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Getting clean after a grueling mud run or a long day at the beach usually meant choosing between shivering behind a towel or ruining your car’s interior. Kressa Peterson walked into the Tank to solve this exact problem, bringing a heavy dose of emotion, a memorable “Dirty Fairy” pitch, and a simple solution for outdoor hygiene.
However, turning a niche obstacle-racing accessory into a nationally recognized retail product requires serious capital and strategic partnerships.
The Bottom Line (Executive Summary)
- The Deal Went Through: Kressa Peterson’s on-air handshake with Mark Cuban and Alli Webb successfully passed the due diligence phase. The trio finalized the $80,000 investment for 40% equity.
- Thriving: Shower Toga is very much alive and profitable today. The company has evolved past mud runs, targeting van-lifers, healthcare workers, surfers, and disaster relief organizations.
- Product Expansion: The brand introduced “Shower To-Go” (a portable shower attachment) and plus-size models, driving consistent year-over-year revenue.
What is Shower Toga?
Shower Toga is a wearable, waterproof, slip-on garment designed to provide total privacy while changing and showering outdoors. Made from durable, water-wicking coated nylon, it doubles as a dry bag for wet clothes and functions as an emergency space blanket to retain body heat.
The product acts as a wearable shower curtain. Users slip it over their heads, cinch the locking cords tightly around their waist or chest, and reach through specially designed side access pockets to thoroughly wash themselves without exposing their bodies to the public. Once clean, the user can easily slip into dry clothes underneath the toga, pull the wet toga off, and pack their muddy gear inside it.
| Industry | Outdoor Apparel & Hygiene |
| Founder(s) | Kressa Peterson |
| Core Product | Wearable, waterproof privacy changing garment |
| Retail Price | $40.00 – $47.00 |
| Target Audience | Obstacle racers, surfers, campers, healthcare workers, elderly care |
The Founder Behind Shower Toga
Every memorable Shark Tank pitch requires a founder with a relentless drive, and Kressa Peterson embodies that archetype. Her path to the Tank was not forged in a business school, but rather through a severe personal crisis.
In 2012, Peterson was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a grueling double mastectomy and a challenging recovery process. Facing her own mortality fundamentally shifted her perspective on life, pushing her to seek out rigorous, life-affirming experiences outdoors.
Peterson and her family soon discovered the world of Spartan racing—intense obstacle courses that require participants to crawl under barbed wire, swim through freezing water, and navigate deep mud pits.
While she fell in love with the competitive physical exertion, she hated the aftermath. The makeshift cleaning stations at these events offered freezing hoses in open fields, forcing participants to either strip down publicly or endure a wet, muddy ride home.
Determined to find a solution, Peterson started experimenting. Her very first prototype was cobbled together using a cloth diaper. Assuming people would laugh at her makeshift invention, she brought it to her next race. Instead of mockery, she found massive demand. Nearly twenty different racers asked to borrow her homemade privacy curtain.
Realizing she had stumbled onto a viable product, she spent the next six months refining the design and sourcing manufacturers. She launched a Kickstarter campaign in May 2017, setting a modest goal to fund her first major production run.
The campaign resonated with the outdoor community, pulling in $14,735 from eager backers. Armed with proof of concept and early sales, Peterson set her sights on the biggest stage in venture capital. It took 16 months of applications and follow-ups to finally secure her spot on Shark Tank.
Shower Toga’s Shark Tank Pitch & Deal
When Peterson walked through the double doors during Season 10, Episode 16, she brought her whole family and a massive amount of energy. The pitch began with a bizarre and hilarious demonstration.
Her husband stepped out dressed as the “Dirty Fairy,” complete with a tutu and wings, tossing buckets of dirt and mud onto their two children. The kids then demonstrated exactly how to slip the Shower Toga on, disrobe underneath it, and scrub themselves clean using a portable water source, all while maintaining complete privacy.
Peterson asked the panel for $80,000 in exchange for 33% equity, giving her company an initial valuation of roughly $242,000. She reported that her lifetime sales up to that point had hit $80,000, driven primarily by grassroots marketing at regional obstacle racing tournaments where her family lived out of a fifth-wheel trailer.
The financial margins immediately caught the Sharks’ attention. Each Shower Toga cost a mere $2.85 to manufacture. She wholesaled them for $16 and sold them direct-to-consumer for $34.95. The margins were exceptional, but the concept polarized the panel.
Kevin O’Leary, staying true to his “Mr. Wonderful” persona, ruthlessly critiqued the product. He claimed consumers could achieve the exact same result by cutting a hole in a heavy-duty $2 garbage bag.
Peterson fiercely defended her design, pointing out the specific water-wicking material, the side access pockets, and the durability required to reuse the product hundreds of times.
Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner admired Peterson’s resilience and her mission to expand the product into disaster relief, but they struggled to see how the business could scale massively. They both bowed out.
Guest Shark Alli Webb, founder of the massive blowout chain Drybar, saw the vision. She recognized the specific utility for women who needed privacy in outdoor settings. Mark Cuban agreed, noting the broader applications for sports, beaches, and camping.
