Small but mighty, TRI-FIT are quickly becoming a significant challenger brand on the triathlon apparel scene. Created out of frustration with gear that didn’t live up to the promises on the swing tag, the brand have gone all in on bringing premium, pro-level tri suits and training gear to the multi-sport party. With a no stone unturned approach to product development, and a no corners cut attitude to quality. TRI-FIT have gone from strength to strength.
We caught up with the team behind the brand to find out more about their journey so far – from those first rough product sketches scribbled “almost out of anger”, to a fully fledged range of triathlon training and racing gear. Plus, we got a few sneak peeks at what might be next on their radar as they look to further take the triathlon apparel market by storm.
“We just needed to see if we could do it better…”
It all started with a disappointing tri suit. TRI-FIT’s founder, Dan, returned home frustrated after racing a 70.3 in Dubai, because yet another premium suit hadn’t hit the mark. “It was supposed to be the best suit on the market,” Dan reflected, “but it wasn’t comfortable. It didn’t perform the way I needed it to. Almost out of anger, I started scribbling down ideas.”
And that sparked the beginnings of TRI-FIT: a desire to see if they could create something better.
A steep learning curve
That road from idea to first product launch was a steep uphill learning curve. The first sketches of the original TRI-FIT tri suit were quite literally scribbles on A4 drawn with crayons, with arrows pointing to different features and design elements. At one point, “we literally Googled, ‘how to make a tri suit’,” founder Dan shares.
But despite this “completely new world” TRI-FIT were able to incorporate feedback from real triathletes in their local community very early into their product development process, showing early samples to training partners and road testing the various iterations themselves. Changing things and developing the product until they created a tri suit they were happy to send out into the wild.
That meticulous approach meant the brand quite quickly skyrocketed onto the triathlon radar, with the first iteration of their tri suit earning plenty of ‘best on test’ awards. The more recent TRI-FIT GEO, TRI-FIT EVO 2.3 and the VANGUARD all scored highly right here on TRI247, and for good reason.
Raising the bar for training gear as well as racing: “We launched elite-level, award-winning products – and then we kept going.”
Since the launch of that first iteration of their OG tri suit, TRI-FIT have developed various other suits at a range of price points. The most recent VORTEX sits at the true performance end of the scale, extensively researched and developed to offer an ultra-aero, ultra-lightweight suit set to rival some of its significantly pricier competitors. But there’s also an entry-level offering: “People know that no matter the price point, they’re getting something top-level with TRI-FIT. Take our VANGUARD suit – it’s at an entry-level price, but we didn’t cut any corners. It’s packed with premium features.”
TRI-FIT haven’t stopped at tri suits either. “We noticed a lot of triathletes were racing in one brand, swimming in another, cycling in a third. There weren’t many brands doing high-quality kit across all three disciplines.”
The brand has brought that same meticulous approach to the design and development process to their other product ranges – cycling gear, swim suits and jammers, goggles and athleticwear. “We didn’t just come out with baseball caps and water bottles. We launched with elite-level, award-winning, premium products – and then we kept going.”
A high performance mindset
The growth of the brand has been “very organic. We just kept asking, what else can we do better?” Much like the endurance sport enthusiasts they’re creating the products for, the team at TRI-FIT take a no stone unturned approach to developing products. “We’ve carried that mindset into TRI-FIT. As a team, everything we buy personally we want it be unique, high-performing and top-quality. And that’s what we want our customers to feel too.”
“Other brands might spot instances where they can save a bit of money here and there to boost margins. But we’re doing the opposite – we’ll get samples in and say ‘Nope, we’re not having that’. Even if it costs more, we always want to get it right.”
“We don’t put products out there, that we’re not proud of. And that’s helped us to build up really strong consumer trust in us as a brand. Our customers know that if they choose to buy a TRI-FIT product, whatever end of the price spectrum it’s at, it’s going to be a top level product.”
We’ve tested out several of TRI-FIT’s products ourselves here at TRI247, and that attention to detail that went into the development of the initial tri suit is evident across things like the RAPID-X and VOLT goggles and the recently redeveloped swimwear range.
“The new VANGUARD tri suit we’ve recently released is a perfect example,” say TRI-FIT. We’ve tested it ourselves (you can read the review here) and it certainly does offer a whole lot of performance for the price point. “It’s a very competitively priced suit, but we didn’t cut any corners on it. It’s still got a lot of technical elements and premium fabrics, but it competes at the entry level price point.”
