Built For Athletes is a British fitness and sports-equipment brand best known for its performance-focused backpacks and training bags. The company was founded in 2018 by CrossFit enthusiast Nick Costello, with his brother Danny Costello joining the business shortly afterward. The brand was created around a straightforward problem: serious gym-goers often needed to carry a large amount of training equipment and wanted a single bag that could handle it. 1

Today, Built For Athletes has expanded beyond its original backpack concept into a broader fitness, training, travel and lifestyle brand, selling backpacks, luggage, clothing and gym accessories. It positions itself around functionality, durability, performance and the culture of dedicated training. 2

Built For Athletes emerged from the fitness community rather than from traditional fashion or luggage retail. According to the company and profiles of its founder, Nick Costello was a CrossFit enthusiast who became frustrated with having to carry multiple bags to accommodate his training equipment. He researched what athletes and coaches actually needed and developed the concept that became Built For Athletes. 3

The company was founded in late 2018. Its early growth was strongly associated with CrossFit, functional fitness and gym culture, where large-capacity backpacks could be used to transport shoes, clothing, food, bottles and training equipment.

The brand subsequently expanded internationally. River Capital, which invested in the company in 2022, describes Built For Athletes as having grown to distribution in more than 160 countries at that point.

The company says it has since supplied more than 200,000 athletes worldwide, while its current website describes its community as extending across CrossFit, bodybuilding, weightlifting, HYROX and broader gym culture.

Nick Costello is the founder of Built For Athletes. His experience as a CrossFit enthusiast was central to the company’s original product concept.

Rather than beginning as a conventional fashion label, the business was developed around the practical requirements of training. This helped establish the brand’s identity around “gear first” design: products are intended to solve problems encountered by athletes and fitness enthusiasts rather than simply function as fashion accessories.

Nick’s brother Danny Costello subsequently joined the business.

Although backpacks remain the company’s signature category, its current product range is considerably broader. Major categories include:

• Gym and training backpacks
• Pro Series backpacks
• Signature backpacks
• Hybrid backpacks
• Duffel bags
• Sling and crossbody bags
• Travel luggage
• Gym accessories
• Water bottles
• Shoe bags
• Weightlifting equipment
• Clothing
• Patches and personalization accessories
• Travel and everyday-carry products

The company’s current catalogue contains hundreds of products and collections, with backpacks still occupying a central position. 4

The Backpack Business

The Built For Athletes backpack is the product that made the company particularly recognizable within fitness.

The design philosophy is based on carrying substantially more equipment than a conventional everyday backpack. Built For Athletes emphasizes large capacities, organization, durable materials and compartments intended for training equipment, footwear, technology and everyday essentials.

The company currently offers different sizes and designs, including products such as the Gym Backpack Plus, Gym Backpack Compact, Hybrid Backpack, Pro Series Backpack and Signature Backpack.

This specialization differentiates Built For Athletes from conventional lifestyle backpack brands: its products are designed around the assumption that the customer may be carrying actual training equipment, not merely a laptop and a few personal items. 5

Built For Athletes summarizes its philosophy through five core values:

• Functionality — equipment designed around the practical requirements of athletes.
• Quality — an emphasis on durability and construction.
• Community — connection with fitness communities around the world.
• Heritage — maintaining its origins in training rather than fashion.
• Resilience — emphasizing discipline, persistence and progress.

Its current positioning can therefore be understood as sitting between sports equipment, fitness lifestyle and premium everyday carry.

The slogan used by the company is:

“Built For Athletes. For The Dedicated.”

The word “dedicated” is important to the brand’s positioning. Built For Athletes does not exclusively target professional athletes; its messaging also addresses ordinary people who take training seriously and want equipment that supports consistent progress.

The brand’s core audience consists of people involved in:

• CrossFit
• Functional fitness
• Weightlifting
• Bodybuilding
• HYROX
• Running and endurance training
• Team sports
• Competitive sport
• General gym training

However, the products increasingly have applications outside the gym. The company specifically markets its bags for work, travel and everyday use, effectively broadening the target customer from “athlete” to anyone who wants a performance-oriented carry system.

One of Built For Athletes’ strongest characteristics is its relationship with the functional-fitness community.

Rather than positioning itself purely as a fashion or lifestyle company, it has maintained strong links to training communities and competitive athletes. Its current brand materials explicitly identify CrossFit, bodybuilding, weightlifting, HYROX and gym culture as part of its community.

This community positioning is also reflected in the company’s collaborations and ambassador programs.

Built For Athletes has progressively moved into higher-profile sports partnerships. Its partnerships have included organizations and teams such as:

• Oracle Red Bull Racing
• BWT Alpine Formula One Team
• INEOS Grenadiers
• British Taekwondo
• Loughborough Sport
• Texas A&M
• Borussia Dortmund
• Spartan Racing
• HYROX

The company reported that 2025 included partnership announcements with Atlassian Williams Racing, BWT Alpine F1 Team, INEOS Grenadiers, British Taekwondo and Loughborough Sport, alongside the second release of its HYROX collaboration.

BWT Alpine’s own partner page describes Built For Athletes as having been founded in 2018 and says the brand had supplied more than 200,000 athletes worldwide. 2

These partnerships are strategically significant because they reinforce the brand’s claim that its products are intended for high-performance environments, rather than simply being gym-fashion products.

