COUPLE CREATES BOXERS THAT WON’T BUNCH

Jenn and Parker Ellenburg PHOTO BY KRISTEN HOOK PHOTOGRAPHY

When Jenn Ellenburg told me about her husband’s “underwear dance,” I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit inside. I am more than familiar with said underwear dance and the constant struggles my husband has with uncomfortable underwear.

“We call it packing the parachute,” Ellenburg adds with a laugh. “There’s all this extra fabric that he’s pushing down.”

And husband Parker isn’t one to deny the allegations.

“With elastic, you have a constant squeezing pressure … and it wants to creep to the more narrow places,” he explains, “which is usually up your waist or down your waist.

“You wind up with your underwear bunched up.”

Instead of living with this problem, the couple took to the drawing board and created EROIX, featuring a line of underwear that’s designed to be a better “look, fit and feel.” Rather than an elastic waist, the underwear is reminiscent of board shorts and utilizes a button-tie closure (Board-room boxers) or lace-up version (Suit & Tied boxers).

“Since it’s a tailored garment, it embraces your body instead of squeezing it,” Parker says. “When you move, it will move with you and then it will relax and return to its most comfortable shape.”

EROIX Suit & Tied boxers PHOTO COURTESY EROIX

Jenn has been most impressed with how EROIX’s “underneathwear” is able to fit under different garments of varying material.

“Parker will wear it under his normal walking shorts and then he’ll wear it under jeans or even skinny pants,” she says. “There’s no lines.”

The term “EROIX” is the brainchild of the Ellenburgs, who wanted a complementary name for their innovative underneathwear concept.

“We felt like we created this unique product … and we came up with our own word,” explains Jenn.

The couple also has launched a T-shirt line as part of EROIX in Tees^° by Degree^° — different shirts for different temperatures. Kicking off the line is the 80/20 (perfect for Honolulu weather), followed by the 70/30 (Los Angeles) and the 60/40 (San Francisco). All garments are made with 100-percent organic cotton. The difference lies in the weight of the fibers, as well as the way they are knit together.

Next up, EROIX is looking forward to its underneath-wear Kickstarter campaign, which launches May 3. The campaign also marks the start of a stretch goal that introduces more colors and patterns.

“We really want to broaden our audience,” says Parker.

Hand-in-hand with comfort is the underneathwear’s breathability and airflow capability (thanks to the 100-percent woven cotton), and, according to Parker, the style and fit are well suited to Hawaii living.

EROIX’s line of Tees^° by Degree^° PHOTO COURTESY EROIX

“You can get away with just wearing these,” he says. “I’ve worn them to the beach. They’re definitely more of an underwear you can be caught in and not feel embarrassed.”

The concept was perfect for the Ellenburgs, who spend a lot of time exploring the outdoors with 2-year-old son Brooks.

“We adopted this way of life that’s really adventurous,” explains Parker. “Inside of our wedding rings, it says ‘adventure always,’ and that kind of lifestyle takes energy and courage.”

EROIX PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE AT OLIVER MEN’S SHOP IN KAILUA OR OLIVE & OLIVER AT SURFJACK HOTEL IN WAIKIKI.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT EROIX.COM.