Building the ‘TRI-FIT Tribe’ – why seeing triathletes choosing to race in TRI-FIT never gets old
It’s one thing launching a new brand and getting your friends and tri club mates to give it a go. But it’s another when you start spotting the gear out in the wild. Founder Dan still remembers the first time he spotted someone he didn’t know wearing a TRI-FIT suit. “I was walking down to spectate at IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth, and literally the first athlete that came flying around a roundabout was wearing TRI-FIT. I nearly teared up behind my sunglasses!”
Since then, ‘TRI-FIT in the wild’ sightings are far more regular. But, “it never gets old. It’s always special.”
“Our customers are the best and we get such positive feedback on social media. We’ve just soft-launched our race team, the TRI-FIT Tribe, and it’s been amazing to see the energy around it. People work so hard to complete a triathlon—it’s a bucket list event for so many.”
“The fact they choose our TRI-FIT suits to carry them from start to finish? That means everything.”
For the community, but also for the planet
It’s not just about taking care of the triathlon community either for TRI-FIT. Early on in their journey, they commited to the 1% for the Planet initiative – which sees participating brands, businesses and organisations committing to donate at least 1% of annual sales to environmental causes.
That’s a move plenty of brands would kick down the road a little, saving it for when they were bigger. But for TRI-FIT it’s been a non-negotiable from the early days. “It’s very difficult to train for a triathlon and race triathlons without being out in the elements. Things like clean waterways, addressing microplastics, keeping beaches clean, air quality and thinking about our carbon footprint. They’re vital to our sport.”
“We also have that responsibility more widely to leave our children with a better planet. So the 1% for the Planet inititiative was an absolute no-brainer. We write a large cheque every single year and we love it when we get to go on the website and choose the organisation we’re going to donate to that year. Most recently, we donated to the Two Minute Foundation in Cornwall, they organise beach cleans and they’re trying to reduce plastics and they go into schools to educate children. Being able to make that donation and support that cause is a great feeling.”
“There’s always going to be more that we can do. Everyone can do more, and as a sport there’s a lot of things triathlon can do. We’d love to see the big event organisers adding on beach cleans or other initiatives to encourage the thousands of athletes about to take over a location to give something back to that environment.”
“None of us are perfect, and as a brand – we’re far from perfect. But we do the things we can. Even things like our packaging – we choose to use packaging that’s made of corn starch so it’s 100% biodegradable. It’s things like that we can all do, and if everyone does it that will actually start to make a big impact.”
Disrupting ‘the big boys’ and being spurred on by triathletes’ get up and go attitude
Much like your typical triathlete, always striving to be that 1% better – TRI-FIT don’t plan to rest on their hindquarters anytime soon. New products, new markets, “we’ve got some really exciting stuff in the pipeline,” the team share.
“We’re opening up our European office which has been a big thing. Brexit made it quite difficult to do business with our closest neighbours so we’ve opened up an office which means we can ship easily within the EU and offer things like free shipping and next day shipping without all the added mess of duty and taxes. That’s going to be massive for our European customers – we’ve got a strong following in Europe already so this will really help us to be able to accelerate our growth. The US is our second biggest market too, so we want to do a lot more over there and we’re growing in the Middle East too. We’re getting more out into the world!”
New products incoming
And it’s not just world domination on the TRI-FIT team’s radar. They’ve got new product lines in the works too, as well as updates and new additions to their current ranges.
“We’ve got some brilliant products coming. We’ve got a transition bag/training bag in the works which will be amazing. And we’ve just launched our VORTEX tri suit which is our most high performance, technical suit yet. New colourways of our goggles are out too. And behind the scenes we’re currently working hard on a wetsuit which is really exciting. That’s a big product for us, and by the time it’s released it’ll have been a good two years in the making.”
“Triathletes tend to be happy, positive people… and that just spurs us on.”
That drive to keep pushing the envelope is quite a natural thing for the TRI-FIT team, and that largely comes from the inspiration they get from the triathlon community.
“As a team we’re naturally driven to keep pushing forwards and to see how far we can go as a brand. Can we kick it at the top level and disrupt the so-called ‘big boys’ in the industry? That’s just an exciting challenge.”
“It helps that it’s such a nice industry to work in. Triathletes tend to be happy, positive people. They’re fit and healthy, they get up in the morning and they go and get it. That inspires us and spurs us on.”
You can check out our reviews section to get our tried & tested feedback on some of the TRI-FIT products. And TRI247+ subscribers can also unlock and exclusive 25% off TRI-FIT discount code as part of their membership – head over to our subscription page to become a TRI247+ VIP.
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