Product: Unbranded Sportswear
Location: Toronto, Canada
Kickstarter End Date: October 10, 2015
Current Pledge: $2,809 of $22,733
Website: http://www.athletescollective.com/
The running community is full of a bunch of great gear. Runners are often committed to the brands they sport and swear by them. Even us here at Run Oregon have our favorites (though we are always on the prowl for the latest and greatest companies). However, not everyone is as committed to the logo, brand, and stigma that comes with apparel companies. AthletesCollective has a solution to this. Here is their story:
About two years ago when my partner Charlie and I turned 30, we realized that while we both loved playing tennis and basketball, our branded Federer and Lebron James shirts were not going to make us play like them, and paying a small fortune for the privilege of wearing the logos they endorsed no longer appealed to us. Upon further investigation we realized it was impossible to buy high quality performance apparel with no visible branding on it. So instead of continuing our search, we decided to take action and spent a full year conducting research and development in order to create the perfect unbranded athletic basic for men, with fit, fabrics and performance on par with the top of the line shirts from the industry’s biggest brands but at a price affordable to every athlete, all while manufacturing in Canada. So, AthletesCollective was born, and while our company has a name and logo, you won’t find it on the exterior of our products.
For a year now, we’ve seen great interest locally in Toronto and a real desire from male athletes for unbranded performance gear. So we decided to launch our first crowdfunding campaign (which begins later this week) to expand both our reach and product offerings.
There are a couple of options of shirts – Sleeveless tee, long-sleeve, and t-shirt. The short sleeve and sleeveless will run $20 (plus shipping) and the long-sleeve can be claimed for $25 (plus shipping). You can also save money by purchasing one of their combo packages. Shipping is anticipated near the end of the year.
Although the shirts will be simple in visual and free of logos, they are still made to the highest quality. There are said to be no extraneous seams or vents like so many shirts on the market today, and instead feature a basic design that fits a multitude of athletic (and not so athletic) body types.
This is a pretty sweet idea, as it cuts out the middle man mark-up of having to shop through a retailer – running gear is expensive enough as it is without needing to pay the stores an additional fee.
Follow them on Facebook.
