Every military uniform carries a story. Most will never be told. Founded by former Green Beret and Purple Heart recipient Jay Musgrave, Cowboy Athletic Club is changing that—repurposing veterans’ uniforms into wearable pieces of history, giving a voice to those whose stories have gone unheard, and turning every product sold into a step toward building the largest veterans wellness centers in the Austin, Texas, area.
“Somewhere in America, a combat uniform is sitting in a closet. The person who wore it remembers where it has been. Most of the world will never know.”
Somewhere, folded inside a cardboard box or hanging behind clothes untouched for years, is a uniform that once traveled halfway around the world. It may have endured the scorching heat of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan. It may have witnessed lifelong friendships, unimaginable sacrifices, or moments when someone wondered whether they would ever make it home.
Today, it hangs silently.
To most people, it’s an old uniform. To the person who wore it, it represents a chapter of life that words may never fully explain.
But what if that uniform had another purpose? What if its story didn’t have to end in a closet? And what if a piece of that fabric could help build a place where thousands of veterans might find community, support, and belonging?
That’s the vision behind Cowboy Athletic Club, a Texas startup founded by former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret and Purple Heart recipient Jay Musgrave.
On November 11, 2026, Veterans Day, the company will pre-launch its Hero Shirts, an apparel collection designed to honor individual veterans while helping fund what it hopes will become the largest veterans wellness center in the Austin, Texas, area.
Every Veteran Has a Story Worth Telling
Throughout his military career and civilian life, Musgrave met countless veterans whose remarkable stories rarely reached beyond their families and friends.
While military podcasts and documentaries often spotlight elite Special Forces operators, Musgrave recognized that extraordinary experiences weren’t limited to elite units.
There were Marines rebuilding their lives after devastating injuries, soldiers struggling with the transition to civilian life, and veterans discovering new careers and purpose after leaving the military.
Their stories weren’t simply about war. They were about what happened afterward.
Musgrave wanted to share those journeys, particularly with veterans searching for direction, hope, or reassurance that life after service could still hold extraordinary possibilities.
He needed a way to tell those stories while giving Americans an opportunity to help.
So he built an apparel company with a Mission.
Wear a Piece of History. Invest in Someone’s Future.
Every Cowboy Athletic Club Hero Shirt carries something that cannot be manufactured, replicated, or replaced—a genuine piece of a military uniform once worn by a veteran who answered the call to serve. Fabric that traveled into war zones, endured the hardships of deployment, and became part of moments that forever shaped the person wearing it. What was once a uniform worn in service to our country is now given a new purpose: preserving a veteran’s history, sharing a story that deserves to be heard, and helping build a better future for those who served.
But the fabric is only the beginning.
Every limited-quantity shirt includes an individually numbered, baseball-style collectible card honoring that veteran. On the back, a QR code connects customers to a YouTube interview sharing the person’s military experiences, challenges, and life after service.
A customer may purchase a shirt because they love the design. But scanning that card introduces them to someone whose story they might never otherwise hear.
“We live in a world where athletes who hit home runs and score winning baskets are idolized as heroes, their faces immortalized on collectible trading cards. I believe there should be room in those same collections for the real American heroes, the men and women who put on a uniform and went to war on our behalf,” Musgrave said.
For Cowboy Athletic Club, the concept combines limited-edition apparel, collectibles, and digital storytelling with a mission that extends beyond merchandise.
Customers aren’t simply purchasing a shirt. They’re wearing a piece of a veteran’s history while investing in the future of others.
A Marine’s Story of Life After the Uniform
The company’s first Hero Shirt honors Nick Perales, a former Marine Scout Sniper whose journey represents the very reason Musgrave founded Cowboy Athletic Club.
After losing a limb, Perales faced challenges that fundamentally changed his life. Yet his story demonstrates something Musgrave believes every transitioning veteran deserves to hear: a military career may end, but the opportunity to build a meaningful life does not.
Perales contributed his uniform because he believed its next purpose could be even greater than preserving it in a closet.
His shirt will carry a piece of his military history. His collectible card and interview will share the person behind it.
And his journey may reach another veteran facing an uncertain future.
Building More Than a Brand
For Musgrave, apparel is the beginning of a much larger undertaking.
Cowboy Athletic Club intends to direct proceeds from merchandise toward developing a flagship athletic club and veterans wellness center in Lockhart, Texas, serving greater Austin.
The company’s ambition is to establish what it hopes will become the region’s largest veterans wellness center, integrating premium fitness facilities, recovery resources, and potential access to physical therapy, massage therapy, and chiropractic care.
The planned facility would welcome civilians and veterans, with a long-term goal of providing memberships and selected wellness services to veterans at no cost.
Musgrave knows the importance of that community firsthand.
A Green Beret who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor and was wounded by gunfire during his service.
Through his experiences and relationships, he witnessed veterans navigating combat injuries, trauma, isolation, and difficult transitions.
He believes that sometimes the most valuable thing a veteran needs isn’t another program. It’s a place to belong.
“I want to build a place where someone notices when you do not show up,” Musgrave said.
A place where someone knows your name, notices your absence, and cares enough to check on you.
That’s the community he hopes to create.
The proposed facility remains in development, with financing, partnerships, and an opening date yet to be finalized.
From a Texas Startup to a Nationwide Mission
Musgrave’s ambitions extend beyond one location.
Within five years, he hopes Cowboy Athletic Club will have helped at least 2,000 veterans worldwide, established relationships with veteran-serving organizations, and expanded its apparel presence into retail stores under the message “Apparel With a Mission.”
He also envisions future collaborations with brands such as Black Rifle Coffee Company, Tecovas, and Lucchese, alongside the possibility of additional wellness facilities nationwide. No such partnerships have been announced.
A first-generation college graduate with degrees in psychology and a Masters in cybersecurity and an Executive MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, Musgrave hopes to combine commercial sustainability with meaningful community impact.
Supporters can participate through apparel purchases, donations, or potential business partnerships.
And every contribution brings the company closer to its larger goal.
The Next Chapter Begins November 11 (Veterans Day)
November 11 was no coincidence. Cowboy Athletic Club chose Veterans Day because honoring those who served is not just part of its mission, it’s the reason the company exists.
This Veterans Day, Americans have an opportunity to do more than say “thank you for your service.” Every Hero Shirt carries a piece of a veteran’s history, tells a story worth remembering, and helps build a future where veterans have a community to call their own.
Wear their history. Hear their story. Help build their future. Join the mission beginning November 11, 2026, at www.cowboyathleticclub.com.
