r community and the way that our community trains,” Lee told Inside Retail. “Our mission has evolved to try and help motivate and inspire as many people to train as possible,” he added. The brand DNA TWL, previously known as The WOD Life, has built a community around helping people get the most out of their ‘WOD’ or ‘workout of the day’. While its previous name and branding were successful in establishing TWL in the oversaturated fitness landscape, Lee and Dineen ultimately decided that a shift in branding would help the e-commerce business scale. “Maybe as ‘The WOD Life’ we were a little bit restricted, but definitely the transition to TWL and ‘Training Without Limits’ allows us to reach a broader market,” shared Lee. “The response so far has been sort of nothing short of phenomenal, not only from our community but also the brands that we partner and work with as well,” he added. ‘WOD’ was a term popularised by the CrossFit community where members would go into their gyms and see a workout written on a board that everyone would do. But as Lee and Dineen started diversifying their training routines outside of CrossFit, they wanted a brand and gear that reflected all athletes’ workout routines. “With the evolution of our brand, we’re able to provide a wider range of products that can best support, motivate and inspire our growing community,” Lee elaborated. “Our company tagline is ‘push the boundaries’ and that doesn’t just relate to training – it’s what we do internally as well. How can we push the boundaries around the customer experience?” he continued. “We have a very agile and flexible team that shares that mentality, so we’re always trying to deliver a better experience, a better product and a better interaction.” A new athlete When asked why TWL refers to its customers as athletes, Lee said the brand was inspired by the most successful activewear companies of all time. “It was famously coined by Phil Bowman from early Nike days, ‘every one with a body is an athlete’ – so we try to encompass that and empower our community as well,” he said. Despite trying to grow its own line of apparel and gear, TWL understands that the vast majority of consumers are not loyal to a singular logo and more often than not dress and shop across multiple brands. “Our focus around product development and innovation with our brand of TWL has been really key so that it can continue to evolve and support people’s training,” Lee stated. “I think that that’s probably the key that sets us apart – we have the idea to create the best product in the world for training and also partner and complement with other brands in the market as well,” he added. TWL has landed key strategic partnerships with major brands, including Nike and Reebok, and has plans to work closely with Adidas and Puma in the near future. “I think that’s been the key, is strategic partnerships, whereas maybe these big brands can’t talk to the consumer and they’re not as close to the community as we are,” said Lee.  “So working with them to help activate that community and provide the product there, especially around the footwear and the shoes,” he added. According to Lee, global athletic brands are not TWL’s competitors, instead he sees Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Puma as brand partners that TWL can introduce to their loyal community of fitness training enthusiasts. “We’re able to not only sell their product, but create unique content around it and partner with athletes to try and tell their story,” Lee said.  When consumers shop from TWL they know that the team behind the online community has vetted each product. “It’s pretty overwhelming with the amount of brands and products out there in the fitness space in particular and difficult for people to step through,” concluded Lee. “We stand by all the products that we sell and partner with and our community knows that when we partner with them, then it’s up to standard”.