WRITTEN BY: ANDREW EAKS | STAFF WRITER
Driven by a desire to step out of their comfort zone and fueled by faith, three students have used a trip up the coast to inspire a business. Intrepid Tees is a t- shirt company created by PLNU’s junior students Emily Fisher, Teddi Thyfault, and Tara Tuls.
“Our trip just started off as us renting a car and driving from Pasadena to Washington,” said Fisher, a writing major. “Once we thought of Intrepid we knew this was a great way to spread the message.”
After many pit stops at all of the beautiful destinations along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, not spending a dime on hotels by staying with old friends and making it back to tell their story, each of these women wanted everyone to live courageously.
“We came up with the idea in the cafeteria one day last semester,” said Thyfault, a writing major. “We have had to grow up a lot through handling orders and other people’s money.. We run our website through Squarespace and currently have four designs.” The word intrepid is simply defined as bold, courageous, and brave. Living out this message has not only affected these women in their daily life but their faith as well.
The mission statement for their company comes from Matthew 14: 23-29 from the New International Version.
“Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits.
But Jesus was quick to comfort them. ‘Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.’
Peter, suddenly bold, said, ‘Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.’
He said, ‘Come ahead.’ Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus.”
The story of Peter taking the leap of faith into the ocean to walk to Jesus has served as a guide for these women leading to their first shipment coming up. Faith in themselves and a strong faith in God gives them the confidence to handle the priorities of running a business. “Intrepid doesn’t limit you to sky diving or something else extreme,” said Thyfault. “Being intrepid is being confident for something like taking a test or talking to someone you have never met before. The logo is featured on each of the
Intrepid Tees products. Along with co-founding the intrepid logo, Tuls, a graphic design major, created the logo and the website.
“When creating the logo I wanted to take the attributes from the mission statement and bring them to life,” said Tuls. “The two lines that extend from the circle represent living beyond a nor- mal boundary and living spontaneously. We use pictures of waves and mountains as a way of representing adventure.”
Along with Intrepid Tees clothing, a blog written by Fisher, a writing major, called The Bold Blog is featured on their website. Fisher reflects on experiences from their adventurous trip and gives advice on living intrepid through Christ.
“Our goal in this whole thing is to get others to live the way we have chosen to,” said Fisher. “Our trip was meant to serve as an inspiration. We are hoping to continue this company after we graduate.”
Thyfault is a communications major and runs Intrepid Tees’ social media and website intrepidtee.com.
On February 26th Intrepid Tees will be holding a Launch Party bonfire at Shelter Island.
photos by FLIKER
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