Olympic Gold medallist, Commonwealth champion and Arena Elite athlete, Chad Le Clos grew up in Durban, South Africa where he not only started competing in swimming competitions at age 7 but where he also discovered his ‘other’ passion: surfing. Durban is home to a thriving surfer community thanks to its consistent waves, regular swells and favourable wind conditions not to mention warm water temperatures year round. With this in mind it is no surprise that Le Clos, with his keen water instinct, was also drawn to the waves and is a good amateur surfer.
In celebration of Chad’s passion, Arena and Le Clos have developed a state of the art surf line for the new season, named C Le C. Previewed today at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, the six piece collection is divided into two themes, both of which acknowledge Chad’s considerable achievements and his South African heritage: Unbelievable and Ready to Roar. Who can forget Le Clos Sr, after his son defeated Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly and won the Gold at the 2012 London Olympics? Bursting with pride he repeated “unbelievable” to every news outlet who interviewed him. Chad Le Clos’ accomplishments are quite unbelievable. On Sunday, Le Clos secured victory in the FINA Swimming World Cup series after winning 27 out of 27 races across seven legs (Dubai, Doha, Hong Kong, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore). Chad pushes himself to improve and to achieve better results, or as he puts it: “You decide how fast you want to swim, how hard you want to train, how good you want to be”.
“Ready to roar”, links to Chad’s South African heritage and also to the unique way his father chose to announce Chad’s birth in the local Durban newspaper when he was born: “The lion roared at 10.15”!
The C Le C Collection offers a selection of surfer essentials: a hoodie, a rashvest, a low waist short, a midjammer surf belt and a pair of long Bermuda shorts. Each product uses the newest developments in technical fabrics and sharp prints with standout colours including lime green, warm orange and turquoise. The prints are dynamic and surfer inspired: abstract roaring lions’ heads in colours inspired by Chad’s homeland and bold graphics.
Photo Courtesy: Warren Little
For both the Unbelievable and Ready to Roar ranges, Arena’s team have built the rashvests, midjammers and low waist shorts from an Italian made fabric, created by the industry leaders in the field, Carvico. It maintains optimum shape retention and is highly sand resistant as well as offering superior UV protection and excellent coverage. It is also exceptionally breathable, ultra-flat and non-curling, ensuring maximum comfort and freedom of movement.
Arena has always been committed to providing water sports enthusiasts with the best, whether going after the Olympic Gold or catching the biggest wave. The C Le C Collection puts the focus on design and of course, performance thanks to Arena’s continued pursuit of excellence. Speaking at the launch of the new range today Chad Le Clos said: “I am very proud of my partnership with Arena. They’re the leading performance swim wear brand in the world right now. I am excited at the potential of my new range for surfers, sportsmen…..and just guys on holiday! It was a great experience to work with Arena’s design team on this and it’s an honour to be here in Dubai at the world famous Atlantis Hotel on the Palm to launch the range today.”
Photo Courtesy: Warren Little
An exclusive preview sale of the collection will be offered in the arena shop at the FINA World Championships in Doha (December 3 – 7) and the collection will then be available to buy worldwide from June 2015.
Thank you Chad.