Athletic Recon: Ryan Heuser’s Second Act
The cartoon characters are gone. For Ryan Heuser’s first solo project after Paul Frank Industries, he set his sights on tougher-minded performance athletic wear.
The shaved-headed Heuser rose to prominence as the business and marketing chief behind Paul Frank, the Costa Mesa, Calif.–based brand that sold Tshirts, accessories, pajamas and an array of products bearing images of the cartoon characters of Paul Frank, which were embraced by irony-loving hipsters and children alike.
Paul Frank was acquired by Los Angeles–based licensing company Saban Brands for an undisclosed amount in 2010, and Heuser looked for a second act. He found it in his avocation of muscle-straining marathon and triathlete races.
As a competitor in the New York Marathon and The OC Marathon, he felt there was not enough variety in men’s performance athletic clothes, apart from popular gym- and performance wear manufactured by the biggest sportswear companies, such as Adidas.
One week after he left his gig as chief creative officer at Paul Frank in March, he started Athletic Recon, which is based in Newport Beach, Calif. The aim of Heuser’s self-financed line is to offer stylish variety, gear for a tough workout and incremental sales for boutique retailers. The line was introduced at the Aug. 1–2 run of the Agenda trade show in Long Beach, Calif. It will also be exhibited at the S.L.A.T.E. section of MAGIC, which will run Aug. 20–23 in Las Vegas.
For good workouts, Athletic Recon offers a 25-piece collection made out of performance fabrics that wick away sweat and prevent odors.
For unique looks, Heuser designed athletic wear that can be also worn outside the gym. The military-inspired looks of the line are mixed with the pizazz of some streetwear-style graphics.
He plans to place the line in boutiques that sell fashion. “It will offer incremental business,” he said of the extra sales boutique buyers add with new categories to their stores. “If you’re a boutique selling denim to a guy who is interested in looking good, the right track pants and nylon jacket sitting at a table will be a perfect incremental buy.”
Athletic wear is good business, too. According to The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.–based market-research company, sales for men’s active sweatshirts climbed more than 10 percent in May 2012 compared with May 2011.
Heuser also plans to offer the line to better department stores and outdoor-athletic retailers. Retail price points range from $28 for a T-shirt to $70 for track pants. For more information, contact info@athleticrecon.com. —Andrew Asch
