Meet Orange Mud owner, Josh Sprague
Born and raised in Paxico, Kansas, Josh Sprague has always had an innate passion for exercise, adventure and the outdoors. As an avid runner and adventure-seeker, Josh has participated in countless endurance events, eco-challenges, and races over the years. Most recently, he has completed both the Dirty Kanza 2019 and the Cannonball 550 mile bike race. (550 miles is about 40 miles longer than the distance between Austin and New Orleans) As Josh completed race after race, he continued to encounter issues with his equipment, especially his water bottle holders, to him they, “just never felt right.”
In 2012, while still working at a medical device company in California, overseeing a large distribution facility, Josh had one particular day of fun exercise and hydration frustration. That night, the first concept was born. “After a couple of glasses of wine that night I decided to take action and put some work into our concept. So I went into the garage and destroyed a gun holster, tie-down, and a waist pack to build our first HydraQuiver prototype. I went on a little jog with the pack and realized it was a solid concept, so I came back to tell my wife we’re starting a company and we need a name. For the next 3 hours, brainstorming was full speed in front of the iMac on GoDaddy trying name combos based upon trail running, dirt and my middle name which is Clay. My wife wouldn’t let me name our first boy Clay despite my request, so I told her I’d turn it into our company name somehow. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get anything to sound right with Clay, so looking back at my Kansas roots mud was a norm of life, so Clay turned to Mud and I’ve always liked the color Orange so the two came together and voila…Orange Mud!”
(Above: Josh Sprague)
After a couple years of balancing his day job with Orange Mud, Josh quit his job to focus solely on his business. Him and his family then moved to Denver, Colorado expecting a large population of endurance athletes. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. That, along with a slew of other issues forced Josh and his family to relocate again. He wanted to move somewhere not only more affordable, but also smarter for their business. Josh had been running the Orange Mud business through his home and, in order to continue growing, he needed more space. During a trip to Texas for an endurance event, Josh decided that the Austin Area, specifically Georgetown, fit the bill. He called his wife who immedately packed the house and the rest is history.
Orange Mud’s headquarters is now based in Round Rock – and business is better than ever. Orange Mud is sold in over 500 stores and 40+ countries and boasts over 337 brand ambassadors. He has also started a screen printing company called Seven Clay. (He finally gets to use his middle name for something)
Josh Sprague and the Orange Mud Team will be at The Running Event in December. Find more info here: https://www.therunningevent.com/
For more on Orange Mud:
Website: https://www.orangemud.com/
Website: https://sevenclay.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orangemud
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orangemud/
