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The runners behind the Ciele Athletics hats

Just over a year ago, two Montreal friends dreamed up a hat design ideal for running. Then it was a trial. Now, it’s known across the globe and is the “it” hat of this year’s Bridge the Gap.

It launched just over a year ago and already, the Montreal-born hat company, Ciele Athletics has become a recognizable name among trendsetting runners across the globe.

Started by two friends, Jeremy Bresnen and Mike Giles, the company was at first just a solution to a basic problem. “I couldn’t find a hat that I liked,” says Bresnen. The running hats he found had either style or technical functions but were not a blend of the two.

Bresnen took up the sport four years ago. It was a way to stay healthy and clear his mind when running solo. Though always an active person (he was a skateboarder and snowboarder before), his fitness level was dropping. So one summer, he took up run-commuting running the eight kilometres to work. “It’s my way of disconnecting,” he says. Now, a few kilometres into the run, he’s zoning out.

Both Giles and Bresnen have a background in design– Bresnen hails from the snowboarding and ski wear world and ciele_scotia_hat_Giles has years of experience designing furniture. He even had his own company.”We were looking for a project to do together and I wanted to do a technical clothing design,” says Bresnen. And so Ciele Athletics was born. They started making the hats in January of 2014 with a launch in August.

The two Montrealers had no idea what to expect with the launch. “Last fall was definitely a test,” explains Bresnen. “We knew there was a space in the market. It was a question of how we were going to reach customers.” Instagram proved to be the main driver of hat sales and just general awareness of their brand. It was selling well in stores– they were right about there being a gap in the market. Runners picked up on their new product and soon, the Canadian hats were seen in Instagram photos across the world. “We’d wake up and there’s a photo of someone in the hat in the Swiss Alps or Malaysia,” says Bresnen.

That gave them leverage to kick it up a few notches. At first there was one design. Now, there are 23. It’s become so successful that apart from runners everywhere knowing their company, this year, they are being represented at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon with their limited edition hat designed specifically for the race. “They came out to us and said, ‘We want you to be the official hat of the marathon,” says Bresnen.BTGhat

But along with the marathon, this year, Toronto is host to Bridge The Gap, an international meetup of run crews everywhere. For that, Ciele has come out with a limited edition design as well available online.

Just over a year later, Ciele Athletics is now far from being a trial project between two friends living in Montreal. Their goal today is clear: “The biggest thing is that we’re focused on building an incredibly high quality product for athletic endeavors,” says Bresenen.

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