Bear served 7 years as a Naval officer in the Special Operations community. He founded Born Primitive in his garage in 2014, the same year he earned his commission. Bear balanced being active duty while building what would become a global brand with zero outside funding. Prior to his service, Bear played Division-I football at Yale University and also competed at the CrossFit Games. Bear became hell bent on creating Born Primitive Tactical after seeing the shortfalls in the gear he was being issued as an operator, while also seeing many apparel brands in this industry that did not actually support those who serve.