An inside look at the behemoth athletic company and how it’s affecting .

By Mike Unger | Photography by david colwell Shining Armour

—Reprinted with permission from Baltimore Magazine, August 2013 Issue.— AUGUST 2013 | baltimoremagazine.net 173 Clockwise from top: employees get off the water taxi at tide point to start their day at ; the company's original 2,400-square-foot office on south sharp street; under armour's 15,000-square-foot facility in pigtown on wicomico and bush streets.

Nicole NDoenges strolls onto the water taxi, sits on a Nplastic bench, leans back, and watches the Canton shore fade from view. No blaring car horns or wailing sirens pollute the air, no construction zones or red lights impede progress.

“If we had someone visiting, I’d hire my The gentle hum of the boat’s motor, the they spend their days making would-be the company signed as its Plank recalls of those early years. “If we had 2011, it bought the facility for a reported $58 reflection of bright sunshine off the calmly athletes like you and me better. friends to come in and first major client. It needed to leave grand- someone visiting, I’d hire my friends to come million and almost immediately mapped lapping blue water, and the sound of Some of the passengers hold travel coffee ma’s, and fast. Plank, a Kensington native in and sit in chairs behind rented computers out an ambitious expansion plan. Today, seagulls calling out as they glide through thermoses or their phones. Most clutch both. sit in chairs behind who, like so much of the non-Hon speaking and act like they were doing work.” 1,300 of its employees occupy six buildings the sky are the soundtrack of her morning Doenges, a graphic designer, has a yoga mat rented computers world, associated Baltimore primarily with Enough got done that Under Armour on the campus. commute. with her. There’s a company-sponsored class the Orioles, Colts, and the Inner Harbor, quickly outgrew that space and moved to a “We’ve seen every inch of this city,” Plank This is rush hour? after work, one of the many perks, she says, and act like they essentially was a free agent. 15,000-square-foot facility on Bush Street says. “Bush Street was cool. The day we “It’s a really relaxing way to get my day that definitely elevate the job. “We were getting pushed to places that in Pigtown. By 2003, the company was moved we threw a big block party with keg started,” says Doenges, 26, who certainly The Water Taxi, free to the public were doing work.” people thought were suitable for us, like bursting at the seams and signed a deal to stands and the whole nine yards. We played looks anything but stressed. “I don’t even and paid for in part by her employer, is out in Springfield, VA,” Plank says. “But move to the waterfront in Tide Point. Leav- ‘Movin’ On Up’ from The Jeffersons. We use my car most of the week.” another. Fifteen minutes after it leaves my partner who had just joined me, Kip ing the city, Plank says, was never an option. moved from across a scrap metal yard to She’s one of a half-dozen Under Ar- Canton Waterfront Park, it reaches Locust Fulks [now COO], was a lacrosse player, “When I looked at the factors, the culture the lap of luxury. We tell our people that this mour employees aboard on this sun- Point. Doenges grabs her bag, smiles, and ticed that the cotton T-shirts his teammates and I was thinking we should own lacrosse. and identity of Baltimore is one of the things campus should be the center of energy for ny but brisk May morning. They’re all says, “Thanks, Lar,” to Capt. Larry Pinker, wore under their jerseys constantly were Baltimore was a hotbed for that. I had been that attracted me as much as anything else,” our company globally. We’ve stuck a flag in young, fit, and sporting at least one item and sets off up the gleaming metal pier drenched in sweat. Thinking there must here a few times when I was in school. The he says. “We wanted to build a hard-edged, the ground here.” with the familiar interlocking UA logo toward the campus where a company is be a better way, he created a prototype that mayor [Governor Martin O’Malley] was blue-collar company, and that attitude fit that has become as inescapable in Balti- transforming a city. wicked moisture and kept the athletes cool this energetic guy from D.C. There were a with what Baltimore was. We had a chip on Larger-than-life photos of Under Ar- more as Natty Bohs and Old Bay. Or is it the other way around? and dry. Working from his grandmother’s lot of things that felt compelling.” our shoulder. I think our city still does, and mour athletes greet visitors who pass Like Microsoft in Seattle, FedEx in Washington, D.C., row house, Plank started After meeting with a friendly land- I think our company does.” through the front doors of the Ivory Build- Memphis, and Ford in Detroit, Under Ar- By now the microfiber-to-riches story of the company he’s built into a multi-billion- lord, Plank sealed the deal on his move In the former Proctor & Gamble plant, ing. (Each building in Tide Point is named mour has become a part of its home city’s Kevin Plank and Under Armour has be- dollar behemoth. to a 2,400-square-foot space on South Under Armour’s 25 or so employees oc- for a Proctor & Gamble product.) The play- fabric. come the stuff of business-school legend. In Under Armour’s move to Baltimore was Sharp Street. cupied about 20,000-square-feet. As the ers—Kemba Walker (basketball), Bryce The boat heads west toward Tide Point, 1995, Plank, special teams captain for the based partly on strategy, partly on practi- “It was myself, Kip, a bookkeeper, and company continued to grow, it gobbled up Harper (baseball), Sloane Stephens (ten- where they used to make detergent. Now, University of Maryland football team, no- cality, and partly on gut instinct. In 1999, another person who answered phones,” office space vacated by departing tenants. In nis)—are, perhaps like the company itself,

