‘We never once sacrificed quality for profit. What I am most proud of with GASP is that we created a movement of like-minded people who each have their own version of what GASP means to them.’ -GASP CEO Michael Johansson
Chances are that should you stay the health way of life and love understanding, you’ve received at the least just a few gadgets of GASP or Better Bodies garments in your closet or dresser drawers. I do know I've amassed fairly a set of tank tops, hoodies, shorts, and pants! Over the years within the pages of MD you noticed the easiest champions rocking these manufacturers, stars like Branch Warren, Flex Lewis, Johnnie Jackson, and Dennis Wolf. I’ve by no means identified the story behind the model itself. Recently I spoke with proprietor Michael Johansson from GASP and Better Bodies world headquarters at Destination Dallas and discovered how the corporate motto of “No compromises, no excuses, stay relentless” got here to be.
Nordic Origins
It all started within the late Nineteen Eighties, when Michael was promoting Brian Moss’ Better 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 realize reputation in that a part of Europe. “Only a select few went to the gym back then,” Michael notes. Better Bodies grew sooner than they might sustain with, and the corporate went below in 1992. After negotiations, Johansson started producing the model once more in 1994. “The cover of our first catalogue that year featured Aaron Baker, and it was very similar to the GASP brand you know today.” Their gross sales have been restricted to Sweden, a nation of simply 10 million individuals, however health club homeowners and finally Dick’s Sporting Goods all carried Better Bodies exercise attire. Over the subsequent few years, the corporate took a extra mainstream route away from the hardcore health club crowd. “I felt we were losing something essential, where we had come from, our core values,” Michael tells us. “And it as all just to be more commercial and appeal to a bigger audience.” This is how GASP was born.
In the foreground, GASP CEO Michael Johansson
GASP: No Compromises, No Excuses, Stay Relentless
Michael was a bodybuilder himself within the early ‘90s, and his passion for the sport and lifestyle drove the values and mission of GASP. “We were doing it from the heart, not from the wallet.” Johansson wanted to help others reach their bodybuilding goals. “By the time I was 27, I realized I didn’t have the genetics to be Mr. Olympia,” he says. “But I could be Mr. Olympia in business and contribute to the sport in my own way. Better Bodies would be the more commercial side of the company, and GASP would be the emotional aspect for like-minded people.” In 2008, Michael determined to give attention to the US market. The first athletes to signify the model couldn't have been extra applicable: Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson, the epitome of hardcore in each sense. He made a daring gamble in 2012 when he bought the whole lot in Sweden and moved the corporate to the USA. Today, GASP and Better Bodies are bought and distributed in over 110 international locations. Things weren’t clean crusing. The creation 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 atmosphere. Eventually 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 various gadgets of theirs I've sweated in and washed tons of of instances. “That’s where the ‘no compromises’ aspect comes in,” he defined. “We never once sacrificed quality for profit. What I am most proud of with GASP is that we created a movement of like-minded people who each have their own version of what GASP means to them. Everyone has their own experience of the iron world, and we help you shape your own path. The clothes remind you of hard work, no compromises, and no excuses, which is at the very heart of bodybuilding.”
Destination Dallas
For a long time, Venice Beach was The Mecca of bodybuilding, the place bodybuilders from everywhere in 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 Better Bodies, Dallas has turn into the brand new space emigrate to because of their monumental warehouse/headquarters and health club, Destination Dallas. “I wanted the gym to have that old-school feeling of the gyms I grew up training in, and of Metroflex Arlington and hardcore places like that,” says Michael. “It’s all about passion and purpose for people who want to work hard in the gym and fulfill their dreams, whatever those might be. I wanted it to be a meeting place for like-minded people, which is why I called it Destination Dallas.” So far GASP athletes Keone Pearson and Martin Fitzwater have moved there, and shortly two-time Olympia 212 champ Shaun Clarida may have left his native New Jersey along with his spouse and youngster for Dallas as properly. 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 superb work for MD for years.
‘Everyone has their own experience of the iron world, and we help you shape your own path. The clothes remind you of hard work, no compromises, and no excuses, which is at the very heart of bodybuilding.’ -GASP CEO Michael Johansson
Become Part of the Movement!
Everything shifted in 2017 when Johansson felt the corporate was changing into too company, and he determined to deliver it again to its roots as soon as extra. “Everybody brings something to the table, whether they are current champions, aspiring bodybuilders, or athletes who are no longer competing. It’s a family here and everyone is welcome. We are diverse but again, like-minded.” There are many different manufacturers to select from and the health clothes trade is extra aggressive than ever, however GASP and Better Bodies have remained related by way of all of it. “Our clothing is for everyone who has dreams and goals, and we believe helping others raises all of us to a higher level.” This 12 months, GASP and Better Bodies are supporting 80 newbie and professional contests, and so they have over 15,000 model ambassadors and athletes around the globe. “It’s all about creating more camaraderie and more of a community,” Michael says. “That’s far more important than selling clothing.”
Ron Harris received his begin within the bodybuilding trade through the eight years he labored in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” present within the Nineteen Nineties. Since 1992 he has revealed practically 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and health magazines, making him essentially the most prolific bodybuilding author ever. Ron has been coaching for the reason that age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives along with his spouse and two youngsters within the Boston space. Facebook Instagram
