The global COVID-19 pandemic hurt many CrossFit affiliates and other gyms due to lockdowns and various restrictions. However, it did not hurt the fitness apparel brand and title sponsor of the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games. According to CNBC, the co-founders of the Boston-based company, Marcus Wilson and Michael Schaeffer, say the company “has seen explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers have put spending on clothes for work or going out on hold but are still in the market for workout gear.”
In total, NOBULL has raised $32 million over three rounds of funding. NOBULL’s most recent round of funding gives them a valuation that’s north of $500 million. The capital raised from this recent round will be put towards relieving supply-chain constraints (refreshing inventories) that the company has seen while keeping up with domestic demand. Once they achieve that, they plan to expand to the global market.
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Those inventories include weightlifting shoes, sneakers, cross training shoes, cycling cleats, shorts, shirts, joggers, hoodies, headbands, and more. The three NOBULL brick and motor stores located in Boston, New York City, and Miami are temporarily closed, but business online is booming.
NOBULL and CrossFit
Wilson and Schaeffer are both athletes, and like many companies that heavily target their services towards the CrossFit community, they are members of CrossFit themselves. Leaning heavily into the CrossFit space does not, however, mean they want to pigeonhole themselves there. Wilson told CNBC:
“We’re not a CrossFit brand. But CrossFit is a sport and a form of training for people who train hard and don’t believe in excuses. So there’s really great synergies within CrossFit.”
Sponsored Athletes
NOBULL has partnered with some of the biggest names in the sport, including reigning four-time Fittest Woman on Earth® Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr. Other notable athletes include runner-up and fifth-place finishers at the 2020 CrossFit Games Katrin Davíðsdóttir and Brooke Wells, respectively, Kristi Eramo-O’Connell, and Tola Morakinyo, to name a few.
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NOBULL, who replaced former Games title sponsor Reebok, will be the title sponsor for the CrossFit Games for at least three years. Combine that with the list of athletes under their sponsorship umbrella and this latest round of funding, and it seems clear that the fate of NOBULL is becoming a global player in the fitness apparel space.
Featured image: @nobull on Instagram