When I worked in corporate, I always had to look sharp, and I just got sick and tired of my morning routines being overly complex and lengthy,” says 31-year-old Rafael De Oliveira of his 10 years at the Scarsdale Medical Group. “That’s really what led me to start tucking my shirt into my boxer briefs, which ultimately led to the creation of Tucked Trunks boxer briefs.”
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A native of Brazil who immigrated to the US when he was 6, De Oliveira worked his way up through the ranks, from parking-lot valet to radiology tech assistant and eventually a lucrative position as head of billing administration at Scarsdale Medical Group.
It would be years, however, before De Oliveira’s undergarment inspiration would evolve into a viable product. “At first, I wore my makeshift creation of Tucked Trunks, which I stitched myself from some old boxer briefs I had lying around my house,” he explains. “I wore these for the better part of two years. Then I started thinking: If I love how these trunks are working for me, other people would love the product, too.”
For the aspiring entrepreneur and newlywed White Plains resident, the next step was creating a product that was different from other tuckable products on the market. He incorporated a rubber waistband to prevent slippage and added three buttonholes to the exterior, so the user could fasten the last button of their shirt to the briefs.
Tucked Trunks
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Even though the patent is still pending, De Oliveira’s product was a hit from the start. He originally ordered 1,000 units into production, which sold out in a week. Emboldened by the response, De Oliveira quit his job in February 2017 and dedicated himself full-time to the startup. Today, Tucked Trunks is rapidly approaching $1 million in sales and has been featured in publications ranging from Business Insider to the New York Post, with clients in more than 150 countries. De Oliveira says his next big move will be to open an office in White Plains, which he intends to accomplish sometime in 2018.
“We just recently launched Tucked Trunks brief short panties for women,” says De Oliveira. “We see our company expanding more into retail and want to make our product more accessible to our clients online and in stores.”
