Editorial Note
Veteran-Owned Business Spotlight is a recurring New To Education series highlighting businesses with publicly documented veteran founders, military-service backgrounds, veteran ownership, or veteran-led leadership.
This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, paid promotion, veteran-business certification claim, medical recommendation, or guarantee regarding any product or service. Skincare products may affect people differently, and readers should review ingredients and consult a qualified medical professional when dealing with significant wounds, infections, allergies, or other health concerns.
A small jar of ointment may not look like the beginning of a community-development strategy.
For Doc Spartan, however, one practical skincare product became the foundation of something much larger.
The Portsmouth, Ohio, company was co-founded by U.S. Army veteran Dale King and entrepreneur Renée Wallace. What began with Wallace making natural products in her kitchen for members of King’s gym grew into a business selling skincare, first-aid, grooming, soap, beard-care, deodorant, and other personal-care products.
Doc Spartan later gained national attention through an appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank. Yet the company’s most meaningful story is not limited to television exposure or product sales.
Its growth became closely connected to the recovery of employees, the creation of manufacturing jobs, and efforts to rebuild confidence in a community heavily affected by economic decline and opioid addiction.
An Army Veteran Returns to Portsmouth
Dale King served in the United States Army before returning to his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio.
Like many veterans, he faced the challenge of translating military experience into a new civilian purpose. His response was closely connected to the community where he had grown up.
King opened PSKC CrossFit in 2010. The gym was intended to help residents improve their physical fitness, but it gradually became a place where people developed structure, discipline, confidence, and supportive relationships.
Those qualities were especially valuable in a city struggling with the effects of economic decline and substance-use disorder.
King saw that many people in recovery needed more than encouragement. They needed opportunities to prove that they could be dependable employees, teammates, parents, and community members.
His military experience influenced the way he approached this challenge. Training, shared hardship, accountability, teamwork, and consistent effort became tools for rebuilding lives rather than preparing for combat.
How Doc Spartan Began
Doc Spartan grew from a practical need inside King’s gym.
CrossFit athletes regularly developed scraped hands, cracked skin, cuts, and other minor skin problems. Renée Wallace began making a natural ointment for gym members who wanted an alternative to heavily processed products.
The formula became known as Combat Ready Ointment, commonly shortened to C.R.O.
The product was designed for people whose work, training, sports, or outdoor activities placed significant stress on their skin. Its early customers included athletes, workers, military members, and people who simply wanted a multipurpose skin product.
King and Wallace recognized that the ointment could become more than an informal product shared among gym members. In 2015, they developed Doc Spartan into a business headquartered in Portsmouth.
The company later expanded beyond its original ointment to offer deodorant, soaps, scrubs, beard products, skincare items, candles, tooth powder, pet-care products, apparel, and bundled gift sets.
Why the Name Doc Spartan Fits the Brand
The name Doc Spartan communicates the two sides of the company’s identity.
“Doc” suggests care, recovery, and products intended to help customers look after their skin. “Spartan” communicates toughness, discipline, simplicity, and resilience.
That combination reflects the company’s intended audience.
Doc Spartan does not present its products as delicate luxury items designed only for display. Its branding speaks to people who train hard, work with their hands, spend time outdoors, serve in demanding professions, or want straightforward personal-care products.
The brand’s military and fitness influence is visible, but it is not built entirely around camouflage, slogans, or veteran symbolism.
Its stronger identity comes from the connection between toughness and recovery.
A person can be resilient while still needing help. Skin can be damaged and still heal. A community can struggle and still rebuild. An employee can have a difficult history and still become a dependable member of a team.
That idea gives the company a message that extends beyond grooming products.
Taking Doc Spartan Into the Shark Tank
Doc Spartan appeared during Season 8 of ABC’s Shark Tank.
King and Wallace presented Combat Ready Ointment and explained the company’s connection to Portsmouth. They entered the program seeking an investment that could help them increase production and grow the brand.
The founders reached a deal with technology entrepreneur Robert Herjavec. Public recaps of the episode report an agreement involving $75,000 for a 25 percent ownership stake.
Television exposure brought Doc Spartan to a national audience. Viewers who had never heard of the company could see the founders, understand the original product, and learn about the economic challenges affecting their hometown.
The appearance also created immediate operational pressure.
National attention can produce a rapid increase in website traffic, orders, customer questions, and fulfillment demands. A small business must be prepared to manufacture, package, and ship at a much larger scale without sacrificing quality.
Doc Spartan’s experience demonstrates that publicity is not the same as success. Media attention creates an opportunity, but the company still needs systems capable of serving the new customers who arrive.
Employment as Part of Recovery
Doc Spartan’s community impact is closely connected to employment.
King has hired people in recovery to work within his businesses, including Doc Spartan and the related manufacturing operation Spartan Solutions Group.
