I recently attended the launch of the newly revamped Teamm8 store in Sydney, I wasn’t sure what I was in for and to say I was blown away by the new direction the label has taken is an understatement. It’s a strong collection that will appeal to a wide audience, packed with colour pattern and great pieces to inspire any Fitness enthusiast.

How did teamm8 start? Where did your inspiration come from etc?

I launched Teamm8 as an underwear label in 2008 out of my living room. Back then I had 2 styles of underwear, one Brief and one Trunk in 3 colours, that was it. I was always inspired by classic style so my design philosophy was always to keep it simple but add a current edge to it. I was also inspired by the active sporty lifestyle of the modern aussie bloke who now cared about how he looked but still wanted a no nonsense approach to it.

You have just relaunched and rebranded, what was the reasoning for that and how did it come about?

For me, Teamm8 has always been about evolution. So from an underwear label we went on to include Swimwear and then a couple of years after that we introduced Sportswear, which is now our biggest selling category. As part of that metamorphosis I felt that the brand had distinctively evolved and we needed to reflect that with a re-brand. The biggest compliment we ever get is that we’re always growing and changing and that’s not only important to me on a personal level but extremely important to every one of us here at Teamm8.

The range has expanded from what you previously offered, it looks amazing. What inspired the increase offerings of the range etc.?

We all worked very hard on the new direction of the brand. We took our sportswear into the sportsluxe arena while also focusing on performance activewear. I believe that’s what sets this collection and direction apart from our previous collections. Our head designer, Hilary Stelmaschuk is also a qualified fitness instructor so she not only has the design sensibility but understands exactly what you need to have successful activewear pieces. We just felt there was a gap for that kind of activewear for guys and so it became our focus and hence the new direction for Teamm8. To reflect this we launched our brand new flagship store in Surry Hills last month also.

Where do you see teamm8 in the next 5 years?

We’ve had so much change over the last 8 years that it’s exciting to anticipate what the next 5 years holds for us. One thing that has always been on the cards is introducing a womens line. We are constantly asked by women when we’ll do that so it almost feels like one of those natural evolutions for us. But one thing is for certain, we’ll always continue to challenge ourselves and as a result always offer something unique and different in a crowded market place. One of our biggest strengths is that we don’t focus too much on what everybody else is doing but rather continue to grow and build our own niche.

To check out the full range hop on line at

www.teamm8.com

Interview by 

by Arrnott Olssen
Editor Rogue Homme