SANDPOINT — After seven years in the military, TJ White left thinking he had his life under control and that he was on the right track. 

White landed a job as a security contractor, allowing him to travel the world and meet a woman who would become his wife, yet there was something nagging at him. On his third read through of “The 4-hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss, White felt that the only thing keeping him between a new lifestyle was an idea. 

One thing that stuck with White from his time in the service was his wooby, a durable and multi-use poncho liner that all military personnel use. White recalls always having his wooby buried in his rucksack; he hardly went anywhere without it. 

Ever since he left, he had been searching for a civilian wearable made from the same material but never found one. That search led him to a realization. 

“This time specifically me and my buddy were looking for it, and we couldn’t find it. We were like ‘Oh man, somebody will do it eventually,” White said. “It took me like three days before that lightbulb went off in my head, ‘That’s the thing, that’s what I’ve been looking for.’” 

That idea has been the driving force behind White and his wife’s life for the better part of seven years as the owners and operators of Wooby Hoody.

"It was supposed to be, make it, I’d get one, I would sell the extras to my friends and the next thing you knew we built a website,” White said. “We sold them all and then we started getting requests for different ones, so we kept building, growing and changing the design. Just your classic tale of ‘I accidently started a business.’”  

Although there are now similar products to the Wooby Hoody, White has taken care to design all generations of the jacket. He said they originally started as pullovers, until he saw people overseas cutting them up to wear them as hoodies. 

White recalls that during the start-up of the business, he would send products back to Sandpoint so his wife could take them to the North Idaho Jiu Jitsu to see if the sizing was correct.  

“It was this big project with emails going back and forth; samples getting sent all over the world until we got our first batch made,” White said. “It was popular right away, but a lot of it was customer driven. 

White said that his favorite part of the business is interacting and meeting his customers. The company is constantly running polls to determine what steps Wooby Hoody needs to take next for the fourth generation of the signature product. 

Ever since he was a kid, White said it was his plan to go into the military, but that the desire to serve was emboldened by watching 9/11 live as a junior in high school. After enlisting in 2005, he would serve seven deployments to the Middle East as a member of the second ranger battalion in Fort Lewis.

"It was everything I wanted it to be, but there was that unexpected stuff you didn’t think about,” White said. “It was really good because I got to do exactly what I wanted to do and I enjoyed it, but there was that other side of it, the reality of war that people don’t think about.”  

White said that he’s focused now on becoming a better father and husband to his two children, who he credits for guiding and driving him along the journey from leaving the military back to everyday life.  

"We’re going to keep growing and scaling,” White said. “Life is absolutely what you make it... there is not ‘I want to make it to this point and stop’ I’m going to keep going and live my life to the fullest potential possible.”