174 baltimoremagazine.net | AUGUST 2013 AUGUST 2013 | baltimoremagazine.net 175 “we encourage active lifestyles. you don't not yet superstars but hard-working young “We don’t have favorite teams,” Mirchin talents whose best days are yet to come. have to be an athlete says. “If they’re not an Under Armour team, In the third-floor lobby, three framed they don’t exist.” Baltimore magazine stories proclaiming to work here, but you As Plank’s alma mater and the company’s Under Armour one of the best places to home state flagship school, the University of work in the city hang alongside copies of need to know how to Maryland is perhaps Under Armour’s most Plank’s business cards throughout the years. visible client. (There’s a 55-yard replica of its In the early days, he carried both one that compete, and you have football field on the Tide Point campus.) In identified him as the president of the com- 2011, the company responded to the school’s pany and one with the title “sales manager.” to hate to lose.” request to generate some excitement around Construction is underway on a free- the football program, redesigning the team’s standing visitors center in the middle of uniforms using the colorful state flag as the 21-acre campus, but for now, guests The workspace for many of the team- inspiration. When the primetime national report here. mates, as Under Armour calls its employ- television audience got its first glimpse dur- “We thought Tide Point and this city ees, is a maze of cubicles and seemingly ing the opening game, reaction was decid- fit our culture and our company,” says never-ending racks of clothing and shoes. edly mixed. Matt Mirchin, senior vice president There are several open spaces on most of “OH GOSH. Maryland uniforms. #Ew- of global brand and sports marketing. the floors, which have high ceilings and an wwwww!” LeBron James declared on “Blue-collar, inner-city tough. When peo- industrial feel. Many people have sports , where the uniforms were the top ple visit us for the first time, they say they memorabilia surrounding their desks—a trending topic. feel the energy. They say, ‘This is how we South Carolina football helmet, a University “We loved the fact that it generated such envisioned Under Armour.’” of Utah jersey. buzz,” Mirchin says. “Some of it was nega-

