It started by accident through Off Track, an outdoor gear supply company. Recommended by a friend named Derek, Ben asked for materials; Mitch said they had a tent instead. Ben cut it into panels, made a tech pouch and a tote bag, and brought them back — Mitch said no one ever comes back with anything new.
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Ben describes the origin as "a complete like an opportunity with materials and a mistake in many ways." Off Track is an outdoor gear supply company founded by two outdoor gear heads who supply schools with kit. They'd noticed gear used on school camps for five years or so would get damaged and go in the bin, so they started the Second Life Project to get usable gear back out to school programs and social initiatives. Ben went in not knowing about the initiative, asked for materials, was handed a tent, took it home, cut it back into panels, and made a tech pouch and a tote bag. That turned into a mutually beneficial relationship: Ben and his co-founder Frank help triage and repair gear and get it back out, and in return they take the material no longer fit for purpose and turn it into products.