Swoveralls Comfort Club · February 2026 · Volume 4, Issue 2

Your Permission Slip to Be Boring

By Kyle Bergman, Founder of Swoveralls · February 2026

I feel like February is the month everyone forgets about. Not flashy enough to be exciting, not warm enough to be pleasant, just existing between January's optimism and March's promise of spring. I am a Jan baby, but my Feb babies, I stand with you in solidarity.

But check out this spin on February: this is your sign to be boring.

We are bringing you science on why simplifying your life actually makes you happier, two incredible customers (including a stand-up comedian who survived respiratory failure and came back funnier), a calendar that legitimately reduced my anxiety, and every single date for the Gen X Takeover comedy tour (because so many of you are older millennials and Gen Xers who need this).

February's gift: the permission to be boring

Here is something nobody tells you about decision fatigue: it is not just real, it is destroying your ability to do anything meaningful.

Research from Cornell University shows that the average adult makes about 35,000 decisions per day. By the time you have decided what to wear, what to eat, which emails to answer first, and whether to respond to that text, you have burned through most of your mental energy.

This is why successful people wear the same thing every day. Why Obama had his suits pre-selected. Why you and I (presumably) wear Swoveralls every day. It is not about being boring, it is about conserving decision-making energy for things that actually matter.

February is winter's permission slip to simplify. Nature does it, trees are not trying to grow leaves, animals are hibernating, everything slows down. You should too.

Here is what actually works:

1. Routinize the boring stuff

Same breakfast. Same workout time. Same bedtime. The stuff that does not need creativity should not get any.

2. Reduce your daily choices

Meal prep Sunday. Lay out clothes the night before. Create "uniforms" for different contexts (we are not saying Swoveralls every day, but we are not NOT saying it either).

3. Embrace predictable pleasures

Same coffee shop. Same walk route. Same Thursday night ritual. Predictability is not boring, it is comforting. And comfort reduces background anxiety.

Research from the University of Toronto shows that reducing daily decisions by even 10% significantly improves focus and reduces stress. You are not being lazy. You are being strategic.

So this February, give yourself permission to be predictable. Your brain will thank you.

Customer spotlight #1: Brian Blanton, the comedian who came back

Meet Brian Blanton, stand-up comedian from South Carolina, Swoveralls enthusiast, and someone who literally survived death and came back funnier.

In 2019, Brian contracted a flu-like virus that led to respiratory failure. He ended up in a coma, on ECMO life support (typically used for premature babies), and was given a 3% chance of survival. He was too big for the helicopter, so a surgical team drove 2.5 hours to hook him up to life support and get him to Duke.

He survived. But he had to relearn how to walk and talk. He lost his father while in the hospital. The day he came home from five months of hospital and rehab, his wife told him she wanted a divorce.

"I had that two weeks of like, 'if the world ends today, I could care less,'" Brian told me. "But then something just happened. I was like, you know what? I have nothing holding me back. I have faced the worst thing you could ever face, which is death. And I sorta kicked his ass."

When Brian came back to comedy, he came back different. He stopped trying to put on an act. Stopped trying to appease the crowd. "I finally realized, hey, I'm just gonna be Brian," he says. "Because you live for one person, yourself. You have people you care about, but at the end of the day, you got to live your life."

Now Brian performs all over the South, recently won Myrtle Beach's Funniest Comic contest, and wears his Swoveralls on stage because "it makes me stand out and I love to be the center of attention anyway."

He found us on social media (as one does), fell in love with them immediately as a "sweats guy," and now rocks them at Disney World, on stage, and basically everywhere. "If it improves your quality of life, it's a product worth having," he says.

Check out Brian's comedy at brianblanton.com.

Brian, you are an inspiration. Keep kicking ass and making people laugh.

Customer spotlight #2: Kelly E., finance pro with rainbow dreams

I had an incredible conversation with Kelly Ellsworth recently, and she is exactly the kind of customer that makes me love what we do.

Kelly works in the finance department at Patterson Dental Group in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She is in her 50s, loves the rainbow, is a proud LGBTQ ally, and is quirky in all the best ways.

She discovered Swoveralls on Meta, bought a black pair, then bought a navy pair a month later. Classic progression.

But here is where it gets good: Kelly wants to get custom Swoveralls for her finance team.

We started talking about custom options, and Kelly immediately started brainstorming. She also requested more fun prints, "I love the rainbow," which, Kelly, we hear you and we are working on it.