A job can provide much more than income to someone rebuilding life after addiction.
Employment introduces routines, expectations, accountability, social connections, skill development, and evidence that a person can contribute to a team. It can also help repair confidence damaged by stigma, unemployment, incarceration, unstable housing, or strained family relationships.
King has argued that effort and willingness to improve should matter more than a person’s past.
This approach does not mean ignoring workplace standards. Employees are still expected to arrive, complete tasks, learn procedures, support coworkers, and meet production requirements.
The difference is that the company is willing to offer an opportunity to people whom other employers may reject before evaluating what they can do.
Doc Spartan’s business growth is therefore connected to the personal growth of its employees. The company explains that purchases support not only product manufacturing but also Portsmouth’s broader recovery story.
Why Meaningful Work Matters
Recovery programs often focus on treatment, counseling, housing, physical health, or preventing relapse. Those services can be essential, but long-term stability also depends on whether people can participate in everyday community life.
Meaningful work gives individuals a reason to be needed.
An employee packaging products, operating equipment, filling orders, managing inventory, or preparing shipments can see direct evidence of progress. Finished goods leave the facility because that person completed an important part of the process.
This is different from offering employment only as charity.
A sustainable business cannot survive if employees perform work that customers do not value. Doc Spartan must still make products people want, maintain quality, fulfill orders, control costs, and generate revenue.
That commercial pressure can make the opportunity more meaningful.
Employees are not simply participating in a program. They are helping operate a real company serving paying customers.
This balance between compassion and accountability is central to the business model.
Growing Manufacturing in Portsmouth
Doc Spartan manufactures its products in Portsmouth, the same Ohio community where King and Wallace were raised.
Keeping production local allows the business to create employment and build skills within the region rather than outsourcing every part of the operation.
The company has used equipment investments to improve production efficiency and increase its ability to train employees. A JobsOhio Inclusion Grant supported the purchase of machinery used in Doc Spartan and Spartan Solutions Group operations.
Spartan Solutions Group expanded the mission into packaging, warehouse work, machining, and subcontracted manufacturing.
This created additional ways for employees to develop practical experience beyond personal-care products.
The strategy matters because community revitalization usually requires more than one successful retail brand. It requires multiple forms of work, stronger local supply chains, functioning commercial spaces, and businesses willing to invest in people.
Doc Spartan became part of a wider effort to demonstrate that manufacturing and entrepreneurship could still grow in Portsmouth.
A Business Connected to a Larger Community Mission
King’s work extends beyond Doc Spartan.
PSKC CrossFit uses fitness and community as tools for recovery. Spartan Solutions Group creates additional manufacturing and packaging opportunities. King has also developed the Portsmouth Method, an approach intended to help other communities use fitness, employment, support, and shared accountability in recovery work.
These initiatives are connected, but each serves a different function.
The gym creates relationships, discipline, and physical confidence. Doc Spartan develops consumer products and generates revenue. The manufacturing company provides broader employment opportunities. Community programs help share lessons with other organizations.
This network demonstrates how several businesses and programs can reinforce one another.
A person may first enter the community through fitness, later gain employment, develop workplace skills, and eventually become someone who encourages others.
That progression is difficult to capture through sales numbers alone.
The products keep the company operating, but the relationships create its larger impact.
Natural Ingredients and Responsible Product Claims
Doc Spartan markets its products around natural ingredients and American manufacturing.
Its signature Combat Ready Ointment and broader product line are designed for skincare, grooming, hygiene, and everyday first-aid uses.
However, “natural” does not automatically mean that a product is appropriate for every person or every medical situation.
Customers may have allergies or sensitivities to plant oils, fragrances, beeswax, essential oils, or other ingredients. Serious cuts, burns, infections, persistent irritation, or wounds that do not heal require professional medical attention.
This distinction is important for any wellness-oriented business.
A company can explain the intended purpose of its products without implying that they replace medical diagnosis or treatment.
Clear ingredient lists, realistic instructions, appropriate warnings, and responsive customer service help consumers make better decisions.
For entrepreneurs, responsible product communication is not merely a legal concern. It is part of earning long-term trust.
Building a Brand Around Portsmouth
Many consumer companies attempt to appear as though they could come from anywhere.
Doc Spartan emphasizes exactly where it comes from.
Portsmouth’s struggles, residents, recovery efforts, manufacturing history, and local pride are central to the brand. The company describes itself as part of the city’s comeback story rather than presenting its location as an unimportant detail.
This gives customers a reason to connect the purchase with something larger.
A jar of ointment or a bar of soap represents a commercial transaction, but it may also support wages, training, equipment, and a business willing to invest in a community that has experienced serious hardship.
Place-based branding works best when the relationship is real.