176 baltimoremagazine.net | AUGUST 2013 Clockwise From Left: a morning class on the or not to use the service, but a commit- to chug by. Expansion plans call for a pe- promenade; cubicles; the product-testing area next to the innovation lab; the armour39 workout- ment to physical fitness is strongly en- destrian overpass (which will be 100 yards, monitoring system; items for sale at the harbor couraged, if not expected. the idea being for employees to sprint across east brand house; a boot-camp class at the combine training center; scenes from the cafeteria. The Under Armour Combine Train- it) to connect the waterfront portion of the ing Center is a gym housed in the Tide campus to the other side, which houses the Building next door. It’s a state-of-the-art showrooms, cafeteria, and innovation lab. tive, a lot of it was positive, but once you get 10,000-square-foot facility that is open to that conversation started, people can have the general public and UA employees at a Considering all the exercising they do, their opinions. We loved it, we thought it discounted rate. It hosts group fitness class- it’s no surprise that Under Armour em- accomplished the goal.” es and competitions, and generally is packed ployees crave calories. Many fuel up at the Under Armour employees don’t dress in the early mornings and after work. Humble & Hungry Café, the company’s quite so flashy. They can wear jeans, T-shirts, “We try to encourage an active lifestyle beloved eatery that serves everything from really anything they want (though you’d be because it’s representative of who we are as a sandwiches to sushi. hard-pressed to find a Nike swoosh). Em- brand,” Mirchin says. “You don’t necessarily Each menu item is marked with a color- ployees get a 50-percent discount on Under need to be an athlete to work here, but you coded dot. Green denotes healthy options, Armour merchandise. need to know how to compete, and you have like a grilled salmon sandwich ($5.50) or Each person who passes in the hall is to hate to lose.” a turkey burger ($6, with one side). Yel- somehow better looking than the last, and The campus essentially is divided by rail- low choices like the Philadelphia roll ($5) most appear to be in top shape. When a road tracks, on which several freight trains or bison burger ($7.50) are iffier, and red, new employee is hired, they receive $50 a pass through weekly. CSX sends an e-mail plastered like a scarlet letter next to items month toward a personal or group train- to employees alerting them to a forthcom- like mac and cheese and fries ($1 each), are ing session. It’s up to the person whether ing train, which can take up to 45 minutes flat-out fattening. | CONTINUED ON PAGE 244

