Aptitude for Achievement

Crons is on a mission help players fulfill their potential.

by Sean Brown / @GoldenBoy14

In Pittsburgh, PA there is a rising athletic apparel brand being built that Nike’s Phil Knight would admire and that Under Armour’s Kevin Plank should watch out for. CRONS, an athletic apparel brand has focused on the preparation and dedication the game requires for athletes. An acronym standing for “Come Ready or Never Start” has created a very genuine message that is not just about athletic gear and products but an attitude to achieve.

Opposed to stating the greatness of its athletes, Crons promotes its players to strive for it. The gear can be most easily defined as “motivational apparel” and motivate and inspire it has. Crons has been extremely successful outfitting teams in the Atlantic 10, Big South as well as numerous high schools and the sponsorship of camps nationwide preparing athlete’s for success through hard work. No one understands the value of hard work more than Founder and CEO Pat Cavanaugh.

Cavanaugh realized at a young age that the will of the man is just as important as the skill of the man. During his high school playing days he was told by many that he would never play Division-I basketball only to prove his doubters wrong becoming a walk-on at the University of Pittsburgh. As a two-time captain he lead the Pitt Panthers to their first ever Big East victory in Madison Square Garden and managed to land himself a number of NBA workouts. “When I was growing up I heard what we now call noise, noise being the naysayers and negative people saying what you cant do. I developed the brand to support kids and young athletes and help them realize it’s very possible to achieve their goals.” Meaning is often lost in a sports apparel industry that is dominated by famous faces who have already polished their skills. Cavanaugh has focused on what gets a player to be successful and overachieve to reach those goals sometimes very creatively.

Aside from quality product there are reminders that tell a player to keep pushing. Jerseys with an embroidered Crons logo with an upside down message stitched on it, which reads “The guy working harder than you that’s me.” So when a player is bending over with their hands on their knees they get an instant reminder to stand up and keep pushing. Cavanaugh has created an entire brand synonymous with fulfilling a player’s own potential for the best results.

Outside of apparel there is the Crons Achievers Program, which is an educational curriculum that has been adopted by schools in Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Utah and New York. The nine-week learning modules incorporate goal setting with physical and just as importantly mental goal kits for students. There is also Crons Come Ready Performance Protein Bars engineered for superior nutritional value pre- and post-workouts.

“I want Crons to naturally evolve as a brand that stands for something. It’s easy to see the end result of success I want our athletes to understand what it takes to achieve it.” While Cavanaugh stays true to his vision through naturally evolving as a brand he’s managed to turn his passion in to quite a profit. Expanding over 400 percent in profit in two years and consistently having new schools and players buy in to his vision. The next step for the brand is to enter the retail market so that everyone can buy in to the Crons ideal of competition. An entrance in to the retail market is planned for late 2011 or early 2012. “The idea is to be a household name while maintaining our ideals as a brand.”

Nike and adidas have become usual suspects for some time but you can anticipate the Crons brand being worn by athletes who are working harder than anyone else. For those doubting Cavanaugh’s inspirational brand he can’t hear the noise. He’s too busy putting in the work that brought his brand this far so fast and passing the message along.