This weekend at Bay to Breakers, Rinse brought San Francisco something the city doesn't see often: a system designed to keep ambitious people ready for whatever's next.
The pitch was underwear you never have to wash.
Or more accurately: laundry you never have to think about.
We printed this concept on shirts, put it on billboards, and sent people into the middle of the city’s most chaotic, colorful tradition with QR codes that said:
“Ask me about the underwear you never have to wash.”
And people did.
Some laughed immediately. Others assumed we were promoting some kind of futuristic garment. Some stopped mid-run to ask questions. And that’s when people got it–that this wasn’t really about underwear. The invitation was about creating conditions for a more ambitious life. Laundry is the task still running manually in the background of an otherwise designed life. It got everyone thinking:
What if San Francisco’s builders, founders, creators, and operators could stay ready for the work that drives this city forward? What if the next great idea didn’t lose an hour of momentum to laundry day?
“We’re giving Sundays back. Want one?” quickly became a shared line between our team, the runners, and people throughout the race. But the Sunday isn't the prize. What you do with it is. As Rinse CMO Jennifer Betka told The CMO Wire, "We aren't just giving people laundry and dry cleaning. We're giving people space to run faster toward whatever is meaningful in their life."
People stopped to take photos of the signs, scan QR codes, and ask questions about Rinse all along the route. Everywhere we looked, people were bringing Rinse into the energy of the day: laughing with our sign holders, tagging friends in photos, and carrying the conversation forward through the city. Again and again, we heard versions of the same reaction: “Honestly, this is the kind of tech I actually need.”
Bay to Breakers felt like the perfect place to explore these ideas around a life well-lived, one where we make space to pursue the fun of a good run. The event runs on collective energy: people moving through the city together, helping carry each other forward. That spirit connects closely to The Loop, our ongoing exploration of the systems, routines, and support structures that quietly keep people ready.
People don’t move to San Francisco to spend their weekends doing laundry. They move to SF to build, explore, connect, create, and experience life alongside each other. They’re looking for fewer recurring logistics. Fewer background tasks. More systems that quietly support the life they actually want to live. That’s why the idea resonated so deeply at Bay to Breakers. Not because people want “high tech underwear,” but because they want infrastructure that supports momentum.
Rinse isn't a convenience you reach for when the week gets away from you. It's the layer that completes an otherwise optimized life. You've automated your groceries, your finances, your personal productivity. Laundry is the next one to solve. Bay to Breakers reminded us that sometimes the best way to start that conversation is with something unexpected.
Or, apparently, with underwear.
