Today, I’m joined by Stefan Olander, co-founder & CEO of OMORPHO, a weighted apparel company.
Founded in 2017 with the goal to reinvent the weighted vest, OMORPHO’s “gravity sportswear” apparel is designed to help its wearers train smarter and improve performance. With MicroLoad technology—small amounts of weight evenly distributed across each garment—they are creating a new category of functional sportswear for everyday use.
In this episode, we discuss OMORPHO’s athlete-tested weighted apparel, Stefan’s learnings from working 20 years at Nike, plus the challenges and opportunities in defining a new category.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Stefan left Nike for OMORPHO
- The difference between weight vests and gravity sportswear
- How the company plans to defend their technology
Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:21) Stefan’s background
(02:34) Stefan’s journey to starting OMORPHO
(06:39) Weighted apparel and MicroLoading
(10:15) Marketing strategies
(13:57) Expanding retail footprint
(15:27) Building a lifestyle brand
(17:10) Testing process and supply chain
(20:06) Protecting the technology
(22:05) Teaming up with professional athletes
(24:10) Brand marketing
(26:25) Future growth plans
(28:38) Idea to execution
(31:09) New collections to look out for
(31:58) Conclusion