Today, athletic fit jeans are everywhere you look, but before 2014 no one had even heard of them. Why did they become so popular? And who came up with the idea in the first place?
We did. We introduced athletic fit jeans in April of 2014, and other companies followed suit just a couple of months after. These pants didn't become super popular for a few more years, though. The team of friends and athletes who started Barbell Apparel saw that no one was making jeans for athletic body types. In fact, in the early 2000s, skinny jeans were some of the most popular pants on the market. But they were made for people with thin legs, not weightlifters. Have you ever tried to squeeze bulky calves, thighs, and glutes into super-tight denim? Yeah. It doesn't end well.
Jeans are a staple in any person's wardrobe. They're timeless and perfect for everyday wear, not to mention date nights, sporting events, or casual outings with your friends. We knew that people with bigger muscles shouldn't be penalized for prioritizing their bodies, but we also knew that not just any denim material would do. We did over 5 years of textile research and then months of testing to come up with the fabric we use in our pants, and in early 2014, we launched our first Kickstarter.
After we launched that super successful Kickstarter, other companies started selling athletic-fit jeans too. What set our jeans apart, though, was the fabric that we used. Sure, other companies' jeans would fit, but would they allow the wearer to run, do cartwheels, or drop into a split comfortably and without tearing? Didn't think so. While other companies made their jeans with regular denim, we made ours from advanced flexible denim, which allowed athletes to still move like athletes instead of restricting and restraining them. Now, you can find these types of pants almost anywhere! We're really proud that our campaign helped make blue jeans accessible to even the buffest body types, and we're only getting started. After all, athletic fit jeans are the pants of the future.
