We spoke to the founders of athleisure brand Recreational Habits about breaking the mould of recreational sports through education and, interestingly enough, movies.
A couple of years ago, a young equestrian by the name of Sophie Gochman authored an essay for The Chronicles of the Horse where she wrote: “We are an insular community with a gross amount of wealth and white privilege, and thus we choose the path of ignorance.”
Stables of chic country clubs that rest on the pillars of ancestral wealth rarely welcome aspiring riders, who aren’t defined by whiteness, social status and family names found upon the plaques of a building or two on the lawns of an Ivy League campus. Especially in the US. Shaquilla “Shaq” Blake, amateur rider, founder of theblackequestrian and author of a children’s book series American Horse Tales, recently opened up to Elle about the microaggression she faced as a black woman working and training at the stables in Massachusetts.
And so, the issue of visibility is apparent. Jackie (neé Skye Kim) and Marlon Muller, avid equestrians and founders of a leisurewear brand Recreational Habits (RH), recently introduced to Hong Kong customers by ways of The Holiday Project, believe that education is key to promoting diversity in the stables and at the competitions. “We recognised that every place that we travelled [for recreational sports], we were always the only people of colour,” they share, “We thought why not create content where we share stories of those people. When you paint pictures to show people how to do something or feel comfortable around something, you need to build a community.”
RH started as a content platform designed to destigmatise recreational sports. As it turned out, however, it was easier to build a community around the product rather than content, albeit Jackie didn’t necessarily want to get into fashion from the outset. “I never wanted to do clothes. It’s exciting and comes naturally to me, but I think, for us, we started as a mission-based brand, so doing polo clinic and providing experiences is something that makes my heart beat faster,” she says.
RH oeuvre is essentially an assortment of uniforms that suit the most revered recreational sports. There’s a tennis collection – the home to “the perfect tennis dress and the perfect tennis skirt,” according to Skye Kim Muller. There’s a varsity line, featuring the solidified-in-public-minds-by-pop-culture sweater vests, hoodies and sweatsuits. Muller tells me it was the first collection RH designed, “as a nod to the Ivy League schools”. Then, naturally, came golfing uniforms and loungewear (that could be sleepwear if one desires). The founders also recently teased yachting and après-ski collections. One could do little but sigh and nib on the skin on one’s elbows in feverish anticipation.
The concept of a ‘mission-driven brand’ has, undoubtedly, lost (some of) its lustre over the years. Remember mission-driven Man Repeller? Hope not. How about an even more mission-driven Theranos? Yikes. Both had the claims all too grand to fulfil and, at the same time, not grand enough to overshadow their founders’ egos. With RH, however, the mission boils down to a genuine educational initiative with a tangible impact. I’m talking about the RH Polo Clinic, of course. “We wanted to put together a clinic that would make people feel more comfortable exploring the idea of riding horses and adding polo to the mix,” recalls Muller, “For the kids, we hosted the clinic every Sunday for four weeks. We had 25 kids from the inner city DC come out.” As cheesy as it might sound, the smiles on the kids’ faces were the biggest reward, “They got on a horse, uncomfortable and nervous at first. We put a mallet in their hand and, all of a sudden, they were galloping around, hitting the ball and having fun,” Muller recalls.
The duo behind RH are dedicated to building a new content pillar to complement its ever-expanding offering of prêt-à-porter. “A huge project we have is creating movies, where these kids see themselves,” Skye Kim Muller shares. “Making movies is a huge amplifier,” Marlon seconds, “The more we can amplify that message and corporate partners we can get, the more diversity initiatives we can execute and do something as opposed to hiring a person of colour to check a box. We help to change someone’s life positively by giving them access to these things.”