SAN FRANCISCO — It looks just like any other hoodie you might see a tech employee sporting in downtown San Francisco, but the Wonder Hoodie's claim to fame is that it can stop a bullet.
Founder Vy Tran said she was inspired to create a wearable bulletproof garment after a shooting in her native Seattle neighborhood.
“My next door neighbor, a mother of two, was just walking home when someone approached her for her purse. She wouldn’t give it up and was then shot eight times in the chest. She died just steps away from her home and mine," said Tran. "I couldn’t sleep knowing my mom and my little brother had to walk home in the same neighborhood.”
Tran wanted to find a product that would provide some protection.
“At the time I was working at a pretty big tech company making really good money, and if I can’t afford to buy this $2,000 product how can anyone else?”
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It wasn't even tougher to find options designed for women and children, which led her to start sewing some herself.
She pulled from her background in health and safety and material science to create Wonder Hoodies, which look like a regular sweatshirt from the outside. They are not much heavier. than a regular sweatshirt, because they're manufactured with a lightweight, durable type of Kevlar.
The company now sells hoodies in men’s, women’s and children’s sizes, and has expanded their product line to a denim jacket, fleece vest, traditional bulletproof vest and a bulletproof panel that people can put in their backpacks or bags. The garments start at $450 for a child’s size and goes up to $650 for adults.
Her customers are mostly people looking for the same kind of protection that she was, Tran said.
“The majority of them buy it because they feel unsafe walking around their own neighborhoods," she told KCBS Radio.
The child’s sizes are not meant to protect against school shootings, as the Wonder Hoodie cannot withstand a powerful assault rifle like the AR-15, the weapon commonly used in mass shootings.
As for Tran herself? She prefers the denim jacket. “I wear [it> sometimes to late night bars and stuff. It’s a great bar trick but also makes me feel pretty safe walking home.”
Written by Jessica Yi.
