IDENTICAL TWINS ADAM AND RYAN GOLDSTON DISCUSS THE EVOLUTION OF THEIR ATHLETIC BRAND APL

Founded in March 2009, by then 23 year-old identical twins Adam and Ryan Goldston in their college dorm room, Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) was created to provide unique product that wasn’t available in the market that blended design and performance seamlessly.

Fast forward to April 2017, the duo launched their first apparel line within the collection, that has been received with rave reviews. Dubbed the Perfect collection, it consists of active fashion apparel with a modern take on activewear. Each piece is designed to bridge the gap between your workout and your workday, featuring active textiles paired with lifestyle silhouettes.

To get a better glimpse at the rising success of the brand, we caught up with the brothers at a recent press event in New York City to discuss the evolution of the brand and why they decided to add apparel to their already successful footwear business.

Q: What was the motivation for launching APL?

A: Not being the tallest guys on the team we recognized the need for a shoe that could make basketball player’s jump higher, inspiring us to design the Concept 1. In June 2010, we became the creators of the first shoe proven to instantly make you jump higher due to APL’s revolutionary 8-spring Load ‘N Launch Technology in the forefoot. As a result, the Concept 1 became the first shoe banned in the NBA’s 64-year history for performance reasons for “providing an undue competitive advantage.”

Q: What’s working well for the brand? What do customers keep coming back for?

A: Our goal has always been to create products you can wear seamlessly throughout the day. We have felt for a long time that fashion is becoming more casual and performance-focused in terms of the textiles, the fits and the technology, and that performance was becoming more fashion-focused. We saw a need in the market for a shoe that accomplishes both. Sneakers are no longer something you only wear to workout.

Q: What are some of the best-selling items?

A: Our best selling items in terms of footwear are our TechLoom Pro and TechLoom Phantom sneakers. For apparel we are seeing a great response to our satin bomber.

Q: Where can we find your line now?

A: We are lucky to have some really wonderful retail partners including: Bandier, Barney’s, Bloomingdales, East Dane, Flannels, Goop, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Intermix, Lane Crawford, Le Bon Marche, Level Shoe District, Mr Porter, Net-A-Porter, Nordstrom, Pedder on Scotts, Revolve, Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges, Shop Bop, Theory, Zappos, and more.

Q: How has your brand evolved since you founded it?

A: We have evolved from a tiny sneaker company founded in our college dorm room to global brand sold to retailers all over the world. Though the scale of our business has changed, the DNA of our company remains the same. We have always done things differently and that something we will continue to do as our brand continues to grow and evolve.

Q: Why did you decided to add apparel?

A: Apparel was a natural extension for our brand and something our retailers had been requesting. Fashion has become increasingly more casual and consumers are looking for collections that balances style and function.  APL represents a category that wasn’t considered fashion 10 years ago, it is a new hybrid, we term “active fashion”. Last year we were honored to be the first performance label inducted into the CFDA.

Q: What are some highlights in the apparel collection?

A: Our collection consists of pieces that are truly transitional. With the way culture has shifted to being so active, we have a tight edit of pieces that can take you from the gym to the streets. For women we have capris, sports bras, joggers, hoodies, and our statement piece is a satin stretch bomber, among other things. For men, we’ve got a great selection of shorts, tees, joggers, hoodies, and ‎our statement piece for men is also our satin stretch bomber.

Q: What are your hopes for this collection going forward?

A:  We hope that we keep creating pieces that our consumers love as much as we do.