A Rockwood-based equestrian apparel business that started after a disappointing trip to a tack shop has become a full-time gig for a husband and wife team. Now, competitive riders are representing their brand across the world.
Erin residents Ashley and Kevin Maxie are the owners of Struck Apparel, an equestrian sports apparel brand focused on riders as athletes and performance. The brand’s head office is in Rockwood, and all products are made in Canada.
Kevin described the business as similar to Nike in the sense that its shoes are worn by professional athletes, but also by those who run for leisure or exercise non-competitively.
“We certainly design them for use at the highest levels, but we have customers at every level in activity or involvement with horses,” Kevin said. “We don’t discriminate against anybody, whether they’re a casual rider or if they’re an Olympian.”
Neither of the two had a background in the industry prior to Struck Apparel, but Kevin and Ashley were active equestrians when they met.
Kevin went to a tack shop one day and found the availability of men’s riding pants to be very limited and ended up buying “forest green, old-school pants that were just a little too small.”
“I tried them on to model them for Ashley; she suggested I looked like Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” Kevin said. “It’s not a good look. So I said ‘OK, there ought to be something better.’”
They couldn't find that equivalent to Nike or Lululemon for equestrians, so they decided to do it themselves.
The brand was initially focused on men’s apparel, but added women's as the equestrian market in North America is predominantly female.
Both explained the brand tries to be the opposite of fast fashion by working to source material from mills with a lower environmental impact than others, creating long-lasting clothes even under heavy use and forgoing traditional seasons for yearly or longer releases.
“We try to keep everything as streamlined as possible so as little as possible ends up thrown away,” Ashley said. “We want you to have a garment that you invest in and that can go a long way with you.”
After a few years of running Struck Apparel part time, Ashley said they realized the business was dominating their days and becoming profitable enough for them to take the chance to tackle it as a full-time business.
“We did and never looked back,” Ashley said.
With 10 years under their belt, the brand now sponsors athletes locally and from around the world, including Swiss rider Martin Fuchs, who they explained is considered by many to be the top rider in the world.
Added Ashley, “We try to sponsor people who are super accessible to the sport that really showcase what we stand for; approachable people that we feel are good ambassadors for the sport.”
