Wilton Teen Designer Targets Anxiety With New Clothing Line

WILTON, CT — Who couldn't use a hug, right about now?

If the sales of weighted blankets — which simulate the sensation of a hug — are any indicator, just about everybody.

The blankets are the red-hot by product of deep pressure therapy, a staple of occupational therapists working with children with autism spectrum disorders. In the past few years, counselors have begun recommending their use to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety.

Sam Young, a 15-year-old Wilton student, says he had excellent experiences with a weighted blanket and "wanted to apply that technology into a wearable piece of clothing." He would call his line of heavy haberdashery "RestVest."

The problem with weighted blankets is you'll look like a "Peanuts" character carrying one around with you everywhere you go. It's also likely to send the wrong message on a first date, a crucial consideration among the RestVest's target teen and young adult demographic

So Sam set about researching garments that could serve the same therapeutic purposes as weighted blankets but offer a little more portability, discretion and style.

He was decidedly underwhelmed by what he found.

Other deep pressure therapy get-ups were "visually unappealing," Sam said. "They were meant to be used under your clothes ... and in some therapy office."

Sam, a freshman at St. Luke's in New Canaan, liked the look of a puffy vest he bought at Walmart much more. He filled it with beads and sand, and began to experiment with the placement and amount of weight. In short order, he had his prototype, and unlike his competition in the weighted wearables space, the RestVest was runway-ready.

Using connections from his father, a Danbury business owner, Sam took his designs to a manufacturer in China, and his RestVest business plan became a reality. He described the experience of watching his brainchild go from sketches in his notebook to a factory floor a world away as "life changing."

That was way back in 2019. The bead weight and placement are now patented, and Sam's RestVest business was recently selected as an alternate in the international SXSW EDU Student Startup Competition powered by WIT. He has received coaching for his competition from teen startup incubator WIT- Whatever It Takes.

"I learned a lot about marketing and business through them, a community of other young entrepreneurs," he said. For the immediate future, RestVest sales and marketing efforts will be online, and targeted mostly toward teens and young adults.

A freshman at St. Luke's in New Canaan, Sam said he was looking ahead to studying business in college, but now is focused on getting RestVest completely off the ground.

You can't buy a RestVest quite yet. Sam said he hoped to open online sales before the end of the year, and reckoned the vest pricing sweet spot would be in the neighborhood of $80-$100. That makes sense: On Amazon, a weighted blanket will set you back $60-$80.

That extra cash flow will be appreciated, but RestVest will remain rooted in issues related to teen mental health. The big upside to his product is "being able to decrease the stigma surrounding anxiety," according to the entrepreneur. Sam said he plans to donate a portion of RestVest sales to mental health organizations.