Approved By Elite Athletes

Castore has been created by athletes, for athletes. Built on the fact that standard sportswear brands didn’t offer the quality and capability that professional athletes needed. In the design process every detail is considered: from superior fabrics, to the positioning of seams, the way the product is cut, and special features to optimise performance. But perhaps one of the most important factors is the involvement and collaboration with the world’s best athletes, in order to create the world’s best sportswear. 

Elite athlete involvement starts from the very beginning, by the Castore Design Team asking them what they need, what they want, or what they’re missing in every piece they use. To then work together to choose the right fabric or blend (or to create one bespoke) and then look at the engineering and design implications, and then perhaps most importantly asking elite athletes to wear and test each piece extensively. Castore athletes then give feedback on what works well, for how long, and if anything can be improved, until they give their final approval.  

Andy Murray 

In the development of the AMC Range we sent Andy Murray every type of clothing item that he would play in (and which might make it into the AMC Range) for him to test, trial, and scrutinise during his own daily training and competition. This was to make sure that every piece, every fabric blend, and structure, performed optimally, at elite level. 

Andy worked with us in collaboration to make sure each piece was lightweight enough, breathable enough, feels good to wear, and that the seams are integrated enough that they cannot be felt after a full day of tennis training or competition. 

This collaboration and feedback has evolved over time. For the first fabrics he wore and tested in high intensity he reported back to say he loved the technical handfeel and the lightweight and stretch capabilities, but it didn’t keep him quite dry enough during intense sessions and matches. So the Castore Design Team actioned a change to use a new and better base fibre in his kit, with greater sweat-wicking and moisture management properties to solve the problem.

“I work with the AMC designers on every piece, with technical performance at the heart of the process. It’s important that the kit performs under the toughest conditions. I really enjoy testing it, giving my feedback and being part of the design process.” 

Rangers & Steven Gerrard

In creating the Rangers kits, the Castore Design Team created a new and unique Rapide fabric, which offered higher technical capability than any other jersey available. Offering exceptional lightweight, breathable, stretch, and strength qualities. All necessary for elite footballers who want to perform to their absolute best, with an endurance capability that could last a season. This was received with high-praise from the club, with Steven Gerrard saying “The quality of the kits is exceptional.”

However, there was one small issue: the socks. The achilles heel if you will. A number of players said that the first socks that they trialled created some slip within the football boot, which over time could lead to chafe or discomfort (and is why many players within football choose to wear footless socks). However, for the Castore Design Team this became a challenge to solve, which led to them engineering a special knit that offers more compression on the foot, and in the right areas, to ensure the sock doesn’t slip and to create greater comfort.  

Adam Peaty 

Adam Peaty has collaborated closely with the Castore Design Team in the development of his forthcoming training range. Involved in choosing the best fabrics to use, the shape, the cut, and features, as well as rigorous testing to make sure the pieces stand up to the heaviest gym work and longest training sessions.   

"The product quality is exceptional. You can really feel the difference. Performing to my best is essential to me. So Castore's focus on innovation and improvement to create the best possible performance pieces is something that I love to be involved with." 

Jos Buttler 

Cricketing superstar Jos Buttler has also tried, tested, and approved Castore training wear.

"Castore is about helping people to get better at their training and their respective sports. That's something that I respect, and can really get behind. Being a sportsman takes a lot of hard work and determination, so being able to rely on high quality sportswear that's designed for intensity really helps me to maintain my training regime...if you have the best equipment it makes a difference. The same is true for sportswear. Castore's quality is remarkable, and it helps me to perform to my best on a daily level."

Owen Farrell

While Owen Farrell also wears and advocates for Castore quality and how it helps.

"Castore's a brand I believe in. They share my mindset. They're dedicated to performance. To making athletes better. To Better Never Stops. That's why I'm proud to work with them. I love the Garcia Hoody, it's perfect for going out and training on cold or misty days. It's waterproof and breathable. The quality is superb."

3 Core Principles

There are 3 core foundations to any athletic wear created by the Castore Design Team: it must be lightweight, keep athletes cool during exercise and competition, and it must be high-stretch in order to allow ease of movement, which is essential for performance. If a fabric or piece does not offer these foundation principles, then it will not be used as Castore piece. 

For elite athlete wear, it must then perform to the extreme limits of training and competition. 

Perform to the limits

Elite athletes need quality that will last all day, all week, all year, and beyond. Their sportswear needs to perform for 7 hours a day, day after day. That’s why the kits that Castore make for professional athletes contain extra details that are applied and tested with the athletes until they are approved by those who depend on them. 

These improvements are often small changes that give marginal gains, for example in the positioning of seams. In a standard placing a seam might not cause any issue if the garment is worn several times a week, but if worn for 7 hours a day, every single day, then overtime a certain seam may start to irritate and chafe, so may need to be moved or redesigned. (A similar example of this is the new Lab Performance Golf Jacket, which has it’s top zip moved to the side to avoid any chance of chafe when a golfer has their chin down to focus on the ball and take their shot, to remove that possible limitation. A design detail informed by elite golfers.)

Elite for everyone

In the innumerable consultations with Castore ambassadors and elite athletes, the right fabrics, features, placements, and the ultimate performance of the pieces are optimised. These fabrics and features are then applied across the entire Castore range, to create better sportswear and better performance for everyone. 

Everyday athletes can take advantage of these insights and innovations, and feel the difference in quality, and then see the difference in how they perform on a daily basis. 

Because in every piece, every detail matters, and Better Never Stops.