The two billionaires joined forces, offering Peterson exactly what she asked for in capital, $80,000 but demanding 40% equity to split between them. Recognizing the immense value of having two powerhouse investors guiding her supply chain and marketing, Peterson accepted the deal immediately without countering.
| Season/Episode | Season 10, Episode 14 |
| Initial Ask & Valuation | $80,000 for 33% equity ($242,424 valuation) |
| Sharks Present | Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Alli Webb (Guest) |
| Notable Offers | Mark Cuban & Alli Webb: $80,000 for 40% |
| Final On-Air Deal | $80,000 for 40% with Mark Cuban & Alli Webb |
Did the Shower Toga Deal Actually Close?
Yes. Unlike many handshake agreements on reality television that dissolve during the brutal due diligence process, the Shower Toga deal successfully closed off-camera.
The transition from a televised pitch to a finalized contract involves deep audits of a company’s financials, patent filings, and supply chain logistics. Peterson had kept her books clean and her overhead low by living on the road and selling directly to her core demographic. Both Cuban and Webb finalized their investments, cementing their 40% combined stake.
In multiple post-show interviews, Peterson has spoken highly of the ongoing relationship. She noted that Cuban and Webb are incredibly hands-on investors. Rather than handing her off to an associate, they communicate directly with her multiple times a week, helping navigate inventory scaling and new market penetrations. Shower Toga remains proudly listed on Mark Cuban’s official portfolio website today.
Shower Toga After Shark Tank: The Current Update
Shower Toga has matured far beyond a niche novelty item for mud runners. The company experienced a massive pivot and surge in brand awareness during the 2020 global health crisis. When hospitals were overwhelmed, nurses and front-line healthcare workers expressed deep fears about bringing pathogens home to their families.
Peterson immediately slashed the price of the Shower Toga by 50% for medical staff, allowing front-line workers to decontaminate themselves with outdoor hoses before ever crossing the threshold of their homes. This philanthropic move generated significant goodwill and opened an entirely new demographic for the brand.
Today, Shower Toga operates with a highly diversified customer base. The product has been adopted heavily by the surfing community, allowing surfers to strip out of thick wetsuits and rinse off the salt right on the beach. It has also found a strong foothold in the elderly care and assisted living sectors, where caregivers use the garment to bathe patients with their dignity completely intact.
Furthermore, the company has achieved Peterson’s original goal of integrating into disaster relief efforts; the water-wicking material doubles effectively as a high-grade emergency space blanket.
On the product development side, the company expanded its offerings. They successfully launched the “Simple Shower,” a $15 portable shower attachment that screws onto standard 2-liter bottles or collapsible water bladders, creating an instant shower head anywhere.
They also introduced plus sizes and multiple color options to accommodate all body types, raising their baseline retail price to approximately $46.96 to account for inflation and upgraded materials.
What is the Net Worth and Valuation of Shower Toga?
Because Shower Toga remains a privately held company, exact financial tax returns are kept strictly confidential. However, cross-referencing industry standard multipliers with the company’s confirmed public metrics provides a clear picture of their current standing.
When Mark Cuban and Alli Webb invested $80,000 for 40% equity, they firmly set the company’s post-money valuation at $200,000. Today, business analysts and Shark Tank tracking reports estimate the company’s annual recurring revenue sits comfortably between $250,000 and $500,000.
Applying a conservative 3x to 4x multiplier, which is standard for high-margin, direct-to-consumer e-commerce apparel brands with strong intellectual property and low overhead puts Shower Toga’s valuation at an estimated $1 million to $1.5 million.
Kressa Peterson retains a 60% controlling stake in the company, placing her personal equity in the brand squarely in the high six figures. By maintaining tight inventory control and avoiding bloated corporate overhead, Peterson has ensured the company remains highly profitable rather than just chasing top-line vanity metrics.
Is Shower Toga Still in Business?
Yes, Shower Toga is still in business and operating smoothly. The company maintains a highly active direct-to-consumer website where they offer free shipping on domestic orders. They run frequent promotional bundles, packaging the traditional toga with the Simple Shower nozzle attachment for a discounted rate.
Their social media presence remains engaged with the outdoor and fitness communities, regularly highlighting customer testimonials from campers and endurance athletes.
Where to Buy Shower Toga?
For consumers looking to purchase the product today, Kressa Peterson has successfully expanded the company’s retail footprint. The primary and most profitable avenue remains the official Shower Toga website, which offers the complete range of sizes, colors, and bundled packages.
Beyond direct sales, the brand maintains a strong presence on Amazon, capitalizing on the platform’s fast shipping for last-minute camping and festival preparations. Peterson has also successfully navigated traditional retail channels, securing shelf space in specialized big-box stores like Camping World and select Walmart locations.
Additionally, bringing the business full circle, Shower Toga struck an official merchandising partnership with Spartan, the very race organization that originally inspired the invention. Spartan now sells the product directly to its racers through their official gear stores, ensuring Peterson’s creation is available exactly where it is needed most.