Doc Spartan operates in Portsmouth, employs people there, manufactures products there, and publicly connects its future to the city’s progress.
The company is not merely borrowing a small-town image for marketing. Its operations are tied to the town itself.
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Doc Spartan
Doc Spartan demonstrates that a strong business can begin with a specific problem experienced by a small community.
Wallace first developed products for athletes at King’s gym. The founders tested the ointment with people they knew before attempting to reach a national market.
The company also shows the importance of building a mission into operations rather than limiting it to advertising.
Hiring people in recovery, maintaining production in Portsmouth, investing in machinery, and creating connected businesses are operational choices. They affect expenses, training, management, and daily workflow.
Another lesson is the value of combining different founder strengths.
King brought military leadership, fitness, community organizing, and business development. Wallace brought product creation and an understanding of natural personal-care formulations. The company required both the product and the mission surrounding it.
Doc Spartan also demonstrates that social impact does not remove the need for profitability.
A mission-driven business must still attract customers, produce dependable goods, manage inventory, fulfill orders, and control costs. Without revenue, it cannot continue providing employment or supporting community initiatives.
Finally, the company shows that second chances can become a competitive strength.
Employees who have been given a meaningful opportunity may develop intense loyalty, pride, and commitment when they believe the company genuinely values their progress.
Key Takeaways
Doc Spartan is a veteran-owned and veteran-founded skincare and grooming company headquartered in Portsmouth, Ohio.
The business was co-founded by Army veteran Dale King and Renée Wallace after Wallace began making natural products for members of King’s CrossFit gym.
Its signature product, Combat Ready Ointment, helped the company build a broader line of skincare, soap, deodorant, beard-care, grooming, and personal-care products.
Doc Spartan gained national recognition through Shark Tank, where King and Wallace reached an investment agreement with Robert Herjavec.
The company’s larger mission involves hiring and supporting people in addiction recovery, strengthening local manufacturing, and participating in the economic revitalization of Portsmouth.
Its story demonstrates how veteran leadership, product development, community investment, employment, and social impact can operate within the same business model.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Doc Spartan?
Doc Spartan was co-founded by U.S. Army veteran Dale King and Renée Wallace in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Is Doc Spartan veteran-owned?
Doc Spartan publicly identifies itself as a veteran-owned business, and co-founder Dale King served in the United States Army. Readers seeking information about a specific formal certification should confirm it directly with the company.
When was Doc Spartan founded?
Public founder profiles identify 2015 as the year Doc Spartan developed into an operating skincare and grooming company.
What is Combat Ready Ointment?
Combat Ready Ointment, also known as C.R.O., is Doc Spartan’s signature multipurpose skin product. Customers should review the official ingredient list and instructions before use.
Was Doc Spartan on Shark Tank?
Yes. Dale King and Renée Wallace appeared during Season 8 of ABC’s Shark Tank and reached a deal with investor Robert Herjavec.
What products does Doc Spartan sell?
The company sells skincare and first-aid products, deodorant, soap, scrubs, beard-care items, tooth powder, candles, pet-care products, apparel, gift cards, and product bundles. Availability may change.
How does the company support addiction recovery?
King’s businesses have employed people in recovery and connected employment with fitness, accountability, training, and community support. Doc Spartan’s growth is presented as part of a wider effort to create opportunity in Portsmouth.
Final Thoughts
Doc Spartan began with a product designed to help athletes care for damaged skin.
Its deeper impact came from what the founders decided to build around that product.
Dale King and Renée Wallace created a company that manufactures goods in their hometown, provides employment, supports people rebuilding their lives, and asks customers to view their purchases as part of Portsmouth’s recovery.
The company does not treat community impact as separate from business performance.
Product sales fund production. Production creates work. Work develops confidence and stability. Employees help the company serve more customers, and growth creates opportunities for additional people.
That cycle is difficult to build, but it demonstrates what mission-driven entrepreneurship can accomplish when the mission is connected to daily operations.
Doc Spartan’s story also carries a lesson familiar to many veterans.
Service does not necessarily end when a person leaves the military.
It may take a different form coaching in a gym, training an employee, building a company, manufacturing a product, or believing in someone who has stopped believing in themselves.
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Sources
Doc Spartan — Official Website
Doc Spartan — About the Company and Its Portsmouth Mission
Doc Spartan — The Company’s Shark Tank Story
Doc Spartan — Dale King’s TEDx Talk on Revitalizing a Local Economy
Ohio Southeast Economic Development — Doc Spartan Grows Business and Impact in Portsmouth
Aspen Institute — Finding Recovery in the Sweat and Community of a Local Gym
PSKC CrossFit — Dale King, Owner
Tango Alpha Lima Podcast — Dale King
Highland County Press — Doc Spartan Grows Business and Impact in Portsmouth
