You may know RVCA as a staple in the skate and surf lifestyle industry, competing with the likes of Quicksilver and Hurley. However, the brand also competes in the men’s activewear space with a division called RVCA Sport.
VA Sport, as it’s known, is more than a marketing offshoot of it’s originator. It’s an extension of the lifestyle that the Southern California brand embodies.
The sport division supports athletes and influencers in the world of mixed modern fitness – from profession boxers, to Jiu Jitsu athletes, to MMA fighters – and supplies the means to sustain an active lifestyle from the street, to the surf, to the gym.
We had an opportunity to take an inside look at the company headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA, including the highly functional VA Sport Training Center, which far surpasses any combat athlete’s needs or expectations.
THE BRAND
Before diving into the training center it’s important to understand the fueling force behind the success of RVCA; the lifestyle. At RVCA, the appreciation of art and sport oozes from its walls. There is a noticeable understanding that the brand isn’t just selling clothing…it’s offering the means to express a lifestyle.
A lifestyle that embraces the balance of life, from art and industry, to work and play, to individuality and community. RVCA is the balance of opposites, and appeals to those who share in the navigation of life through the self expression of art and activity.
THE VISIONARY
The cultivation of the environment at RVCA is credited to the man behind the brand, founder PM Tenore. It’s clear that in 2001 he set out to build more than a clothing brand. Even when the company was acquired in 2010, Tenore stayed on as acting president to protect and maintain the culture and what the brand has come to represent.
To this day he’s involved in all parts of the company and has a presence at HQ on a daily basis. It’s common to see Tenore laced up with gloves and headgear, exchanging blows with his comrades in the training center.
His office is a microcosm of the brand’s values, displaying a collage of art, pictures of friends and family, sport memorabilia, and fashion.
THE TRAINING CENTER
The jewel within the RVCA headquarters is the VA Sport Training Center, which drives home the message of what the brand is all about. The brainchild of PM Tenore, the training center was opened in 2009 to support BJ Penn and the training camp for his UFC 101 world title defense.
Located just steps away from the main workspace, the training center is a full access gym open 5am to 9pm to all employees, and features anything and everything a modern, functional athlete would need. Dumbbells, kettlebells, bumper plates, training turf, squat racks, and treadmills make up the strength & conditioning area.
Free S&C classes are offered twice a week to employees, and many make use of the area during their breaks.
The combat sports part of the gym features grappling mats, a variety of striking bags, a boxing ring, and an MMA cage. Here, Muay Thai and boxing classes are offered four times a week by world class striking coaches, including Jason Parillo, a highly sought-after striking coach in MMA circles. Parillo is also part of the RVCA advocate team, a hand selected group of sponsored ambassadors who embody the lifestyle of the brand.
The advocate team is what really sets RVCA apart in relation to its competitors. The brand is not afraid to step outside of its skate and surf roots and enter the somewhat controversial combat sports world.
In fact, VA sport was created to embrace the combat sports lifestyle, supporting figures like MMA legend, BJ Penn, Jiu Jitsu World Champions, Rafa and Gui Mendes, and current Absolute World Jiu Jitsu Champion, Marcus Buchecha Almeida.
The facility is open to all advocates regardless of training background or affiliation, and as mentioned, Tenore isn’t afraid to get in there with his team.
VA Sport is proud of what it has built and although the division is looking to grow, it’s aiming to do so without selling out or alienating those whom identify with it. When you see another athlete wearing the VA chevrons it’s like being an insider of a members only club.
VA sport represents a subculture that is built on respect, hard work, and grit. All of the VA advocates are known as scrappy, tough fighters who grind to the end, and most of them have world championships to their names. So as much as the VA Sport lifestyle is “bought,” it’s just as much earned.
The artwork inside the center was done by the one and only Artist RETNA. This piece is a roll call of everyone involved in the original training camp in 2009.
Expect to see a new release from VA Sport soon, with a full line of men’s activewear and a few accessories. In the mean time, shop their current line here, and be sure to give them a follow for more inside looks of VA sport.