‘We by no means as soon as sacrificed high quality for revenue. What I’m most pleased with with GASP is that we created a motion of like-minded individuals who every have their very own model of what GASP means to them.’ -GASP CEO Michael Johansson

Likelihood is that when you dwell the health way of life and love understanding, you’ve received at the very least a number of objects of  or  garments in your closet or dresser drawers. I do know I’ve amassed fairly a set of tank tops, hoodies, shorts, and pants! Over time within the pages of MD you noticed the perfect champions rocking these manufacturers, stars like Department Warren, Flex Lewis, Johnnie Jackson, and Dennis Wolf. I’ve by no means identified the story behind the model itself. Not too long ago I spoke with proprietor Michael Johansson from GASP and Higher Our bodies world headquarters at Vacation spot Dallas and discovered how the corporate motto of “No compromises, no excuses, keep relentless” got here to be.

All of it started within the late Nineteen Eighties, when Michael was promoting Brian Moss’ Higher Our bodies activewear model from the USA within the Nordic nations: Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and his native Sweden. The bodybuilding way of life had but to achieve reputation in that a part of Europe. “Solely a choose few went to the fitness center again then,” Michael notes. Higher Our bodies grew quicker than they may sustain with, and the corporate went beneath in 1992. After negotiations, Johansson started producing the model once more in 1994. “The quilt of our first catalogue that yr featured Aaron Baker, and it was similar to the GASP model you already know at this time.” Their gross sales had been restricted to Sweden, a nation of simply 10 million individuals, however fitness center homeowners and finally Dick’s Sporting Items all carried Higher Our bodies exercise attire. Over the following few years, the corporate took a extra mainstream path away from the hardcore fitness center crowd. “I felt we had been dropping one thing important, the place we had come from, our core values,” Michael tells us. “And it as all simply to be extra industrial and enchantment to a much bigger viewers.” That is how  was born.

Within the foreground, GASP CEO Michael Johansson

Michael was a bodybuilder himself within the early ‘90s, and his ardour for the game and way of life drove the values and mission of . “We had been doing it from the guts, not from the pockets.” Johansson wished to assist others attain their bodybuilding targets. “By the point I used to be 27, I spotted I didn’t have the genetics to be Mr. Olympia,” he says. “However I could possibly be Mr. Olympia in enterprise and contribute to the game in my very own approach.  could be the extra industrial aspect of the corporate, and GASP could be the emotional facet for like-minded individuals.” In 2008, Michael determined to deal with the US market. The primary athletes to characterize the model couldn’t have been extra acceptable: Department Warren and Johnnie Jackson, the epitome of hardcore in each sense. He made a daring gamble in 2012 when he bought every thing in Sweden and moved the corporate to the USA. In the present day, GASP and Higher Our bodies are bought and distributed in over 110 nations. Issues weren’t easy crusing. The arrival and fast rise of social media platforms challenged many established enterprise fashions, and by 2017 Michael felt the model struggling to stay related on this new setting. Ultimately the corporate tailored and thrived as soon as once more. I identified to Johansson that not solely is GASP clothes trendy, nevertheless it’s additionally extremely sturdy, as confirmed by the numerous objects of theirs I’ve sweated in and washed a whole lot of occasions. “That’s the place the ‘no compromises’ facet is available in,” he defined. “We by no means as soon as sacrificed high quality for revenue. What I’m most pleased with with GASP is that we created a motion of like-minded individuals who every have their very own model of what GASP means to them. Everybody has their very own expertise of the iron world, and we assist you to form your personal path. The garments remind you of arduous work, no compromises, and no excuses, which is on the very coronary heart of bodybuilding.”

For many years, Venice Seashore was The Mecca of bodybuilding, the place bodybuilders from all around the world migrated to be a part of the tradition. After that Las Vegas started attracting the health elite, and now due to GASP and Higher Our bodies, Dallas has turn into the brand new space emigrate to attributable to their huge warehouse/headquarters and fitness center, Vacation spot Dallas. “I wished the fitness center to have that old-school feeling of the gyms I grew up coaching in, and of Metroflex Arlington and hardcore locations like that,” says Michael. “It’s all about ardour and goal for individuals who need to work arduous within the fitness center and fulfill their desires, no matter these is likely to be. I wished it to be a gathering place for like-minded individuals, which is why I known as it Vacation spot Dallas.” To this point GASP athletes Keone Pearson and Martin Fitzwater have moved there, and shortly two-time Olympia 212 champ Shaun Clarida can have left his native New Jersey together with his spouse and youngster for Dallas as nicely. It’s additionally the place a lot of their sensational video content material is filmed for his or her Iron World YouTube channel, by chief videographer Nick Del Toro, who did wonderful work for MD for years.

‘Everybody has their very own expertise of the iron world, and we assist you to form your personal path. The garments remind you of arduous work, no compromises, and no excuses, which is on the very coronary heart of bodybuilding.’ -GASP CEO Michael Johansson

All the pieces shifted in 2017 when Johansson felt the corporate was turning into too company, and he determined to convey it again to its roots as soon as extra. “All people brings one thing to the desk, whether or not they’re present champions, aspiring bodybuilders, or athletes who’re not competing. It’s a household right here and everyone seems to be welcome. We’re numerous however once more, like-minded.” There are numerous different manufacturers to select from and the health clothes trade is extra aggressive than ever, however GASP and  have remained related via all of it. “Our clothes is for everybody who has desires and targets, and we imagine serving to others raises all of us to the next degree.” This yr, GASP and Higher Our bodies are supporting 80 newbie and professional contests, and so they have over 15,000 model ambassadors and athletes all over the world. “It’s all about creating extra camaraderie and extra of a neighborhood,” Michael says. “That’s much more essential than promoting clothes.”