Wilmer Valderrama’s New Activewear Line E.P.U and USO Work: “So Proud”

Wilmer Valderrama has released an activewear and lifestyle brand with a philanthropic twist.

The 44-year-old actor recently announced the release of E.P.U., which stands for “E Pluribus Unum” or “Out of Many, One.” The nonprofit company has formed a direct partnership with the USO, an organization that Valderrama has been involved with for nearly 20 years. A portion of its sales will go to aid in its mission of “strengthening the well-being of service members and their families,” according to a release.

Valderrama has been working on the project, which he noted he has 100 percent funded himself, for a couple of years. The NCIS actor said he had been searching for a way to help, as he put it, the people that he loves and respects so much by bringing funding to different programs such as pre-deployment and welcome home programs. He noted that he saw companies advertising for military service-related holidays, but he wondered what the long-term commitment looked like.

“I started really thinking to myself… If we were to commit throughout the year to create a signal that can continue to not just heal but provide vital services, what would that look like?” Valderrama told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We allocate a percentage of all of our sales to support impactful U.S. military programs nationwide,” he added. “That’s kind of the philosophy.”

The company’s mission seemingly adds up with Valderrama’s track record of working with the USO for nearly two decades. The actor, along with NCIS: Hawai’i actress Vanessa Lachey, is a global ambassador for the nonprofit and has participated in over 45 USO engagements around the world.

Looking back, Valderrama credited Bob Hope as someone who he’d seen perform for the armed forces. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh, maybe one day… one day I’ll get to be in front of the armed forces and perform like him,’” he said.

The actor said he eventually got involved with the USO after meeting service members at the airport who told him they were fans of That 70’s Show and that other service members traded DVDs of the show “like baseball cards.”

Dr. J.D. Crouch II, the USO’s president and chief executive officer, said the nonprofit invited Valderrama to be a global ambassador because of the “special role” he’s played since getting involved with the organization. “Wilmer will be overseas, he’ll meet somebody, he’ll come back and call or FaceTime the parents, and say, ‘Hey, I saw your son or daughter,’” Crouch recalled.

Valderrama said he “fell in love with the idea of coming and just saying thank you” to service members through the engagements. “I’ve been to almost every base around the world,” he said, noting that he’s visited soldiers multiple times on both Christmas and Thanksgiving. “I’m just so proud,” he continued.

“Since I was a little boy, I kind of dreamed of serving my country, and I never got a chance to do so because my career started so early,” he laughed. “But I would say that this kind of almost became the second-best version of that, being able to come together and saying, ‘Hey, this is the country that gave me the American dream.’”

Valderrama said he felt that the least he could do was “come and say thank you,” adding that he was “hooked.”

“I was really, really passionate about what it represented and what the USO does at every base,” the actor said. “And what it provides for the armed forces and our beautiful people.”

E.P.U’s first collection features unisex T-shirts, tanks, crew neck sweatshirts, sweatpants and sweat shorts, along with men’s and women’s hoodies and joggers, and women’s crop tees and tanks. The brand offers sizes extra-small through two extra-large and can be found on E.P.U’s website.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, USO