Article: Still Here: Ten Years of Y-Fit Wear
Still Here: Ten Years of Y-Fit Wear
Ten years ago, on 26 September 2016, Y-Fit Wear launched with a rail of men's performance tees in a studio in Liverpool Street. Ten years later, we are still here.
This is the story of the decade in between. Not the highlight reel. The real one: the doubts, the near misses, the people who carried us and the moments that changed what this brand means. If you have worn Y-Fit, trained with us, or ever been underestimated, this story is yours too.
2016: The very beginning
A failed childhood dream of becoming a professional footballer led me to my calling. That redirection pointed me towards entrepreneurship, and there I found my purpose. Y-Fit became the avenue to inspire people to remember their why. To move with purpose.
We launched on 26 September 2016 with men's performance wear, partnering with 1Rebel for our launch week and running classes at their Liverpool Street studio.
2017: Finding our feet
On 27 March 2017 we launched our first women's products, partnering with 1Rebel again for the women's performance launch. Shoutout to Tanya, our first brand ambassador.
1Rebel were impressed with the quality of what we made, and I sat down with their co-founder to talk about a 1Rebel product line. It came down to Y-Fit or Lululemon. We did not get the partnership, but walking out of that room I knew we were onto something.
2018: Product focus
We tested a lot of products in the early years. Things started to move when we stopped chasing sport specific kit and focused on athleisure and movement. Fitness as a lifestyle, not just performance.
2019: Building the base
More pieces, more people, the same mindset. The Hourglass collection was intentional, and you connected with it: the hourglass body, and the idea of making the most of our time. Body, mind, spirit and soul aligned.
We grew our social channels and took Y-Fit into pop ups at Facebook and Google. The foundation was being laid.
The moment we became more than a clothing brand
Jack changed the way I look at Y-Fit. He messaged us while battling cancer to say how much what we stand for resonated with him. I had underestimated how powerful this brand could be and who it could reach. Jack made me understand what it truly means to Move With Purpose. He wore Y-Fit through it all and stayed strong until the end.
Jack verified that this path is a calling, not just a clothing brand. He embodies everything we want Y-Fit to stand for: being strong and living a purposeful life despite the adversity and the obstacles. Rest in peace, Jack Morgan.
2020: Ready when the time came
Covid stopped the world. People were working from home in activewear, and the Black Lives Matter movement inspired intentional support of Black owned businesses. We had spent four years quietly building, so when the moment came, we were ready.
This was the year I went full time. While everyone chased seamless leggings, we perfected the sock. The Tech Socks became our best seller and still are today. Women's Health named our Hourglass leggings among the best gym leggings, and the press coverage took Y-Fit to the next level.
The lesson I took from 2020: opportunity does not create you. It reveals what you have already been building.
2021: On the right path
We moved with confidence. New collections, external designers helping us create unique pieces, and every collection carrying a story. We collaborated with brands that share our values and worked with TikTok, becoming the first brand to go live with shoppable content on TikTok Shop. We sponsored Matt's BBQ and held our first official event, in collaboration with Jamii.
2022: Brick by brick
By 2022 the foundation was set, and every day was about adding one more brick. No shortcuts, just consistent work stacked on consistent work.
It was also the year I started speaking in schools and colleges, sharing the real story behind Y-Fit and the four pillars that hold everything we do together:
- Purpose, because you have to know why you start.
- Culture, because who you build with matters as much as what you build.
- Vision, because you have to see it before anyone else can.
- Excellence, because the details are where trust is earned.
Seeing those ideas land with the next generation showed me Y-Fit was no longer just a brand I was building. It was a message worth passing on. Add collaborations with the Tina Turner musical, pro athletes and photoshoots abroad, and 2022 was a year of quiet, steady growth.
2023: Own lane
Seven years in, something shifted. We stopped looking sideways. We knew who we were, what we stood for and where we were going, and that clarity changed everything. Our billboard said it plainly: Own Lane. Own Race. Own Pace. Move With Purpose.
Other brands could chase trends and measure success by someone else's standard. That was never our race. We were driven by the people who wear Y-Fit, the young minds in those classrooms, and the community that carried us this far.
2024: Clarity
We kept building with purpose through the right collaborations and marketplaces: a billboard with the London Lions, Y-Fit in Los Angeles, the launch of our women's Sculpt and Allure collections, and partnerships with Direct to Culture, Black British Golfers, Treasure Tress and Black Market Flea. Each one connected us with communities we believe in.
Vision is our compass: the spirit of ambition that unites people from all walks of life, and the energy to bring them together.
2025: Community, every month
We hosted a community event every single month, and told stories for the underdog and the underestimated. Run clubs, padel, studio sessions and conversations. Proof that what we built was never only about clothing.
2026: Still here
Ten years in, and the mindset is simple. Better than yesterday. Not perfect, not finished, just better.
It means waking up with the same hunger you had on day one, even when nobody is watching and nobody is keeping score. It is the extra rep, the harder question, the product you rework one more time because good enough was never the standard. It is not about competing with anyone else. It is the quiet discipline of competing with who you were last year, and choosing to grow anyway.
That mindset built Y-Fit. Every chapter of the last decade, the wins and the setbacks, came from the same place: a belief that there is always another level if you are willing to find a way.
To everyone who has worn the Y, trained with us, shared our story or believed in us before anyone else did: thank you. Ten years later, we are still building. And we always will be.
Move With Purpose.
Mark Agyakwa
Founder, Y-Fit Wear