AUGUST 2013 | baltimoremagazine.net 177 “Make All Athletes Better” declares a claring that he has the best job in America. Shining Armour metal sign above the 007-like entrance to “I’m getting paid to work out,” says Un- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 177 the lab. A vascular scanner matches an em- der Armour’s director of product and inno- ployee’s ID badge to the vein pattern on the vation. He’s got the sweat to prove it. back of their hand before the door automati- Aside from the maddening “thinking cally opens. outside the box,” “work hard and play hard” Inside is a soaring, bright, multi-story might be the most overused, hokey cliché in open space, with work stations on the sec- all of business. ond level. The lab contains technology rang- At Under Armour, it actually fits. ing from cutting edge—an environmental In between the yoga classes, basketball chamber that allows testing of apparel in games, and cross-training, Under Armour precise heat, cold, and humidity—to a bor- teammates are expected to complete exem- “You can still have them if you’re having ing, everyday washing machine. plary work. A whole lot of it. a bad day,” Mirchin jokes. Products must pass durability, abrasion “It’s definitely not a nine-to-five culture,” The large bay windows open when the resistance, and flexibility tests before they Mirchin says. “When you’re growing at the weather is nice, and games involving Under are green lit. Haley occasionally refers to the rate we are, a lot of times people are doing Armour teams are shown on the big screens. lab as the “proving grounds.” more than one job while you’re looking to Coffee, tea, and fountain sodas are free if “Sometimes you’ll get something to hire more people. I would say people here employees use their own cups. work, but then you’ve got to get it through tend to stay later.” In another part of the Cheer Building, the washer and dryer,” he says. “It’s not too That’s rubbed some former employees there’s a basketball court that hosts pick-up sexy, but it’s one of the most challenging the wrong way. One person who recently left games and tournaments. Hours had to be things we do.” the company after two years said they aver- cut back when the noise from hypercom- aged 65- to 70-hour workweeks. petitive games got too disruptive. “We all drank the Kool-Aid,” the former Large showrooms allow the company employee says. “They promote a work-life snazzy venues in which to host clients. Each “there are many things balance with the gym, the food, lots of fun one is dedicated to a specific market. For activities. But most nights I wouldn’t get example, there is quickly growing women’s we don't have patents home until 10, after my daughter was al- apparel, which Mirchin says is 30 percent ready in bed. When you sign up for Under of Under Armour’s business today but soon on. anybody can buy Armour, you know that they expect you to will be half, and Next, the company’s name put them first.” for its children’s line. Each showroom is the fabrics. [but] when Plank is very specific about the type of named—Dedication, Commitment, Inspira- employee the company seeks to hire. tion, Vision, Pride. people buy under “You’re always looking for leadership,” he “We try to brand everything,” Mirchin says. “I want people who are going, ‘I was a says. “People ask me all the time what makes armour, they feel like lacrosse player and my fifth metatarsal was Under Armour different than our com- always bothering me by the end of a game. petitors, because there are a lot of things we it protects them.” How can I make a shoe that makes that bet- don’t have patents on. Anybody can buy the ter?’ Everyone’s a salesperson for our com- same fabrics. It’s the people, it’s the culture, pany. The environment we’ve created here, and it’s the brand. When people buy Under you’re treated like an adult, and we expect Armour, they feel like it protects them and The company’s latest innovation is you to bring a great attitude.” makes them perform better.” Armour39, a workout-monitoring system Much of what they’re purchasing is born that measures, tracks, and analyzes every When Terry Hickey moved to Locust Point in the adjacent innovation lab. A top-secret move an athlete makes though a module six years ago, many of his neighbors weren’t facility to which only about 1 percent of on a chest strap and an iPhone app. Today, even aware Under Armour was headquar- the company’s 6,000 worldwide employees engineer Mark Oleson is testing it in the tered in Tide Point. By 2011, however, the have unfettered access, it’s headed by Kevin curtained-off variable-free workout center company was seeking approval from the Haley, an easy-going, deep-thinking former on the lab floor. Locust Point Civic Association for its expan- collegiate track athlete and Under Armour’s Wearing shorts and a white Under Ar- sion plan that included more office space, first general counsel. mour HeatGear Prototype shirt, Oleson, parking, and a retail outlet. “Everything you could possibly want to 39, has been tracking his WILLpower, a “From the beginning, Under Armour was do to a piece of fabric, material, or textile, single number calculated using data col- very smart,” says Hickey, now the civic asso- we do here,” says Haley, 44, senior vice lected from the device during a workout. ciation’s president. “They avoided the we’ll- president of innovation. “It’s not enough After some intense full-body exercise on the do-this-with-or-without-you approach. I just to make it look cool. We’ve got to make rowing machine, he does 30-pound curls was on the board when this started, and I sure it works.” and 60-pound shoulder presses before de- can tell you, support certainly wasn’t unani-

