We used to leave it all on the court. Now we leave it on the floor.
Mine started when I was seven — tee-ball in the spring, little league basketball after that, and every sport in between, all year round, straight through my senior year at Cherryville High School. We won the state championship in basketball that year, and they handed me the Mr. Iron Man award for never sitting a season out.
From there I took that drive to college on a football scholarship. I was fast. I was strong. I never once thought about slowing down.
Then real life hit.
From the Court to the Concrete
The stadium lights went off. The warehouse lights came on.
I started at the bottom, pulling orders on the floor — three, four years of it. I worked my way up to forklift driver, and then to supervisor, a job I've held for over 30 years.
If you've ever loaded trucks, you already know:
In the summer, the sun cooks that metal trailer all day. By the time you drive your forklift inside, you're loading an oven. Touch the wall and it burns your hand.
In the winter, freezing rain blows straight through the dock door and settles into your bones. It stays there all shift.
Nobody who hasn't done it really understands. Everybody who has never forgets.
I'll never forget the night before Thanksgiving. Our shift started at 6 p.m., and the rule was simple: you work until the orders are out. We didn't walk out until noon the next day — 18 straight hours throwing frozen meat boxes onto a rider and building pallets, knowing we'd be back that night for another shift.
Somehow, we still had fun. We picked those orders as a team, laughed through the exhaustion, and got it done. Because that's what you do for your family.
Respecting the Hustle
Life doesn't always go in a straight line. After 19 years with one company, I got the news everybody in this business eventually gets: corporate downsizing.
My wife and I didn't sit around and wait. We got in the car and did DoorDash together for a couple of months to make ends meet.
That stretch gave me a deeper respect for the everyday hustle — the people grinding on the road, working odd hours, doing whatever it takes to pay the bills. I know the value of a dollar, because I've earned it every way you can.
Who I Am Now
Today I'm that ex-athlete. I've got the aches, the back pain, and all the years of wear that come with the job.
What I want now isn't a trophy. I want to pick up my grandkids without thinking twice. I want to keep up with the people I worked all those years for.
That's where XGRITX was born.
Value, Cent for Cent
When I started looking at supplements, I had questions nobody was answering: What am I actually putting in my body? Has it been tested — or am I just taking somebody's word for it? What's in it, and why?
I had the same questions about clothes. When I buy a T-shirt or a sweatshirt, will I still be wearing it two years from now — or will it fall apart in 30 days? I remember my parents saving up for my sports gear, and I learned early what it means to pay for something that doesn't last.
So I built XGRITX on one simple rule: value, cent for cent.
No gimmicks. You get the real information on everything we sell — what's in it, what it's for, and the lab paperwork to prove it.
Heavy-duty gear. Apparel made to hold up and to be worn with pride — at the game, the cookout, or anywhere you want people to know what you do for a living.
Not for Everybody
XGRITX isn't for everybody. It's for the people who take real pride in the work they do — CDL drivers, forklift operators, pickers, loaders, nurses, linemen, and anyone out there hustling to support their family. People who remember who they were before the job, and still carry that drive every single day.
Craig Roberts
Founder, XGRITX
