I am a physical education teacher, originally from New Zealand but now working in Qatar, at the American School of Doha. This is a school that provides an American curriculum to the expatriate kids who come to the country because of their parents’ jobs.
We recently had parent-teacher conferences, and though most days I am fortunate enough to wear comfortable athletic clothes to work, there are times such as these when I am I prefer to look more formal. On these occasions I do like to dress well—many of my peers have this odd notion that all I have in my wardrobe are shorts and sport polos, and I enjoy proving them wrong.
I have enjoyed sports and being active my whole life, and I love that my job that allows me to encourage others to enjoy being active.
I was fortunate enough to be able to play my chosen sport, volleyball (both indoor and beach) to a relatively high level. However, playing a sport dominated by people a lot taller than I am, I had to work very hard to improve my jump skills. This meant a lot of work in the gym on lower body strength. The obvious side effect of this was the development of my gluteus maximus; it was with great amusement then that I read the sizing guide and saw the term Bubble Butt. It is a term I am very familiar with and one that causes my friends and family lots of laughter.
My wife and I chose to move overseas and teach as a chance to travel and work at the same time. We had not planned on ending up in the Middle East but this is the school that had jobs for the both of us. Shopping here is not too bad, especially if you have money to spend—there are a lot of people here involved in the oil industry doing very well, but for a teacher, buying the nicer clothes takes a chunk out of the wallet.
(I really like the look of Bonobos pants, especially the anti-taper sentiments!)
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Stereotypes should be limited to audio categories. I purport that daily in my US History course. My name is Barry G. Hayes and I teach in a district where constant physical confrontations occur between the Hispanic and black communities. These students are worried weekly about wearing colors based on gangs. There is a stereotype that they dress to their ethnicity and the limits of what they have been exposed to in the scope of a violent world.
I push that misguided notion back with force. Students in my classroom are exposed to music from Argentina, Japanese anime, and wound dressing techniques of on-the-fly care in warfare. In America we come from a diverse background with a history of making something of ourselves. These kids appear stuck in a cycle of gang warfare, poverty, and lack of opportunity. As their ambassador, their teacher 
from a culture and world they have not experienced, I want to constantly give them license to enter a lifestyle outside their own.
Fitzgerald wrote of stylish men and disaffected women struggling to understand themselves. Men were starving in the streets in the Great Depression but had enough self worth to wear proper trousers and braces. Dueling was a gentleman’s sport, and there were rules for murdering your friend. Americans have long understood the need for style under pressure, we are a nation begun through war but founded on the most beautifully written documents imaginable. My students have not had experience with classic American style. They know violence and pressure but not the calm servitude that a backbone in American style can lend.
A modern American understands the world around him is dangerous, yet he strives to add grace, knowledge, and style where he can.
These students have not laid eyes on a proper pair of Bonobos. With admittance to the Band of Brothers, that hurdle of showcasing a world outside the gangs and guns comes closer.
(Attached is a picture of myself and a student demonstrating the difference between fisticuffs and flat-out brawling. Gentlemanly conduct always, sport.)
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I am an individual and family counselor for people in Oklahoma City who have issues ranging from depression and anxiety to more difficult and severe problems like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Many of my clients are homeless, and so much of what we work on is how to get their basic needs met (food, clothes, shelter, medication). For others, my work is home-based because many of my clients either do not have access to transportation or are not able to get out due to their disability.
My hope of being included in your Band of Brothers isn’t so much for the financial component… but more for the solidarity that I feel with men everywhere who sacrifice their comfort for the comfort of others.
Oklahoma has the highest incidence of mental illness per capita in the United States—nearly 11% of the population suffers from some form. Unfortunately, Oklahoma is 48th in spending for mental health services, so funding for our programs is difficult to find.
In our nation’s current economic crisis, the people I see are more concerned with having food to eat, staying off drugs, and having a warm place to sleep than how much their 401(k) is down. I am humbled and amazed each day to be invited into the lives of people whom society seems to have forgotten about. It’s heartbreaking to speak with children who don’t have shoes that fit or even know where their next meal is coming from, and yet so often the kids just want to know that someone cares about them.
