Bodybuilding Beginnings
At 16 years old I entered the infamous LA Gym in Bristol to embark on my first training session months later I began what would be the start of my career in the fitness & MMA industry working behind the counter in that very establishment.
Between busy periods of my shifts at LA Gym I would occupy myself by studying books such as the Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger where I would learn the importance of creating a calculated plan of action, following it with unwavering dedication and giving it maximum effort regardless how slow progress may seem if at all and trusting the process entirely!
These principles which many bodybuilders follow day in and day out can be converted to practically any dream you choose to manifest and when my passion to become a bodybuilder diminished after having the responsibility of a baby & family to provide for at 19, my new dreams would take over utilising the principles of what I had learnt from my time at LA Gym to obtain what I aspired to achieve.
THE NEW DREAM
Providing a quality of life for my family was my ultimate motivation. This included earning enough money to provide a comfortable way of life, the home, holidays, meals out and all the other things we don’t need and take for granted once we have them.
My personal dream and gift to myself once I had accomplished my goals was to own a supercar but getting to that stage I’d have to implement the very same principles I’d put in practice for my own vanity of building a physique into creating a way & means of earning money.
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Europe's Leading Distributor for Mixed Martial Arts Fightwear & Fashion including exclusive partnerships with brands like Tapout, Roots of Fight, Training Mask, Dethrone Royalty, The Money Team and Jaco.
DREAMS BECOME REALITY
I pursued the dream for almost a decade, unwavering and dedicated to what I had set out to achieve regardless of the highs and lows along the way, everything I had manifested and worked towards I had achieved. Ferrari 458 Italia & New Range Rover Sport on the driveway of a 6 bedroom detached house, financial & time freedom within reach should I wish to continue down this route.
It was at this point that once I’d accomplished all the goals from my list I had a realisation of a higher purpose and what my new dream would look like and it didn’t involve trying relentlessly to earn as much money as possible but instead to create something I had been passionate about, that one day my 4 children could travel the world and be proud to see something their dad had turnt from mere thoughts into a reality that is universally recognized.
In order to achieve this it would require sacrificing the comfortable lifestyle that I had worked so hard to achieve and risk ever being able to return to that level of freedom again if things should go wrong.
NO RISK NO REWARD
My vision was to create a gym wear brand that took inspiration from high fashion & streetwear style something that could be worn both in and out of the gym, unique fits and exclusive designs that stood out from the typical fitted athletic wear that was out there already, It was something I personally wanted to wear and I was focused on producing quality over quantity.
I had experience in identifying emerging trends, products and brands in international markets then distributing them through my own businesses but zero experience on building & marketing my own clothing brand from scratch especially with the ethos I wanted.
I took it upon myself to get educated on what was required to take ‘Chosen Few Athletics’ what was already a concept I had created in 2013 to becoming my full time focus at making it a reputable brand within the industry. I spent months travelling, taking flights, meeting factory owners, visiting trade shows, learning about fabrics and the complete process of developing tech packs with some of the industry’s best designers to bring my ideas to life all of which comes at a cost even before you’ve started meeting the minimum order quantity on your first collection through credible factories!
It was at this point I realised the reality of producing a high quality first collection to the my standards wasn’t going to be cheap or easy and if this dream was ever going to be fulfilled sacrifices would have to be made - I needed working capital, I had never taken on any outside investment before and didn’t want to start now, It was put up or shut up the Ferrari had to go to make room for my new dreams!
L.A DREAMS
This is where the L.A Dreams story ends, the old photo of my Ferrari in front of the LA Gym sign represents 2 significant things that have shaped my life and played a critical role in the development of Chosen Few today. The first being the experience and knowledge gained from working in the notorious LA Gym from 16 and taking that enthusiasm for the industry til now, the other is achieving what I thought was my ultimate dream at a young age but then being prepared to let it all go to fund new bigger dreams of the future.
This is what I feel defines the #chosenfew, its a mindset, fear doesn’t deter you from moving forward in the pursuit of what you believe in and when failure happens, as it will! Having the ability to learn, adapt accordingly, get up and go again to accomplish what you’ve been manifesting.
Regardless of the story the Tee & Hoodie look dope and I know the original photo didn’t have Palm Tree’s but a rusted staircase didnt look as good! Perhaps they could represent some of the holidays I had to sacrifice to learn this game…
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