A couple months back I found out that a good friend of mine, Jon, was diagnosed with a particular bone cancer. Once again a little monkey wrench falls into the life of an otherwise perfectly healthy person. It made me angry and it made me ponder why the hell these things happen to such genuinely good people… and at such a young age, only 21. It also made me remember how I felt when I found out that I had cancer. I knew a lot of the things that were going through Jon’s mind and I could only imagine that his family was as devastated as mine was when they heard the news.

I had a singular thought. This is why I started Endure. This is why I strive each day to make what I do and create the best it absolutely can be… why I design shirts and promote what I do… I started Endure to help me with my medical bills and in the hopes that one day I would be able to give back to the people that helped me and help others who are dealing with the same hardships that I have. I have this opportunity now and I’m going to take it.

I am proud to release the latest Endure Purpose-Driven Apparel design, Valente. Pronounced “vaal-yen-chee”, it is Portuguese for brave or courageous. This is Endure’s first hoodie release and I’m very excited about it. Valente is a black Jerzees hooded sweatshirt with pockets. It features a crest design displaying capoeira players as well as a couple salsa dancing! That’s right, not only is he a fighter, but a dancer as well!

THE GOAL
Valente hoodies will be available for ordering soon. My personal goal for the Valente Hoodie is to raise $1,000 that would be donated directly to Jon to help him with his medical bills and anything else that he may need during his treatments. Currently he has begun chemo and has lost his hair… good thing these are hoodies But he is still fighting and doing well. It does look like he will be beating this and after his treatments will have a good chance that it won’t return. But knowing what I know and by dealing with my own bills in the situation I’m sure that this will be a welcome gift. So at this point I leave it up to whoever may want to help. You can check out the apparel section for more info.

But let’s learn a little more about Jon… aka “Valente”. Jon received this name in the roda, the circle where we play Capoeira. Though he hasn’t played recently, he is known as an intense player and always liked getting up-close and in my face when we’d play. Jon is like that though, he’s a tough kid and he never liked letting anyone take over the game… even when those people were more advanced and perhaps better skilled… but thats why we called him Valente! He was the brave one, going in and kicking with the Mestres like he played them for years!

On the other side however he is a happily married man with a lovely wife who also trained Capoeira for a time. Together they are an incredible Salsa dancing couple! I had no clue (how friggin good he is) till I saw a video of Jon and his wife Salsa dancing… wow! Check out this video from his myspace page.

Please pass this story on to your friends and family and anyone else who may be interested in a kick ass hoodie! I say it everytime, but I am grateful for all of my friends and my family for helping me out and being behind me then, now and always. I know how it feels when you think you gotta handle it all on your own, but the truth is that none of us are every really alone, there is always someone who cares. Every hoodie Endure sells and every dollar that is raised for Jon is a reminder that people really do care.