By Christian Towalski
Working in finance, Terry Haider never expected to have a significant impact on the activewear industry — especially not as part of a mission of evangelization. And yet, the Melrose native and lifelong Catholic will soon be putting the finishing touches on his own brand of Christian sports apparel: Breastplate Athletic.
“Breastplate Athletic exists to make evangelization approachable, natural and woven into everyday life,” Haider said. “Our mission is simple: ‘Live Faith. Wear Faith.’ We believe clothing can be a catalyst — an invitation to conversation, community and transformation.”
Haider, 61, has been an avid sports fan his whole life, with a particular interest in Christian athletes, like NFL players Reggie White and Cris Carter. As he got older, Haider began to think of ways he could help young athletes and exercise enthusiasts spread the Christian message. Haider said the foundations of Breastplate Athletic were laid by everyday conversations at his local gym.
“The spark began in the gym during ordinary workouts surrounded by ordinary people who, like me, were just trying to become better versions of themselves. Yet something deeper stirred beneath the surface: a desire to wear clothing that spoke to who I truly was becoming — someone trying, imperfectly but sincerely, to walk more closely with Christ,” Haider said.
While studying at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Haider began a lifelong faith journey that continued to evolve after graduation. At the gym, he sought a way to represent his faith with his activewear. At first, he explored existing brands but was disappointed by what he found.
“The first attempts to find Christian-themed athletic wear fell flat. Some brands had great messages but inconsistent quality or unreliable service. Others lacked a spirit that truly aligned with the faith that was growing inside of me,” he said.
“At the same time, my own prayer life was deepening, especially through the words of St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer — the powerful reminder that Christ is behind me, before me, within me and above me. The line ‘Christ to shield me today’ became a source of comfort and confidence. Pair that with a logo centered on a knight’s shield, and the seed of Breastplate Athletic began to take root,” he added.
Haider began wearing his own workout shirts to the gym with graphics designed by him and his daughter, Simone, and brought to life by Christian graphic designer Sara Hynes. Taking particular inspiration from the St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer, his initial clothing consisted of a simple shield design modeled after the metaphorical armor of God.
“It’s fun to help the vision come to life,” said Simone, who works in marketing at a sauna company based in Cokato.
“I think he knew what he wanted, but couldn’t make it physical, so it was fun to help do that. We’ve worked together before. [It’s] kind of fun to work on a passion project of his,” she said.
Simone also said she plans to stay involved in the Breastplate Athletic brand for the foreseeable future, providing marketing support and brand guidance to her father.
After a while, Haider’s unique design began to attract attention from other members of his gym.
“People approached me — young men especially — to talk about faith, life struggles and inspirations. These weren’t random conversations. They were raw, honest moments of connection sparked simply by a message across a chest,” he recalled.
“I watched how a small display of faith softened the room around me. It opened doors for others to share their stories, their questions and sometimes their pain. It made me realize how starved our culture is for encouragement, authenticity, human interaction and hope. And I felt convicted that more people needed these moments that could be sparked simply by wearing a shirt.”
Haider said the decision to establish Breastplate Athletic grew out of years of reflection, experience and interactions like those he had at the gym and in his religious community. He said the brand’s focus is to foster positive interaction between people — with the apparel acting as a catalyst for conversation and evangelization.
“I’ve had interactions with young people in the gym where I work out, coaches and people of faith or people who are just curious and ask. The clothing starts the conversations and starts relationships with faith being the impetus. It’s a different connection than you would otherwise get,” he said.
“These interactions lead to friendly conversations, a sense of shared identity (and) mission and sometimes lead to more serious discussions. Because of my clothing, I’ve had people talk about their faith or pour out their souls to me about the pain in their lives: family members suffering from addiction, people battling cancer, marriage problems or their stories of their personal faith journeys as they’ve recovered from big battles in their lives,” he remembered.
Haider, a member of Mary of the Visitation in Becker, directly credits his clothing with encouraging people to open up about not just the struggles in their lives but also their personal relationship with God and their history with Christian faith of any denomination.
“People want to talk about these things and need an outlet. They will share if they are comfortable believing that you won’t judge them for doing so. I’ve prayed for and with people after these interactions. These experiences didn’t happen accidentally; they came from either an explicit acknowledgment of ‘cool’ clothing or an implicit invitation to engage with me because I’ve made a public declaration that I am a follower of Christ as shown by my clothes.”
Longtime friend and fellow gym-goer Father Kevin Soenneker said he is “extremely excited to help Terry advance the mission of spreading the Gospel.”
Father Soenneker will be helping write blogs or articles for Breastplate’s newsletter centered on motivation and encouragement. He also plans to “be someone Terry can come to when he needs a second set of eyes or ears to know what is needed in the industry.”
“We often hear in homilies or Scripture, ‘Go make disciples,’” Father Soenneker said. “We don’t need to always preach words; it can be done simply by how we dress. Breastplate Athletic allows our invisible faith to be visible.”
While Breastplate Athletic grew out of interactions with people at the gym, the brand’s evangelical focus is not limited to any specific group. Moving forward, the brand hopes to connect with high school and college-age athletes from all corners of the sports world.
“Whether we like it or not, we live in a culture of hero worship, and sports is [one of] the biggest drivers,” Haider said.
“This celebration of athletes happens at all levels of sports from high school to non-Division I athletes who are ‘celebrities’ at their schools, and all the way to the professional level. We believe these athletes in the first two groups are likely to have higher quality interactions with their peers and young fans and more opportunity to have genuine discussions about faith.”
Haider said these younger or lesser-known athletes can effect real change and encourage positive discussion by publicly acknowledging their faith, such as by wearing faith-themed athletic wear.
“These local interactions are by their nature more personal, honest, real and impactful than two seconds of attention from a celebrity athlete who may be public about their faith in Christ.”
Haider has spent the last several months putting together an online storefront for Breastplate Athletic and is nearing a full product launch. The company has a website breastplateathletic.com and a Shopify store as well as a presence on Facebook and Instagram.
“We are starting with athletic wear for training: t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts, baseball caps and beanies,” he said. “I just placed my first order for golf shirts. Of course, we also will have Breastplate Athletic water bottles and gym bags.”
In addition to the website launch, Haider is working with friends, family and faith leaders in the Diocese of St. Cloud to brainstorm new ways the brand can be used to reach its core audience and even fundraise for youth ministry programs.
For now, the brand will remain a strictly online affair, but Haider said that he hasn’t completely dismissed a brick-and-mortar store. He made it clear that any physical store would have to be a local effort, and that customers shouldn’t expect to see Breastplate Athletics carried by major mass-retailers anytime soon.
“The world changes one conversation at a time,” he said. “And sometimes those conversations start with nothing more than a shirt.”