(Pictured Above – Founder, Alana Clarkson)
If you told me five years ago that I would own an activewear label, I wouldn’t have believed you. My entire career revolved around finance and recruitment, with a side gig as a fitness instructor for
over a decade. Little did I know, that passion job was actually a decade-long market research
journey in disguise.
The concept for Idea Athletic all started after an embarrassing incident post-workout at the supermarket. I noticed awkward sweat marks on my tights and wanted to buy something for myself that would help combat this. I could envision exactly what it was that I wanted to buy for myself,but after scouring the internet, I realised that what it was I wanted simply didn’t exist.
It then became really obvious to me that there was a huge gap in the market and I became determined to fill it. So it was then that I embarked on a journey of starting Idea Athletic which to be honest with you was anything but conventional.
Coming from a finance background, I knew nothing about textiles or manufacturing. I had to learn everything from scratch. The process was challenging, especially developing the technology to help combat sweat which I later called invisiSweat. It took me 25 samples to get it right and let me tell
you the satisfaction of finally achieving as I had imagined was just awesome.
So whilst my path into starting this business and the activewear industry wasn’t traditional, I’m incredibly grateful for the experience. I really had to start from scratch and learn everything as I went along, so to say that there weren’t a few (hundred) mistakes made along the road would be an understatement.
In April 2022 after over 2 years of work I finally launched Idea Athletic and it was a hugely proud day for me, to of had an idea and to have been able to actually bring to life was a fantastic feeling. Although there have been many highs and lows in starting and running this business, the highs far outweigh the lows. The most rewarding part of founding Idea Athletic has been seeing how much
customers love the product as much as I do. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see my idea embraced and loved by so many people. And now, I finally have that activewear that I wanted to buy for myself all those years ago and no
awkward sweat marks.