Oh Great, Another T-Shirt Company

I will be the first to admit it—I always check the comments on social media. I love reading them. If you’ve ever left a comment on our posts, you’ve probably noticed that we at least react to it. Engaging with our community is something I enjoy. But as much as I love reading the comments, I’ve come to accept that there will always be people who love to hate on the idea of The Hard Road.

One comment, in particular, stuck with me. I saw a notification pop up on Instagram: “Oh great, another t-shirt company.”

At first, I was pissed. Who does this person think they are? They don’t know anything about us. They saw one post on their feed and suddenly they’re an expert? The more I thought about it, the more irrationally angry I got. So, I did what most of us are guilty of—I clicked on their profile.

And then, something unexpected happened. I didn’t feel angry anymore—I felt sorry for them. Their profile had minimal content, very few followers, and from what I could see, not much going on. It wasn’t that they had a small following; it was that they seemed stuck, unhappy, and disengaged. I closed out of their page and asked myself a tough question: Would I still be upset if someone credible, someone with real influence, had made that comment? Why was I letting a random internet troll get under my skin?

The more I thought about it, the clearer it became—this person would never understand why I started The Hard Road. They would never challenge themselves, never push their limits, never willingly step into discomfort to grow. People like that don’t take action—they criticize those who do. Their words held no weight because they weren’t speaking from experience; they were just complaining to complain.

So, are we just another t-shirt company? Hell no.

We are a community of people who push ourselves every single day. We choose growth over comfort, action over excuses. We show up, we do the work, and we get better. We lift each other up, challenge each other, and push forward no matter what. If you see it any other way, feel free to keep scrolling. We have no time for excuses, negativity, or unsolicited opinions from people who aren’t willing to put in the effort.

So, to those who get it—to those who are ready to challenge themselves, to step up, to take The Hard Road with us—we see you. We respect you. And we’re here to push forward together.

Keep talking. We’ll keep working.