Spent the last few months sourcing fabric for a hoodie and learned more about brushed fleece than I ever wanted to.

Most streetwear brands slap a heavy cotton fleece on a hoodie and call it 'premium.' It looks good on a hanger but it doesn't move with you — cotton has almost zero stretch recovery, so after a few gym sessions the cuffs and shoulders blow out.

The brands that actually get worn during training use a cotton/poly blend with some spandex threaded through key stress points (shoulders, underarms). You lose a tiny bit of that 'heavyweight' feel but you gain 4-way stretch and it holds its shape wash after wash.

If you're building a clothing brand and want it to actually perform, test your fabric with a full range-of-motion movement (overhead press, squat, lunge) before you commit to a bulk order. Looks great in photos means nothing if it rips at the shoulder seam on rep 8.

Building this out with Inner Circle right now — happy to talk fabric sourcing with anyone else going down this road.