Get to know Jake the Recycled Firefighter

Recycled Firefighter started in a home garage in Louisville, Kentucky — with a $99 Singer sewing machine and a stack of decommissioned fire hose. Jake Starr, a career firefighter and self-taught seamster, wanted to make something useful out of gear that had already served on the line.

Over a decade later, Recycled Firefighter is owned and operated by Kyle Doyon, out of Cape Coral, FL. The shop is bigger. The team is bigger. The mission is the same.

From a Louisville garage to a Cape Coral shop floor. Born from the fire service. Built to serve.

How it started

Jake taught himself to sew from YouTube videos. He'd started with backpacking hammocks — a hobby project — and figured out that decommissioned fire hose was a better material than most of what was on the EDC market. Tough. Already proven on the job, and saving durable materials from landfills.

The first product was a slim wallet sewn from fire hose. That's still the bestseller today — the Sergeant Wallet — Firehose Edition. Same pattern, refined over a decade of customer feedback and real use, now sewn in small batches in Cape Coral, FL instead of the Louisville, KY garage.

How it changed hands

In 2025, Kyle Doyon, a friend of Jake's and longtime RF customer, and an entrepreneur who'd been running Coast Life Companies, a real estate development firm, bought the business from Jake. Same materials. Same craft. Same mission. The relocation to Cape Coral, FL gave the shop more space for new product development, better shipping logistics, and a sewing team that's grown well past one guy and a Singer.

Jake still consults on product development. He's still part of the brand.

What hasn't changed

Every piece is made in the USA. Most of them right here in Cape Coral. Every wallet, flag, pouch, and mat carries a piece of equipment that once had another job — real decommissioned fire hose, retired bunker gear, military Combat Boot Leather.

Every product is sewn in small batches with size 70 or 90 nylon thread and reinforced at the stress points. The Captain Wallet went through 13 months and 50+ failed prototypes before it shipped — that's the standard we hold.

What we don't do

We don't make fashion-driven colorways, purses, or clutches. We don't make products for people who want labels. The audience is firefighters, military, veterans, tradespeople, and EDC users who want gear that lasts.

If that's you, you're in the right place.

Built For

• First responders
• Veterans and active military
• Tradespeople
• EDC users who want a wallet that lasts a decade

The garage is bigger now. The mission's the same.

— The Recycled Firefighter team

Made in the USA. Built to serve. Carried with pride.