Venice Barbell Club
Photos
Design
A charcoal heather crew neck printed in white ink. "VENICE BARBELL CLUB" stacks across the chest in three lines of heavy, condensed capitals, set flush right so each word ends against a barbell drawn in profile. A row of tall plates rises the full height of the type, followed by a short collar and the end of the bar. The right sleeve carries "PARADISO" over "CROSSFIT" in tall, narrow capitals, beside a stack of five small silhouettes from the gym's logo: a surfboard, a sword, a snowboard, a barbell and a paddle. The back is blank.
Coach’s Comments
Before CrossFit went mainstream, barbells were for bench presses and back squats, often with questionable depth. CrossFit introduced weightlifting to a rapidly growing number of people who, before setting foot in a box, probably couldn't tell a snatch from a clean and jerk. Some athletes got hooked on the sport itself and wanted to hone those skills outside of regular classes. Boxes across the country started forming barbell clubs and sending members to local meets and beyond. This is the gym's club shirt, and the sleeve is a nod to the surf, snow and paddle sports that fill the rest of the week in Southern California.