My hope of being included in your Band of Brothers isn’t so much for the financial component (though I am tired of relying on discount retailers for my professional attire), but more for the solidarity that I feel with men everywhere who sacrifice their comfort for the comfort of others. My wife, who is also a child therapist, can easily find well-fitting, attractive, professional clothing almost anywhere… and she also finds ample reason to be saddened by the fate I face when shopping for trousers. She would also like me to note that I do not currently own any khakis because of the unfortunate “KDB” effect.
Thanks for the consideration. I’ll be spreading the word about Bonobos here in OKC.
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Dear Band of Brothers,
I currently work for UNC-Chapel Hill on a research study to prevent type-II diabetes in middle school-aged children. The schools that we work with are in low-income, rural areas. Our program goal is to help each student pursue a healthy lifestyle in three ways: educating the student on what it means to eat healthfully and exercise, increase physical activity during physical education class, and improve 
the quality and nutrition of the food available on school grounds.
…long hikes breed tree-like legs that require relaxed, baggy fit jeans and khakis rather than anything remotely stylish. I have seriously considered switching over to sarongs completely and calling it a day. Hopefully your pants will make that unnecessary.
My main responsibility is to travel to the schools, assist in the physical education classes, and report on the relative success of each lesson plan used in the class. In doing so I interact daily with the students on a personal level, helping to teach the day’s lesson and giving encouragement along the way. It is this part of my job that is the most enjoyable for me, since it involves having fun and building relationships with the students and helping them to accomplish things they may have not thought possible. Since I began working on this project I have been amazed at how big of a problem childhood obesity is in our country. I heard the news reports prior to working with this study, but to see it firsthand was certainly an eye opening experience.
Prior to working with UNC-CH, I worked with troubled or at-risk teens at two separate facilities in Virginia and Utah. Both of these jobs used the wilderness to provide the students a challenging environment to reflect on their past choices and develop a plan to change the track of their lives in order to meet their life goals. The activities included hiking, mountain climbing, canoeing, and others. Each of which gave the student the opportunity to push themselves and gain confidence in their abilities.
Since I began working with children and teens back in 1998 I have witnessed no greater tool to teach than the outdoors.
In the coming fall I plan to attend graduate school to begin working towards my Masters Degree in Outdoor Education with the goal of directing an outdoor adventure program to help young people in their quest to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Having worked in these areas already gives me the experience necessary to achieve this, but so far it has not helped me to look good doing it. Wilderness Field Instructors may have one of the more enjoyable and satisfying careers, but they do not bring home much (soy) bacon. The other detriment is that long hikes breed tree-like legs that require relaxed, baggy fit jeans and khakis rather than anything remotely stylish. I have seriously considered switching over to sarongs completely and calling it a day. Hopefully your pants will make that unnecessary.
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First and foremost, I would like to thank you guys for your great product and your willingness to support your customers who work for the public good.
I have been working as an HIV prevention researcher and public health worker in New York City for the last 6 years, since I completed my undergraduate degree. As I’m certain you are aware, HIV continues to be a major public health concern in the USA and internationally.
Though the annual total deaths due to HIV/AIDS are less than causes like cancer and heart disease, HIV/AIDS disparately burdens African-American and gay communities and is one of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality that we currently have the tools to prevent.
Though HIV treatment has made major strides in recent years there have not been any equivalent breakthroughs in prevention, which remains both the most effective way of preserving health and the most financially feasible.
Last year’s failure of a promising HIV vaccine candidate leaves prevention workers like me with only the tried and true methods to try to prevent HIV infections: promoting safer sex and hard work.
I am very lucky to be involved in such important work, but unfortunately funding in this arena is limited and any resources available are first and foremost used to improve the lives of our patients. I knew going into this kind of work would not grant me great financial rewards, which I happily accept, but if I am fortunate enough to be included among your Band of Brothers I can at least look good doing it!
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I am a physical education teacher, originally from New Zealand but now working in Qatar, at the American School of Doha. This is a school that provides an American curriculum to the expatriate kids who come to the country because of their parents’ jobs.
