Former Nike executive Stefan Olander and a team of 20 have launched a new sportswear brand built on a design for strategically distributed weight across the body.
The company is called Omorpho (derived from Greek meaning beautiful) and its line, called Gravity Sportswear, is based on technology the company is calling MicroLoad. The clothing has areas with small amounts of weight incorporated into the fabric in spheres that add anywhere from 1% to 5% of body mass depending on which garments are worn. The idea is this small amount of weight helps build strength and improve training, according to the company.
The company also recently completed a $5 million seed round. That capital was used for building inventory, building the digital platform, marketing and hiring the team, said Olander. The round was led by Chicago-based investment firm KB Partners and including Bullish, Viking Maccabee, several family offices and former Nike executives.
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In addition to Olander the company is co-founded by Ben Williams, incoming chief creative experience officer at the agency TBWA. The team has been building the company for three years, although it's based on research Olander started about eight years ago after incorporating a weighted vest into his workouts.
“The ones on the market were uncomfortable and military looking, but the effect stuck with me,” he said. “I did research and the whole idea of adding the right amount of load to your body can be beneficial. But no one figured out a way to do it more elegantly and not creating too much load.”
As part of the launch the company is enlisting brand ambassadors including athletes, artists and celebrities such as NFL player Julio Jones and actress, singer and producer Cynthia Erivo. The products work for anyone training for a specific goal or for overall fitness, Olander said.
Olander spent two decades at Nike and was most recently vice president of global innovation. He opted to build this company here because it was home and because of the talent in the area for building brand and product.
In building this company from the ground up, Olander is paying attention to the environment created. Over the last several years Nike’s internal culture has made headlines for an alleged toxic culture and it has been working to become a more inclusive workplace.
He wants Omorpho to be a workplace people enjoy and a place they have the opportunity to create something new to help people pursue a fit life.
“The way you get here is how you operate as a team. Our lead value is be human. The world doesn’t need more stuff it needs solutions,” he said. “We want to be in an environment to enjoy each other and the things we are creating.”
