British cycling clothing brand Fat Lad At The Back set to close – despite owners saying business is “doing well”

British cycling clothing brand Fat Lad At The Back has announced that it will close down at the end of this summer, despite insisting that the company is financially secure and “doing well”.

Founded in October 2013 by husband-and-wife team Richard and Lynn Bye as a response to the apparent lack of decent cycling kit on offer for cyclists who weren’t skinny racing whippets, Fat Lad At The Back (or FLAB) aimed to design cyclewear to cater to riders of all sizes.

With intentionally “fun, different, and edgy” branding inspired by Richard’s nickname during group rides, FLAB also focused on fostering a community-centred approach to the business, creating a forum described by its users as “one of the most inclusive, inspirational, and supportive groups on social media”.

However, this week FLAB’s owners confirmed that their summer collection will be the company’s last, a decision made, they insist, not due to any severe financial pressure, but because they have simply decided it’s time for a change, and that they are determined to “go out on a high”.

And speaking to road.cc this week, co-founder Lynn Bye said that, after 12 years running the plus-size cyclewear brand, the “demanding and trying” conditions attached to managing your own company simply meant that they “can’t live the life we want and keep the business going at the same time”.

“We’re writing with big hearts and slightly wobbly chins to let you know that this will be the final season for Fat Lad At The Back,” Richard and Lynn said in a statement posted on the brand’s website this week.

“It all started when Richard had a moment of pure genius (or madness – jury’s still out) and wondered why on earth there wasn’t decent cycle kit for people who didn’t look like pro racers.

“Pedal forward and that spark turned into something way beyond what we ever imagined: a brand, a movement and a global community of glorious misfits who proudly wear their kit (and their curves) with pride.”

They continued: “FLAB has never just been about the clothes. It’s always been about the people and including every body, every shape, every size. We’ve stood firm on our values (no sweatshops, no shortcuts, no BS) and we’ve loved every second of it.

“But, like all good rides, this one’s coming to an end. Not because the wheels have come off – far from it! The business is doing well and we’re proud to say it’s going out on a high.

“But for me (Lynn), this path was never the plan and after over a decade at the helm, it’s time for a change. I’ve been itching to start a new chapter and the time has come to close the lid on the FLAB toolbox.”

> Fat Lad At The Back joins forces with Ribble Cycles

According to FLAB, while the company’s online shop will remain open for the next few months, the brand’s closure means that this summer’s clothing collection will be its final offering, noting “once it’s gone, it’s gone”.

The company also says the decision to shut its doors this year will not coincide with any clearance sales or price slashing, while backorders and custom kits are still being made and will be delivered to customers as planned.

And while the move to shut up shop while the business is still successful – especially within the current turbulent economic climate – may have raised a few eyebrows, co-founder Lynn Bye told road.cc this week that they have been completely transparent about the reasons behind the closure.

“I’ve been doing this for 12 years and it just doesn’t align with our lifestyle or where I’m at personally anymore. There are other passions and interests I want to explore,” Lynn said.

“When we started, we had younger kids and dogs and it all worked. But now the boys are grown, the dogs are in doggy heaven, and we want to travel and embrace new adventures while we’re still young enough to really enjoy it.”

She continued: “Running your own business absolutely has its benefits, but it’s also incredibly demanding and trying and we can’t live the life we want and keep the business going at the same time.

“FLAB has always been unique and has been just as much about the people and the community as it has about the clothing. The brand has been a personification of us and a reflection of our values and principles but understandably, they don’t always align with traditional business thinking.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have built and run FLAB with such a strong community focus, but that also makes it hard to pass on and ultimately, we decided that staying true to the legacy of FLAB was more important than trying to hand it over.

“We’ve never been like any other brand. We’ve always seen things differently and we’ve always done things differently and while this may be an unconventional way to step away, it feels entirely in line with who we are and how we think.

“We’re financially secure, it’s business as usual for now (in fact, I’m more hands-on than ever), and we’ll be closing at the end of the summer and celebrating the community and the good times we’ve had along the way.”

Those non-traditional values and principles referenced by Bye were perhaps most evident during FLAB’s controversial and provocative marketing campaign of 2022, which was later banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ad campaign, featuring posters bearing the slogan ‘Fat C*n’t. Actually, Fat Can’, ran in London in June and July 2022, and received 11 complaints to the advertising watchdog, who concluded that the posters “must not appear again in the form complained about”.

“We told FLAB Ltd to take care to avoid causing serious or widespread offence in future, and to ensure their ads were appropriately targeted,” the regulator said at the time.

Responding to the ruling, Richard and Lynn said in a statement: “I’ve been running FLAB since 2013 and we are STILL having the same conversations about abuse and attitude.

“Someone has to challenge the deeply rooted misconceptions that society has about fat people and the relationship between health and weight and I don’t believe that you can do that without making people stop and think.

“By continuously telling fat people that they can’t succeed, are unhealthy, can’t take part in sport etc., you’re limiting their outcomes and preventing them from reaching their true potential.

“There is some irony to banning an advert because it alludes to a phrase which might be offensive, when the phrase in question is so frequently used against larger people that it’s now become an accepted social rhetoric.

“If people want to get irate about something then surely it should be about an attitude which is so seriously damaging to their fellow man, not a word they might have seen.”