Kick off the new year with new fitness gear designed with Black labels.
We’ve gathered some of our favorite Black-owned fitness brands to help you beam in confidence and preparedness. From chic shapewear to training accessories, these eight brands are inviting you to glow and grow.
Nothing but gains here.
YITTY
In an expansion of Lizzo Beating’s body positivity campaign, the Grammy award-winning singer launched an inclusive shapewear line in partnership with Fabletics Inc. From bodysuits and smoothing shorts to tanks, and unitards, Lizzo is inviting you to look and feel your best in the new year by embracing the skin you’re in.
“What is really different about Yitty is that we are designing collections in bold colors and prints that are meant to be exposed, styles that are technically designed to be worn as your underlayer but cute enough to wear alone,” Lizzo said, as previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE.
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Just Lift
Featured on Forbes as one of the worlds top ten influencers for fitness, Simeon Panda created Just Lift in 2012. It has grown from a social media hashtag ethos to a full-grown fitness apparel and training accessories brand aimed at amplifying his highly positive and motivational approach to fitness.
From hoodies, tees and tracksuits to weightlifting belts, knee sleeves, and wrist wraps, Just Lift’s gender-inclusive collection has got you covered for your 2023 goals.
“Quick tip for the new year is to just show up, and keep showing up, everything else will take care of itself. Too much contemplation will lead to procrastination, pack your bag, pull your socks up, tie your shoes and get moving,” Panda tweeted.
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EleVen
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams is demanding the best in her EleVen community for 2023. The founder and CEO created EleVen, a fashion-forward activewear brand bringing tennis and everyday apparel to women who want to feel great and perform better.
The collection includes collegiate tennis dresses and skirts, jackets, hoodies, visors, SPF wellness products, and more. Additionally, her latest collaboration with LOOK OPTIC launched a limited-edition collection of unisex metal frames for purchase.
“Working towards our dreams is what gives life meaning and I am looking forward to providing the gear and the know how from my own personal experiences to help every single EleVen woman do that on the daily,” Williams penned on the Vee Blog.
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Buddy Lee Jumpropes
After reaching the 1992 Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling, Anthony “Buddy” Lee has credited the jump rope as a powerful training technique that helped him earn his state, national and world military titles.
The three-time US Champion in Greco-Roman is now the president of Buddy Lee’s Jump Rope Technology and renowned pioneer of a training tool that turns freely in all directions with no friction and no drag. Lee’s company offers top quality speed ropes, crossfit ropes and jump ropes for all kinds of workouts, as well as accessories and parts.
“I simply know that I cannot ever give up. My mission in life remains the same: to help the entire planet of people get fit and strong in mind and body,” Lee told Australian Men’s Health.
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Powerhandz
Alongside co-founder Darnell Jones, former healthcare professional Danyel Surrency Jones created Powerhandz, weighted basketball gloves meant to improve your dribbling skills, in 2014. Jones is the first Black woman to run a global athletic training and rehab tech company.
The Frisco, Texas-based Powerhandz has a wide array of offerings, including its patented weighted gloves and 10 -pound power suits, are used by celebrities like athlete/rapper Flau’jae Johnson and former pro boxing champion Ryan Garcia.
“2022 was HARD yet so REWARDING. The process will lie to you and try to convince you to deny your purpose. I am a witness, you CAN and WILL defy the odds. Just keep showing up ready to hunt with a insatiable appetite,” Danyel wrote via Instagram.
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Actively Black
Lanny Smith, former professional basketball player, founded Actively Black, a premium athlesiure and sports apparel, with a goal to re-invest back in the Black community.
For men, women, and youth, Actively Black offers dynamic collections of crew necks, hoodies, joggers, luxury bags, swimwear, rubber patches, and more.
“Our coolness, our talents, our creativity have been mined and exploited without care for our Black lives,” the brand wrote on their website. “For too long we have asked for a seat at the table and been ignored. So we decided to build our own table.”
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Gym Wrap
Actress Nicole Ari Parker created the ultimate sweatband and sweatgear designed to keep you cool, dry, and protected. Gymwrap has been a brainchild of Parker’s since 2011, and has since aimed to solve the issue that women can’t workout because of their hair.
Using her patented EvapoTECH technology, Parker offers an array of sweatbands in vibrant and bold colors for both men and women. Gymwrap’s apparel collection includes leggings and shorts, while offering sweat gear to complete the set.
“The idea for Gymwrap came to me in 2011, when I noticed a common excuse emerge among busy, everyday women (myself included) about why they couldn’t work out: their hair,” Parker wrote on the website.
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Kettlebell Kings
In 2012, veteran entrepreneur Chad Price built Kettlebell Kings from the ground up with friends Jay Perkins and Nehemiah Heard.
Today, the company has pioneered its flagship product, Kettlebell Kings’ powder coat kettlebell, online kettlebell education, and built a global fitness community that helps customers throughout all the stages of their fitness journey.
From competition kettlebells to a wide array of equipment, these products are made and fit for royalty.
“Fitness and business growth both require hard work, patience, and the right tools,” Price wrote via Instagram.