HYROX

HYROX has become particularly relevant to Built For Athletes because both brands operate in the rapidly growing functional-fitness space.

Built For Athletes has released HYROX x Built For Athletes products and included the collaboration among its major 2025 developments.

This is a natural fit: HYROX attracts athletes who combine running with functional-strength exercises, while Built For Athletes specializes in equipment for people who regularly move between training, competition and everyday life.

Formula 1

Built For Athletes has also developed a presence in Formula 1, an industry where travel, equipment organization and performance culture are particularly important.

The brand has worked with Oracle Red Bull Racing and is also a team supplier to BWT Alpine Formula One Team. Alpine describes the relationship as providing gear intended to support the team’s elite-performance environment.

This represents an important evolution from the company’s original CrossFit-oriented identity: the brand is increasingly using elite sports partnerships to establish credibility across multiple athletic disciplines.

Built For Athletes experienced significant growth during its early years.

In 2022, the company received a seven-figure equity investment from River Capital through the North West Private Equity Fund. River Capital said the investment was intended to support product development and international expansion. 3

At the time, the company was already distributing internationally and had begun developing partnerships with major sports organizations.

The investment marked an important transition from a relatively niche fitness-bag company toward a larger international sports and lifestyle business.

One of the more interesting aspects of Built For Athletes’ development is the move from a single-category specialist into a broader lifestyle brand.

Its original proposition was essentially:

“We make better bags for people who train.”

Its contemporary proposition is closer to:

“We make performance-oriented equipment for people who live a dedicated, active lifestyle.”

This is visible in the expansion into clothing, travel luggage, accessories, everyday bags and digital/community initiatives. The company’s 2025 review specifically highlighted its new app, loyalty program, expanded ambassador program and additional athlete partnerships.

Built For Athletes primarily operates as a direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand, selling products through its own online store. It also has a B2B and wholesale operation.

Its B2B business provides customized backpacks, luggage and apparel for organizations including gyms, sports teams and hospitality companies.

This gives the company two related markets:

• B2C: individual athletes and fitness consumers.
• B2B: sports teams, gyms, hotels and other organizations requiring branded equipment.

Visually and commercially, Built For Athletes tends to favor a technical, performance-oriented aesthetic.

Its products commonly use subdued colors such as black, navy and grey, while certain collections introduce brighter or more distinctive colorways. The overall visual language emphasizes durability and utility rather than luxury fashion.

That is consistent with its positioning: the bag is meant to look like serious training equipment, while still being attractive enough to function as everyday luggage.

The central proposition of Built For Athletes can be summarized as:

Performance + organization + durability + lifestyle.

The company attempts to solve a very specific problem: an athlete’s daily carry can be complicated. A single person might need training shoes, clothes, food, bottles, supplements, technology and work equipment in the same day.

Built For Athletes designs its products around that reality.

The company currently offers up to a two-year warranty across its backpack range, worldwide delivery and a 60-day refund policy on eligible returns.

Built For Athletes occupies an interesting position between several established categories:

Its closest conceptual competitors vary depending on the product: specialist gym-bag brands, sportswear companies selling training bags, and premium everyday-carry/luggage companies.

Its differentiation comes largely from being designed around serious training first.

The brand’s current portfolio is organized into several recognizable families, including:

• The Pro Series
• The Signature Backpack
• The Training Backpack
• The Hybrid Collection
• Classic Backpacks
• The Everyday Collection
• Travel Collection
• Gym & Training Accessories
• Clothing

The company’s current online catalogue lists hundreds of products across these categories.

Built For Athletes is increasingly treating itself as a community brand, rather than simply a product company.

In 2025 it launched a dedicated Built For Athletes app, expanded its ambassador and affiliate programs, and introduced a loyalty program. The company also highlights athlete content and member rewards as part of its community strategy.

This reflects a broader trend in modern sports brands: selling products while simultaneously building a community around a particular lifestyle and identity.

The name “Built For Athletes” is intentionally straightforward. It communicates the company’s original product-development philosophy: products should be built specifically around the requirements of athletes.

Over time, the word “athlete” has also become broader in the company’s marketing. The brand increasingly uses “athlete” to encompass people who train seriously, compete, pursue fitness goals or simply maintain a disciplined active lifestyle.

Built For Athletes is a British company, with its business associated with Warrington, England. River Capital identifies the company as a Warrington-based sports and fitness retail business. 3

From its UK origins, the company has developed a substantial international customer base and states that it delivers worldwide.

• 2018 — Built For Athletes founded by Nick Costello. 1
• Late 2010s — Initial growth centered around CrossFit and functional-fitness communities.
• Early 2020s — Expansion of international distribution and sports partnerships.
• 2022 — Seven-figure equity investment from River Capital to support expansion and product development. 3
• 2020s — Expansion into clothing, luggage, accessories and broader lifestyle products.
• 2025 — New partnerships, HYROX collection, mobile app, loyalty program and expanded ambassador network. 4
• 2026 — The company continues positioning itself as a global performance and fitness-lifestyle brand, with backpacks remaining its signature product category.

1. About Time: You Discovered Built For Athletes – About Time Magazine
2. Built for Athletes – Team Supplier – BWT Alpine Formula One Team
3. Built For Athletes – River Capital
4. Collections – Built for Athletes™
5. Large & Small Gym & Training Backpacks | Built for Athletes™