When your child is born with a disability, you have to think ahead to the next thing your child will need, whether it’s therapy, a doctor, or specialized equipment. If you wait until you need it, it might be nine months before you can actually get the wheelchair or appointment, for example. So when Brady Crandall’s oldest daughter was unexpectedly born with a brain injury, he and his wife, Stephanie, quickly got into the habit of looking ahead and trying to anticipate her needs.
As she got a little older, Crandall realized that there were no diapers for kids. At the time, size 7 was the biggest baby diaper, but even then, stores don’t often carry them. If they do, it’s in a limited quantity and is clearly targeting babies, not big kids.
He started asking around in his community and was shocked to find that other parents had been making due with different solutions with varying effectiveness, whether it was adult diapers with inserts or double diapering.
When he conducted a survey, it was clear that this was a top-five daily problem for them, sometimes even number one. For such an essential life function, it seemed the disability community was once again being overlooked, especially as kids get older and are going to school.
“Every parent worries about their kids,” says Crandall, “But when you have a kid with disabilities, those worries are so much more tangible, real, and likely to happen.”
For Crandall, this isn’t just about his daughter being able to go to school without an accident; it’s about respect. He sees this as an opportunity for a brand to come in and speak clearly and directly to parents of disabled kids, further normalizing their everyday experience, instead of pitying them.
Crandall applied years of learning from start-ups and in marketing departments of major brands, and founded Youth Crews to create diapers specifically for kids. To do this, he had to find a manufacturer who would interrupt their 800-diapers-per-minute schedule to create a size and a machine that did not previously exist. He also had to get startup funding, proving the business case for a product that big brands had previously overlooked.
It was never a goal of Crandall’s to start a business, but ultimately, it felt like he was the person who had to solve this problem to make his daughter’s life better. Crandall is hesitant to call this a calling, but I will. Plenty of people are faced with this issue, but Crandall was the first to work towards a solution, and continue to build a company that’s actively changing and evolving to help this community. He’s also the first to say he isn’t doing this alone.
In addition to partners and investors, he also lovingly calls his wife the breadwinner. Because of his daughter’s disability, he taps into in-home support service caregivers (IHSS) as her paid caregiver. They’re also supported by Rocky Mountain Human Services and have had their home adapted with ramps and door widening, thanks in part to Homebuilders Foundation and Gravinas Windows & Siding.
Disability can be very alienating, but he says medical parents are very resilient and are proud to be part of this community. He’s active in Hope for HIE and did a walk with them in the spring.
“No one understands what you’re going through better than people who’ve already gone through it,” says Crandall.
To learn more about their journey and to stay up to date on their latest products, head to @youthcrews on Instagram or YouthCrews.com.