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Brand Profile
A distribution deal with ProStar will help elevate LineBreak's
profile in the UK – as will being worn by the world's most
expensive footballer. Mark Gladwin, MD of SSPE, the company
that distributes LineBreak compression base layers in the UK,
tells SGB about the brand
SGB: How long have you been distributing LineBreak in the UK? What You are always going to see base
is LineBreak? layers everywhere across the
Mark Gladwin: I set the business up in April 2005. It was new to the marketplace, but we don’t want to be a
UK then – I launched the brand here. LineBreak had been going since ‘me too’ product. We want to be in a
2003 or so in Australia. We were awarded distribution of the brand in marketplace where we do do all the
2005 and set up the brand from there. The business is based in temperature regulation benefits
Warwickshire, where we work out of a warehouse unit, that are required by the athletes,
distributing the brand across the whole of the UK and Ireland. but also offer them something
LineBreak is a true compression base layer brand. It is else on top of that as well.
compression and temperature regulation. We do nothing else LineBreak is a single
apart from base layers. It is our core, it is what we do and it is garment that you use
what we do well. We haven’t looked to go further afield into for recovery and for
teamwear and other things; it's just compression and performance.
temperature regulation base layers. LineBreak and Skins
The difficulty with the market at the moment is have the same heritage – they are both Australian,
establishing what you are buying the base layer for. There they are both born out of the same research papers.
have always been base layers for temperature regulation, The original research on compression garments was
whether they be thermals or whether they be keeping done by DuPont back in the early 80s, originally
you cool. What we tried to do in launching the brand in looking at improving jump height with compression
2005 is separate ourselves away from the marketplace benefits. It was then extended to looking at what
to say, ‘it’s not just a temperature regulation garment' else it could do, and the recovery benefits generated
– yes, it does all of that, but what a LineBreak out of there. LineBreak and Skins are very much in
compression garment does is offer something else that is the same stable. We launched in 2005, shortly before
physiologically beneficial to the athlete as well. It increases Skins. The conjoining of Skins in that marketplace has
microcirculation within the muscle, increasing blood flow within boosted the whole story about compression into a different
the muscle, so during exercise it increases blood flow and helps sphere.
remove the waste product. Also, post exercise, it's a recovery
product as well. SGB: I know the brand's ethos is not really to endorse high-
Initially, the growth of LineBreak was based on the recovery profile athletes, but you still get seen out there. Who's
benefits that are associated with it. Anybody and everybody wearing LineBreak?
can benefit from wearing a pair of LineBreak recovery tights MG: We sponsored the Welsh Rugby team from 2005 to
after exercise, whether you be a weekend warrior who plays 2007. We are their official compression base layer supplier.
rugby on a Sunday afternoon and has to get up for work on a UnderArmour took over in the last year, supplying all the kit
Monday morning, whether you are training for the London to the Welsh team, but the Welsh Rugby team came back
Marathon, where you do your long runs on a Sunday. Wearing to us this year and bought LineBreak because UnderArmour
recovery tights straight afterwards allows a person to get up don’t do recovery gear yet.
and go to work on Monday morning and also then do their We have sponsored the British Triathlon team. We
short run on Monday evening as well. recently lost the contract to adidas, who are doing
16 SGB SPORTS APRIL 2009
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