Who Is The Laundry Guy, Patric Richardson?

Obviously, Patric Richardson, the Laundry Guy, self-dubbed on his website "the laundry evangelist" is zealous about doing laundry. He's written a book about it, or if you prefer, a love letter to it (via The Washington Post). This is a full-grown man who harbors a fervor for perfect, wrinkle-free clothing and has nurtured a skill-set to match his passion. According to Star Tribune, Richardson's been ironing since he was ten years old. His mother and grandmother were "meticulous," Richardson told the newspaper, "everything I wore was ironed and perfect. So I guess I associate laundry with care."

Richardson also has another gift: a talent for finding other laundry lovers in the world. The boutique owner (he runs Mona Williams in The Mall of the Americas) holds laundry camps where he regularly meets people as infatuated with the chore as he is. "So many people are closeted laundry lovers. And it's hysterical because they hush their tone when they tell me," he told The Wall Street Journal, "I tell them, 'Sweetie, you need to shout that loud and proud—there's no reason to hide.'"

It's not just laundry that makes Richardson's world go round: it's the fashion industry in general. In both middle school and high school, he was voted best dressed (via Mpls St. Paul). Richardson has even gone on to write a case study in a college textbook dedicated to fashion and has three years of experience as a manager at Nordstrom to prove his mettle.

A friend of Patric Richardson's once made him a "The Ina Garten of Laundry" t-shirt. He's so proud of the gift that he posted it to The Gram. And, like Ina Garten loves cooking, Richardson pours his heart into clean clothes. "We wear our lives' stories — from first dates to wedding days to bundles of baby joy," Richardson says in a preview to his new Discovery+ series, The Laundry Guy, "I always say you do laundry for the people you love ... Laundry is a kind of love language. It's a privilege that I get to wash these things for my clients" (via HGTV).

When he's not advising clients to "use quality soap," to "never use fabric softener," and that "bleach is the devil," you might find that Richardson has a real sense of humor (via Star Tribune). On Twitter, he once announced that he's a fan of Elton John's bow tie brooches. He wants to "look as good as Usher when he wears earbuds. And, if you ever catch him with a hairdo as bad as Al Pacino's, make sure to make an appointment with his barber, please (via Twitter).