On 24th May, we held our first participation experience, HERD MENTALITY, in collaboration with our friends at Locker.

At 8:30am, a crowd of 25 gathered in the empty car park. The early morning sun was beating down unusually heavy for May. Groups of four spread out across the concrete for the first workout: a combination of bike, ski and rowing intervals with laps of a one-mile mixed-terrain loop. 

Runners went out quick. A low hum from the erg fans filled the car park. The shadow of the warehouse cast a neat line across the floor: a boundary between climates. 

Energy coursed through the crowd. 

The boot of the ’88 Range Rover was stocked with Cadence™ electrolytes, Risonix™ cold brew and New York pastrami bagels for when the heat and fatigue started to take their toll.

The second workout was designed for something different. Different energy systems. Different interactions. An easy rhythm fell over the place as the group worked through a sequence of resistance exercises. Nobody was counting reps or sets. It wasn’t important. We finished when we were done.

In company like that, it feels ok to follow the herd.

CONSTRAINTS MAKE YOU INTERESTING

They force you to be resourceful. To find new ways of doing things. To find value in hidden places. If no one points them out, they go unnoticed. Their role in the end result is unknown. But once you understand them, you can start to join the dots. To see how the final outcome was shaped by what wasn’t possible, just as much as by what was. 

Here’s a list of hidden places we found value in organising our first event:

[1]

Brothers, Harrison and George, offered to host us at their gym, Locker. We wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

[2]

We DM’d a local bagel spot and asked them if they would make us thirty of their New York pastrami bagels. Andrew, owner at Hapi, insisted on making them the morning of the event so that they would be as fresh as possible. He hand-delivered them himself.

[3]

Custom food packaging is expensive and suppliers require you to order a minimum of around 500 units. We only needed 30. We bought plain biodegradable food boxes from Amazon, designed our own stickers based on the care labels that are sewn into CLOBBER garments, and got them printed by Simon, a local printer.

[4]

The quote we received for branded tote bags would’ve blown the whole event budget. We sourced unbranded bags ourselves and Simon (the same local printer) applied CLOBBER heat transfers from his small studio down the road.

[5]

Renting a classic Range Rover costs more than £200 per hour. We found one for sale on an online marketplace and asked the seller if he’d be willing to let us use it (it was a long-shot but we had nothing to lose). Samuel, as we now know him, drove his mint-condition Ascot Green 1988 Range Rover Classic with tan interior over to us, handed us the keys, showed us how to navigate the temperamental locking system, and got an Uber straight to the airport for a weekend wedding in Ireland. He didn’t want a penny.

[6]

An old friend from school, Martin, offered to shoot the event, as long as we promised to feed and water him.

[7]

DJs and sound equipment hire were too expensive. Harrison created a playlist and we paid our respects to the AUX cable.

[8]

We purchased Cadence™ electrolytes cans through their website, just like everyone else. There was a time men would cross deserts for salt.

[9]

Cold brew and collagen in a can. When Alex told us what he was doing with Risonix™ and asked if he could bring down a cooler packed full of cans, it was an easy yes.