Otter Creek Outfitters
In recent years, the modern man has come to the rightful realization that there’s nothing wrong with feeling comfortable, looking good and just downright taking care of himself. Unfortunately, the marketing and hygiene industry warped that view into that misguided “metrosexual” deal, often producing men’s products whose advertising budgets dwarfed any investments in actually making a high-quality, male-formulated product. We deserve better.
Enter Otter Creek Outfitters, a straightforward line of products geared towards guys who actually get their hands dirty and also know how to clean up. It’s an offshoot of high-end, Nashville-based cosmetics line Therapy Systems, so you know it’s quality. And it’s the brainchild of James Rupley — a Nashville native and graduate of The Citadel and Tulane Law School who left an overly demanding lawyer job in Manhattan and returned to the South after realizing that life’s too short not to hunt and bass fish — so you know its claim to be for outdoorsmen is authentic.
“You can go into a cosmetics department, and there are hundreds of different brands and thousands of different products,” James said. “For most guys, their experience in walking into a store like that, it’s a sense of being overwhelmed. It’s impossible to tell what’s for women, what’s for men. We wanted to create a line that would almost be a beacon for men. They might not know anything about Otter Creek, but it’s definitely for guys.”
The message is sent loud and clear with designs from leading Georgia-based camouflage pattern maker Realtree, a different look not often found in medicine cabinets. “We wanted to create a line of products that would appeal to men aesthetically,” James told us, “but also have a line of products that do what they say the will, do it well and make it easier for guys to take better care of their skin.”
Their products include Duck Call Primer, an unscented lip balm, and Grit Happens, a scrubbing body wash that promises to remove “layer upon layer of sweat, dirt, oil, animal blood, gunpowder, bug spray — you get the idea.” Find them all on Otter Creek’s website.
