Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/735366
ATRON PROFILES PATRONS | Fall 2016 21 Healthy, Humble, Relentless Beach cities entrepreneur puts good health at root of success in business and life. WRITTEN BY COLLEEN FARRELL | PHOTOGRAPHED BY LAUREN PRESSEY It's just past 8 a.m. and Jarrod Dogan rolls over the wood floor of his modern, minimal- istic-style Hermosa Beach home atop a skate- board covered with several-inch-high artificial grass. His 21-month-old son—wavy curls partially covering his eyes—stands at the front of the board, securely held by dad, and giggles past the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the pool downstairs. "He speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English," Jarrod proudly says of his son Sol, which means sun in Portuguese. Sol, it seems, likes to get up with the sun, while his 5 ½-year-old sister Lua (which means moon) likes to sleep in. Lua, roused by her Brazil- ian-born mom Celi, soon joins the family with her bedhead of blond waves, to give dad- dy a quick hug before he heads off to work. "is is what I wear to work," Jarrod says pointing to his board shorts and graphic tee. His intensity quickly shifts to a more serious topic—the work itself. Jarrod is the founder and CEO of Hybrid Apparel, a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners. "We don't sell suits; we sell what's hot to the kids, so my real job is keeping up with the trends and remaining relevant to the customers we sell to." "I have always been passionate about clothing, design and color," Jarrod continues in a rapid-fire South African accent. "I watch the trends and am influenced by what people are wearing." Two decades ago at age 21, a close call in his hometown of Johannesburg, South Afri- ca, propelled Jarrod toward early pursuit of that passion. He was carjacked at gunpoint while on break from college in England. He awoke in a hospital to find his shoes gone and 18 stitches in his head. Fed up with the violence in his hometown, the incident prompted him to pack a few belongings and $1,000, say goodbye to his family, and board a plane to America. Jarrod took a job at a clothing company in San Diego. A year later in 1997, he started his own business designing, selling and printing T-shirts in the back of a print shop. He spent the next few years working long hours, sleep- ing on a couch in the back of the company's warehouse in East Los Angeles and shower- ing at the gym downtown. Today, Hybrid Apparel has evolved into a full-service apparel house, specializing in the design, manufacture and production of all categories and classifications of apparel. Jarrod still maintains his laser-sharp focus and works long hours, but now runs the business with the help of 2,500 employees globally. "I'm relentless at whatever I do, but I don't look for the fame and glory. I don't like to be around anything pretentious. We're very private people and I like to keep my name out of it," he says. "I'm humble, hungry and always looking to find purpose in all I do." Two years ago at age 39, he realized that his unyielding drive and constant travel had a price. "My hormones were off, my cholesterol was high," he says. "I woke up and said, 'How can I take better care of myself ?'" His first step was to lose 40 pounds. But he also began to consider the health of those around him. He stepped up integration of the company's wellness culture. He began by placing a larger emphasis on healthy offerings in the company café and encouraging workers to exercise in a 18,000-square-foot gym locat- ed in the Cypress-based headquarters. Jarrod is often found working out with employees in a variety of class offerings that include yoga, spinning and functional training classes. "When you're in the gym we're one; it's not us versus them," he says of the bond he strives for with employees. "I'm passionate about clothing but more importantly passionate about winning and building an organization of people."