In 2013 I launched Anywear Athletic with the LIFT HEAVY SHIT shirt. I got super lucky when Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser made an Instagram post of himself wearing the tee (a gift a friend of mine had given him).
I created the shirt because I had spent every day working in gyms and never saw gym tees I actually liked. They were super cheesy, offensive or just unfashionable. So I sought to create designs which solved these problems.
I grew up in the 80's with skateboarding, punk rock, hip hop and bodybuilding. ALL of these cultures had one thing in common: t-shirts!!!
I can remember early on as a kid going to the skate shop and absolutely marveling over t-shirt designs. The imagery, the colors, the messaging! Some t-shirts were just mind blowing, and I would really want to own one. When I would finally get the shirt I wanted it made me truly happy to wear it, it made me feel special and it made me feel like I was a part of something.
Soon the menagerie of tees echoed across the streets by loyal fans and imprinted on my mind. Vision Street Wear, RUN DMC, The Misfits, Gold's Gym...the iconography of these cultures was captured, promoted and immortalized through t-shirt designs.
It is now late in 2022 and nothing has changed. T-shirts are just as important as ever for communicating ideas, contributing to culture and creating community. It is my hope with ANYWEAR ATHLETIC that gym goers, outdoor enthusiasts and humans of all sorts can find a connection with the designs we create, and can wear them anywhere!
Andrew Ritchie, ANYWEAR Athletic Founder