Only Those Who Risk Are Free

You could argue that Jay Barton founded his men’s activewear brand ASRV at age 12. That’s when he started selling limited-run t-shirts at his school in rural Oregon. “I saw that kids wanted them, so I learned how to screen print and was buying these Gildan t-shirts,” says Barton. “And then I had my friends selling the shirts at school, and they were getting commissions on sales.” 

Eventually, school admins shut down Barton’s operation, arguing that too many kids were feeling left out — after all, if you couldn’t get your hands on one of Barton’s tees, who were you really? 

Cut to 2014. ASRV’s official launch starts humbly in a basement where Barton designs a handful of essentials in muted colorways with the technical details that will become ASRV’s signature. They sell out in minutes. 

The brand hasn’t stopped growing since — proof that activewear, done right, can be everyday-everywhere wear. Barton’s designs will carry you from a morning run to coffee through an afternoon of Zoom calls and straight into your local bar for that well-earned IPA at happy hour.

This is what ASRV does best: toe the line between style and utility, work and workout, mind and body, effort and play. “It's this weird balance between like, ‘Oh, that looks good, I could go grab coffee in that,’” Barton says, “But also, it says something about me at the same time. It’s a state of mind.” 

We spoke to Barton about night owl creativity, how not to do men’s designs, and turning physical motivation into a philosophy of life.