DISPATCH 7

I recently read Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. One line in particular stuck with me, his belief in being your own best customer. If you wouldn’t use the product yourself, why should anyone else? That thought took me back to the reason for starting CLOBBER. I’d spent the better part of 15 years training, living in performance gear, and yet nothing I was wearing truly spoke to me anymore. The quality wasn’t there. The styles felt dated. The clothes no longer matched the energy I felt whilst training, or the way I dressed outside the gym.

So, I set about designing what I wanted to see in the world: pieces that could handle the demands of a mixed-modal training regimen, while carrying the same attitude and level of craftsmanship you’d expect from modern fashion. Quality had to always come first. Because of these high standards, we take our time with product design, obsessing over every detail, from fabric selection to fit, trims and colours. Each piece goes through rigorous testing to make sure it performs the way we need it to. If something doesn't meet our expectations, we rework it. This slower, more deliberate approach means we may not drop new products every month, but when we do, you can trust they've been built with intention, and built to last.

For those of you that are new here, Spit It Out is where we send a list of questions to someone who inspires us, giving you an inside look at what’s going on in their world. This series is all about celebrating those who push creative and physical boundaries, and share something special with us in the process. In this month’s edition, we’re shining the spotlight on a London bakery we can't keep away from.

Last year, Balham-based brunch spot, Milk, opened a sister bakery down the road in Tooting Bec. Built on the same principles of expression, invention, and a commitment to high-quality ingredients, Milk Run has quickly earned a cult-like following. Customers queue out the door, eager to grab their go-to pastry before sellout (for us, it has to be the Pecan Coffee Pain au Chocolat). It's one of those rare places where you could close your eyes, point at the counter, and be guaranteed something that will blow your socks off. Without further ado, here’s our conversation with Sophie from the Milk Run team.

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Saturday 27th September. The air was cool and damp. The conditions marked a brief respite from the record-breaking rainfall that had drenched Sydney throughout August. As night made way for day, Jermaine laced up for marathon number 34. The familiar loops of Centennial Park had long since been etched into his subconscious. 161 hours of tiptoeing the same terrain will do that. By now, pain had become a familiar companion. A swollen ankle, first noticed in week one, throbbed with every stride and the infected right toe made each step a test of endurance. Jermaine settled into the familiar rhythm, his breath syncing with the slap of his shoes on the damp pavement. The finish line crept closer. The pain, the fatigue, the monotony, dissolved into a lucid stillness as Jermaine stopped his watch at 26.2 miles. 34 marathons in 34 days. The words didn't feel like they belonged to him. The following morning, the sun rose again over Centennial Park. The same path, now silent. The air, again cool and damp. But something unseen was changed. The quiet weight of what had been done lingered.

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Before World War II, militaries relied on traditional woven fabrics like cotton and silk for parachutes, tents, sleeping bags and uniforms. These materials served their purpose but had a critical flaw: once a tear began, it could spread rapidly, putting both equipment and lives at risk. To solve this, textile engineers developed ripstop weaving, a technique that reinforces the base fabric with stronger yarns at regular intervals (typically every 5–8mm). The result is a subtle crosshatch pattern that prevents tears from running, adding minimal weight while greatly improving strength and reliability.

After the war, surplus ripstop garments found new life with climbers and outdoor enthusiasts, who valued their durability, flexibility and lightness. Over time, ripstop’s reputation for technical performance, distinctive texture and understated utility made it a staple in performance and outdoor apparel. Today, it continues to evolve, finding new relevance where durability and lightness matter most. CLOBBER training essentials, made from environmentally-conscious ripstop, will be released in late 2025 and 2026.

It's easy to slip into the more is better mentality, and before long, you're training doubles every day, you're absolutely knackered, and you're not seeing any signs of progress. If this is you, we think this 60-year-old wisdom from a sweaty gym in Bucharest might be what you need. In the 1960s, a Romanian coach by the name of Tudor Bompa, began experimenting with Olympic athlete training schedules. Bompa's findings led him to formalise the concept of periodisation, which revolutionised how athletes structure training over time, shifting from random hard work to planned, progressive cycles.

Here are our 5 key takeaways from studying Tudor:

1. Don't chase everything at once: focus on one main adaptation per training phase, rather than trying to improve everything at once.
2. Change up your training plan before you plateau: rotate volume, intensity and exercise selection every 3-6 weeks to spark new adaptation.
3. Train to peak when it matters most: reduce training volume in the lead-up to testing or competition.
4. Balance general and specific training: build overall fitness (General Physical Preparedness) to support specific training further down the line.
5. Respect recovery and periodic rest: every 4-8 weeks, reduce training stress for 5-7 days to allow for super-compensation (where the body rebounds stronger than before).

So, there you have it - 5 simple tips for training smarter, not harder.