Brian Ciciora ’23

Before he was building the brand, Truewerk founder Brian Ciciora built homes in the Colorado mountains. To protect himself from inclement weather at high elevations, he dressed in the accepted industry materials: restrictive cotton canvas and heavy duck cloth. He knew a better solution had to exist after many winters watching his pant legs freeze and thaw in the field. On a trip to Europe, he noticed trade workers in garments that looked more like the outdoor apparel he went skiing in. He thought trade professionals could also benefit from that emerging clothing technology: in materials strong but stretchy, lightweight but element-proof.

“In 2015, my personal experience in the trades led to frustration of the severely lacking technical performance of American workwear and the misconceptions surrounding the incredible opportunities of life in this industry,” Brian says. “In the 1800s, workwear was the most high-performing garment in the United States, but the workwear industry hasn’t kept up with advancements in fabric technology since. It’s our mission to once again make workwear the gold standard in apparel performance.”

Brian launched Truewerk seven years ago this November with a four-piece winter collection, which has expanded to nearly 60 products for all climates and industries today. “Most of my career has revolved around the desire to build things—houses and brands and companies,” Brian says. “I’ve always had the aspiration to be capable, from running through 18 gears on a dump truck to wiring a house or rebuilding a motorcycle clutch. Much of the confidence I’ve found in myself is rooted in helping provide life’s fundamental needs for my family and community. I’ve found kinship with other people who value the basic skills that have become underdeveloped in a white-collar world.”

Inspired by the Japanese philosophies of Monozukuri (the love of building things) and Hitozukuri (the love of growing people), Brian turned an idea into a company that quadrupled in size just a few short years later. “You realize in your pursuit of building things, there is not much you can get done without the love of growing people,” he says. “I’m devoted to the people who make solving great problems possible and worthwhile. It is amazing to look back at the people that have grown with you in that process.”

Today, Truewerk continues to redefine what it means to work in the skilled trades. We celebrate the skill, ingenuity and physical ability of the jobs that make civilized life possible and engineer the cutting-edge gear that makes trade professionals capable and confident in their ability to perform.