244 baltimoremagazine.net | AUGUST 2013 mous. There were folks who were taken outside their campus in the future, there York City or Chicago or Shanghai, we’re from with Under Armour—its jobs, its prestige. are going to be some tough conversations there,” Stafford says. “There’s an element of On the other hand, there were people who and some people leveraged against it, but that hometown pride, that underdog, in think any big company is bad. The folks in I think they’re smartly building a relation- every city. We’re the next great brand, but the middle realized that we needed to work ship with the neighborhood.” we’re always going to be an underdog. We’re with them to get a good outcome.” always going to scrap and fight.” The company committed more than Among the most contentious issues Before it opened, more than 300 peo- $200,000 to the civic association for im- in Under Armour’s expansion nego- ple interviewed for the initial 25 store provements to Latrobe Park, an area rec tiations with the Locust Point Civic associate positions that Under Armour center, and street-scaping along Fort Av- Association was its plan to build a retail calls “specialists.” enue. In January 2012, more than 100 store on its campus. The company quick- “I think all things aside, its impact is members of the association unanimously ly shelved that idea, deciding instead to bigger than its numbers, because it’s every- voted to support the PUD (Planned Unit open its “Brand House” in the Legg Mason where,” Irani says of the company. “The Un- Development) amendments and a separate building in Harbor East. der Armour brand is becoming ubiquitous.” agreement with Under Armour to make its In many ways, however, it’s still a pi- neighborhood investments. ranha when compared to the great white Later that year, the city approved $35 shark that is Nike. In April, Under Armour million in Tax Increment Financing for in- reported a 23-percent increase in first-quar- frastructure upgrades in the area. It will “if they have plans to ter sales, to $472 million. Still, its $2 billion potentially issue bonds to pay for street and expand outside their in sales last year was less than one tenth of promenade improvements and new athletic Nike’s, according to Sports Illustrated. fields for the company and the public. The campus in the future, “We know who they are, we know what debt will be repaid by property taxes gener- they do, but we play our own game, and we ated by the company. there are going to be think we can continue to grow,” Mirchin “They’ve done their best to be active says. “We just said publicly that the next community partners and work with the tough conversations three years we’re going to double to $4 bil- neighborhood on issues,” said Baltimore lion, and, if you start worrying about what City Councilman William Cole, who repre- and some people lever- other people are doing, it’s very difficult to sents the area. “It never hurts to have one achieve that.” of these strong companies with ambitious aged against it.” But Under Armour has certainly made plans wanting to expand in your city be- its mark here. At night, a reflection from the cause they’re bringing in a lot of people to illuminated freestanding UA sign outside work here. That helps sustain our tax base.” the Harbor East store shimmers off the wa- Under Armour funnels about $55 mil- ter. Light from the Under Armour complex lion into the state and city coffers, based in “We’re a global company, and we’re sign, as Tide Point now officially is known, part on its property taxes, taxes paid by its opening offices all around the world, but shines from the other side of the harbor. employees, and tax revenue from its stores, we are proud that Baltimore is our home,” Baltimore’s been branded a company according to a study by Daraius Irani, ex- says Henry Stafford, senior vice president town. ecutive director of the Regional Economic for apparel, outdoors, and accessories. “We “The big, long-term vision is that some Studies Institute at Towson University. want people to know what we’re capable 22-year-old graduating from college is go- That’s a significant figure for a cash- of, so we’re bringing our best and brightest ing to say, ‘I applied to get a job at Under strapped city. Add the company’s philan- products to Baltimore.” Armour,’” Plank says. “‘I’ve got a [slim] shot, thropic exploits—its goal is to spend $10 The 6,100-square-foot store has been because it’s the greatest place in the world to million over the next five years on ath- open since February. Among its most popu- work, but regardless, I’m going to move to letic and academic improvements to local lar sellers are T-shirts that tap into Balti- Baltimore, Maryland, because it’s the coolest schools (a new football field and 65 comput- moreans’ provincial love for their neighbor- city in the world.’” ers at Dunbar High came first) as part of hoods. One features a UA logo smacked its WIN Baltimore initiative, according to on the side of a flamingo, above the word Mirchin—and it’s easy to see why its neigh- “Hampden.” In keeping with its flair for bors are willing to stomach increased traffic the dramatic, there’s a four-sided Jumbo- mike unger is a Baltimore contributing writer. or tight parking. Tron suspended from the ceiling and a “They send somebody to pretty much 750-pound carved wooden UA logo hanging visit the archives every one of our monthly community on the back wall. meetings,” Hickey says. “In that way, I The company plans to open another, baltimoremagazine.net/archives Ponying Up, May 2011 think they’ve been a model. When con- similar store later this year and more in We profile Kevin Plank's passion for horse racing. struction on the campus really starts in 2014. Where, it’s not saying. Test Run, November 2011 earnest, and if they have plans to expand “Whether we open in Baltimore or New We take a look inside Under Armour’s innovation lab.

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