Sparta native launches work out clothing line

SPARTA — When starting a new business some people spend months or even years researching before getting the plan off the ground. Sparta resident Michele Moore took a more immediate approach.

An avid CrossFit fan herself, she grew tired of trying to find what she considered the perfect workout clothing. That's how Born to WOD came to be.

"It grew from an idea I had last October and it was online by December," Moore said. "It was such a shock to get that first order and now it is to the point where I am shipping every day. It is my first time doing something like this. I was doing CrossFit in town at two gyms and saw this business opportunity to make these clothes. Now it'll be one year in December. These are clothes that people can wear for CrossFit and to a regular gym. They can wear it around with jeans. They can wear this even if they aren't working out. There are clothes for infants to adults, babies and kids."

A growing following
Though it is less than a year old, Born to WOD already has a significant following.

"Both Instagram and Facebook have been huge. We get orders from all over the country, even Alaska and Hawaii. There are orders from Denmark and Canada and Australia because of social media. What it can do and how much reach it has is amazing. We also have a tent on site at Cross Fit competitions," Moore said. "Now there are CrossFit pros that wear it and their kids wear it. It is beyond my expectations. We even have Bob Harper, coach Bob from 'The Biggest Loser' posting a picture of himself and his daughter in the clothes on Instagram."

The store is solely online and Moore has no plans of changing that anytime soon.

"It is only online and at tents at events now. There are some gyms in town too. We are at CrossFit Sparta and Skylands CrossFit as well as Sparta Station Athletics. It's just great because people will see it around, someone will be wearing it in Stop and Shop, and then they will want a sweatshirt or a tank because it looks cool. When I started it, I didn't know it would be like this. It is exceeding all of my expectations."

The site is based in Sparta but clothing is available at events in other areas as well, according to Moore.

"We are primarily in the tri-state area right now. In December I'm bringing it to Texas to the Mayhem Games, which is a major CrossFit competition. The original tournament was in the Meadowlands last May and we had a great partnership develop and they've asked me go to all of their competitions nationally. It's like a tour," she said. "We will be going to the EC [East Coast] Championships in January in Boston as well. That is really the first thing we did last year and it got our name on the map."

Born to WOD continues to grow.
"It is a workout line with everyday apparel," Moore said. "'The Box,' a high profile Cross Fit magazine called it one of the top new Cross Fit companies of the year. It is high quality. These are the softest sweatshirts you will ever find. There are tanks and shirts that are comfortable to work out in. It is high quality so we get a lot of repeat customers."