathleticclub.com
Website: https://cowboyathleticclub.com
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