Former NRATV host Amy Robbins has launched a company featuring yoga pants with gun holsters, and conservative millennials are obsessed, catapulting the brand to viral status on Instagram and leaving Robbins struggling to fulfill orders.
“Over 40 million women carry some form of self-defense tool on a daily basis,” said Robbins.
In an interview with PJ Media, Robbins explained that she launched Alexo Athletica in October 2017, shipping orders out of her Dallas garage. Unlike nearly all athletic pants, Alexo has seven pockets, enough for not only a wallet, but for firearms and mace too.
While business was initially slow, within two years Robbins was inundated with orders, and recently had to move operations from her garage to a local warehouse.
The rapid growth is no doubt in part due to Instagram — where hundreds of millennials, mostly in the U.S. South — have posted pictures wearing Alexo pants.
“I wear my Alexos at least once a week, I wear them the most when I workout but I also wear them when I’m running errands,” said Brenna Spencer, 22, who recently graduated from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.
“I carry a gun with my Alexos because I want to be able to protect myself and my loved ones. I know that I can’t control sick individuals… but I can control my protection against them,” she told PJ Media.
Raegan Poole, 21, attends the University of Oklahoma and loved Alexo so much she became a brand ambassador.
Reagan Poole, photo credit Alexo Athletica.
“Being in college, there are very limited opportunities to carry my firearm with me. However, my Alexo pants allow me to bring along other tools of self-defense, whether that’s my blade, a pepper blaster, or a taser,” said Poole.
Anna Paulina, 29, a military veteran, said Alexos make it much easier for her to carry.
“I had a home invasion experience when I first joined the military at 20 years old. It scared me to the point of not being able to sleep for years. I tried everything… but nothing quite restored my sense of security until I got my concealed carry,” Paulina told PJ Media.
“As a veteran… I will always wear Alexo because I know what it’s like to not be prepared and I NEVER want to experience that again,” she added.
Going forward, Robbins hopes to get Alexo in more storefronts, but for now, she’s focusing most of her efforts on keeping up with holiday sales. Though Alexo pants are (for now) manufactured overseas, all packaging, shipment and marketing is done on American soil.
“We have sold out of several sizes and a couple of styles already from the inventory we received the week of Thanksgiving,” said Robbins on Tuesday evening.
“Both men and women are stocking up for the holiday season. We have many women that are buying a few pairs for themselves and the other women in their lives.”
According to Alexo Athletica’s website, the brand is dedicated to helping women “protect and defend” themselves.
“Alexo doesn’t tip-toe around supporting a woman’s right to defend herself,” said Poole, who will graduate from the University of Oklahoma in May.
“There’s something so empowering about being among the young females who are equipping themselves with the necessary tools and mindset to defend themselves.”
Follow the author on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen.
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