Kelly also mentioned she recently lost a lot of weight and is fully embracing her quirky, comfortable style. She is exactly what the Swoveralls customer should be, confident, authentic, living life on her own terms.

Kelly, thanks for being part of the comfy fam. Can't wait to see your finance team rocking custom Swoveralls.

Brands we love: The Big Ass Calendar

I bought a Big Ass Calendar a few months ago and it legitimately changed how I plan and reduced my anxiety. No exaggeration.

It is exactly what it sounds like: a giant wall calendar that shows your entire year at a glance. 365 boxes for 365 days. You can see everything at once instead of just looking at Tuesday on your phone.

Here is why it matters: when you can see your whole year, you make better decisions. You can spot opportunities. You can plan intentionally. You can say yes to what matters and no to what does not.

We use ours at Swoveralls HQ to map out all 16 product launches for the year, plan campaigns, coordinate with our team. Being able to see February next to August next to November? Game changer.

The founder built this out of frustration with digital calendars that only show you one week at a time. He is a very successful entrepreneur with initiative, vulnerability, and a relentless engine, exactly the kind of founder I find inspiring.

Why we love it:

• Reduces decision fatigue (see the comfort hack above)
• Makes planning visual and intuitive
• Helps you track goals and celebrate progress
• Comes with color-coded labels to organize different areas of life
• Made in the USA, sustainably sourced

Research shows you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals when you write them down. This calendar makes that stupidly easy.

Check it out at thebigasscalendar.com, they have both wall calendars and planners.

Small investment, massive impact on how you see your time.

Jon Wellington's Gen X Takeover comedy tour, all the dates

Remember Jon Wellington from our January newsletter? Navy vet, former Boeing guy, founder of The Dad Bod Veteran, and Gen X comedy legend?

His Gen X Takeover Tour is happening now and we want you there. So many of you are older millennials and Gen Xers, this tour is literally made for you.

Here are all the dates:

March 2026

• Mar 1, Charlotte, NC (Ovens Auditorium, 7:30 PM)
• Mar 6, Baltimore, MD (Lyric, 7:00 PM)
• Mar 7, Buffalo, NY (UB Center for the Arts, 7:00 PM)
• Mar 13, Chicago, IL (The Vic Theatre, 7:30 PM)
• Mar 15, Indianapolis, IN (Clowes Memorial Hall, 7:30 PM)
• Mar 20, Oklahoma City, OK (The Criterion, 8:00 PM)
• Mar 22, Mesa, AZ (Mesa Arts Center, 7:30 PM)
• Mar 29, Omaha, NE (Holland Performing Arts Center, 7:30 PM)

April to June 2026

• Apr 9, Boise, ID (Morrison Center, 7:00 PM)
• May 8, Nixa, MO (Aetos Center, 7:00 PM)
• May 28, San Antonio, TX (The Majestic Theatre, 7:00 PM)
• May 29, Rancho Mirage, CA (Agua Caliente Casino, 7:00 PM)
• Jun 13, Mulvane, KS (Kansas Star Arena, 7:00 PM)

August to November 2026

• Aug 21, Mashantucket, CT (Foxwoods Resort Casino, 8:00 PM)
• Oct 10, Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada (Community Auditorium, 7:30 PM)

Coming soon: Lac de Flambeau WI, Concord NH, New Buffalo MI, Biloxi MS, Mississauga Ontario, St. Louis MO

Get tickets at genxtakeover.com

And yes, you should absolutely wear your Swoveralls. Jon does. Be part of the comfy fam takeover.

Until next time

February does not need you to be interesting. It needs you to be consistent.

Simplify your routines. See your whole year. Support the comedians and finance pros and fellow humans who are just trying to live comfortably and authentically.

And remember: boring is a superpower when it frees you up to focus on what actually matters.

Stay cozy, stay simple, and please hit reply if you are going to any of those Gen X tour dates. I want to know.

Yours in all the free waistband energy,

Founder, Chief Swoveralls Officer

P.S. Brian survived a 3% chance and came back to make people laugh. Kelly is building a rainbow-loving finance team. Jon is touring the country repping Gen X. Custom Swoveralls are available for your crew. The Big Ass Calendar will reduce your anxiety. February is boring in the best possible way.

P.P.S. If you want custom Swoveralls for your team, wedding, or whatever, reply to this email and let's chat.

P.P.P.S. If you made it this far, you might as well join our facebook group here (the Comfort Club), and special shoutout to comfort coach Mary Elise for helping run the group.