Hello, Thank you for visiting The SteelStretch Website. My name is Mike Adams, founder (2007) of SteelStretch. I always loved the concept of compression, support of the muscles during activity and the tight fit that makes me feel strong. The problems with the compression apparel I used before creating SteelStretch was the price, the material, the rough stitching and the overall fit. I will never understand why people are willing to pay $50 to $80 for a compression shirt that will ride-up your torso every time you move your arms, leave red marks from the stitching and the “slimy and slippery” feel on your skin. I was that person one time when I broke down and paid $50 for a short sleeve compression shirt made by a big name competitor. I was extremely disappointed! It was overpriced, did not wick the sweat away well at all, fit tight in my shoulders and loose around my torso, would ride-up every time I moved my arms, was so restricting it felt like a straight jacket and was too short, and left red marks around my shoulders from the uncomfortable stitching. Then when I put in through the washer, it was even worse and the side stitching was coming apart. Remember people, more expensive does not always mean better product. You are paying for designers, marketing, retail mark-up, square footage, professional athlete endorsements and many other things that increase prices for these big names. This was my motivation to create SteelStretch.
My goal with SteelStretch was to create the perfect compression shirt that would be affordable. I designed a side seamless compression shirt made from a soft blend of Nylon, Polyester and Elastane to kick off the SteelStretch line. It was the perfect compression shirt. The material was soft and did not hold any moisture. It was made longer in length so it would not ride-up when I moved around, I could do a hundred jumping jacks and the shirt stayed down the whole time and allowed movement without restrictions. It was comfortable, did not leave red marks from the stitching and was not “slippery and slimy” on my skin. Then I tested it against my competitors in the wash. I washed SteelStretch along with some name brand competitors shirts in the washing machine, after it was completed through the spin cycle, I hung them out to dry. Not only was SteelStretch the first one to be completely dry, it was almost completely dry after the spin cycle. Then I washed them all with fabric softener and put them through the dryer. If you notice most of these shirts instruct you NOT to use fabric softener and to hang dry. There is a reason for this. When I tested this, my competitors shirts seemed to weaken and was not the same almost like the material got thinner and faded. Not SteelStretch, our material holds up just fine with fabric softener and can take punishment of a hot dryer. The SteelStretch shirt was the only shirts that had the same fit as when I first used it and held up wash after wash and wear after wear. The SteelStretch shirt would get staticy after the dryer but this did not effect its functionabilty or material.
The bottom line: I have created you a much better compression shirt for a much lower price. After almost 5 years of business, SteelStretch has thrived, earning many new customers that agree that SteelStretch is the best compression apparel on the market. Thank you for visiting SteelStretch and I hope to earn your business and serve you well.
- Mike Adams