WORD VOMIT: LIFT LIKE IT’S 1987: THE STORY BEHIND THE SP|25 COLLECTION

We’re throwing it back…way back…to a time when biceps were bigger, attitudes were louder, and action movies sculpted a generation. The SP|25 Collection isn’t just another drop. It’s a time machine. A gritty, sweat-stained tribute to 1987, the year I chose to anchor this story in iron, nostalgia, and street-bred ambition.

Truth is, I played around with a few different years. But something about ‘87 hit different. I was born in the late ’80s, raised in the ’90s, and my earliest idols weren’t musicians or ballplayers, they were larger-than-life action heroes: Arnold. Jean-Claude. Stallone. Lundgren. The gods of muscle cinema. Chiseled physiques. Relentless grit. That’s the energy that raised me. That’s the energy I wanted to bottle.

But this wasn’t just about tossing their names on a shirt. This was about a feeling. About a memory. And some of mine, oddly enough, came from a worn-out VHS copy of The Lion King. While everyone else was quoting Simba, I was obsessed with the Hyenas. They were feral. Fast. Chaotic. Underdogs with bite. That’s the spirit I tapped into. That’s where the hyena graphic in this collection was born.

Rewind to one of the first drops we ever did at BOXES & BARBELLS, just a simple “Lifting Club” print with a Skeleton Shaka. It meant a lot at the time. But I knew I could take it further. I wanted to reimagine that energy through the lens of everything I’ve learned, not just as a lifter, but as someone who lived and breathed streetwear, skate culture, and retail for years. I knew the gap between vintage lifting aesthetics and modern streetwear wasn’t as wide as people thought. So I built the bridge.

Designing this collection was chaos, in the best way. My brain raced. So many ideas, sketches, dead ends. I forced myself to slow down and zone in on what mattered: texture, tone, quality. This wasn’t fast fashion. I wanted garments that aged better with time. Pieces that felt like they lived in an old-school gym or a back alley skate session. Washed-out cotton. Garments that pick up every chalk mark, scrape, and memory. Fabric that feels like it has stories to tell.

I remember something a respected streetwear designer once said:
“People will always come back for quality — and for pieces that separate you from the brands printing on cheap blanks.”

That stuck with me. So I sampled and resampled. Color tested ink-to-fabric until it felt right. Once the first full set of samples landed, I looked at them laid out , tees, tanks, crewnecks, accessories, and for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t tearing my own work apart. I was proud.

And now, here we are. SP|25 is officially live. You can check it out on the site: www.boxesandbarbells.com/sp25-collection. Every piece, from the windbreakers to the bleached-out crews to the Hyena-inked tees, has a story. Has grit. Has soul. You won’t find another lifting collection like it. Because it wasn’t made to blend in.

Thank you for coming on this ride with me. Thank you for every comment, every repost, every order. I’m already thinking about what’s next, maybe F|25, maybe sooner. Who knows.

But for now…
Lift like it’s 1987. And JOIN THE FXXXXXG CLUB.