The Crew Cut

Most people who move to the West Country enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and tranquil way of life – but when paddleboarding Crewroom Ambassador Lucy McCormick arrived in Cornwall she had an unexpected fright in store. Lucy, 33, who moved to St Ives from her previous home in Brighton, founded SUPfit, her paddleboarding company, five years ago and regularly spends up to five hours on the water. “We train instructors and run classes, and my background is as a windsurfer, so I’m often out SUP surfing, but then something happened that I have never seen before. “I was out near St Ives Bay and suddenly I saw these massive heads come out of the water. I was surrounded by seals. Their heads were popping up around us. It was scary because their heads are big, definitely bigger than a human head. “They are really curious. They track along behind you and hover around for half an hour. It is nice after the initial surprise and they do seem friendly, but it’s still a bit scary as, when it happened, it was the first time I had seen animals in the water. It’s happened six times since.” Lucy, a Brighton-born watersports and fitness enthusiast who has a broad experience of stand up paddle boarding, windsurfing, wakeboarding and snowboarding, is keen to promote Crewroom’s kit to the West Country community. Her clients, both instructors and first-time paddleboarders, frequently inquire about the appropriate kit for SUP, she says. “Instructors always ask me what to wear and their clients also always ask what to wear. They want to know about clothes on and off the water to keep them warm. I love Crewroom’s kit and am always happy to recommend it,” she adds. Lucy has always loved sports, taking part in lots of school sporting events from a young age. She qualified as a fitness instructor after leaving school, and soon discovered watersports. After completing her instructor course in Greece, she has worked in the UK and abroad teaching windsurfing, and has also spent a couple of years in the French Alps snowboarding. Despite her extensive European travels though, she had to travel to Cornwall to win her very special seal of approval. If you’d like to find out more about SUP classes, in London or in the West Country, email [email protected].

Tomorrow (Saturday 9th) marks a very important birthday for the special team at Putney Exchange Shopping Centre, when the centre celebrates its 25th anniversary. The centre has planned some exciting celebrations to mark this key milestone, including a feature wall display about the history of Putney. The Exchange has already added to local residents' appreciation of the heritage of the borough by co-hosting, with Crewroom, a popular photographic exhibition of rare archive images of lady rowers across the ages. A Putney Exchange Centre spokesman said: "There will be live music provided by the talented string quartet Lydian String, and a glass of bubbly of course! For the children there will be muffin decorating, face painting and balloon modeling too." In another promotion to mark the 25th anniversary, the Centre is also offering one lucky shopper a prize of the total value of their shopping trip that day to the value of £250, plus a further £250 for another day at the Putney Exchange. Crewroom looks forward to being there and wishes Centre Manager Anne Partridge and her top team a very Happy Birthday!

Double Gold Olympic former champion Dame Kelly Holmes caused a stir when she paid a surprise visit to see Crewroom last month. Dame Kelly was visiting us at our retail stall at the Virgin Money London Marathon trade expo at London Excel. Crewroom Director Maria O'Brien attended the four-day show and was on hand to give Kelly a warm welcome, a tour and tell her the story of our award-winning technical sports kit. Kelly and her travelling companion, Ali Longmate, seemed very interested. "It was great that she popped in to see us. Dame Kelly did cause a bit of a stir because the moment people realised who she was, the photographers started wanting pictures. "Dame Kelly was very interested to hear about our kit and we were delighted she liked our Crewroom Air Head caps," said Maria. "She was very bubbly and fun and she asked us all about Crewroom. It was a real pleasure to meet her. "Later this month, we are opening a new paddleboarding club at our HQ in Putney, so I invited Kelly to come and try out the new sport if she fancied having a go, it's an open invitation." Other celebrities who visited Crewroom at the expo included former EastEnders actor Ricky Groves, who played happy-go-lucky garage mechanic Garry Hobbs in the TV soap. Crewroom notched up a record year at the London Marathon expo, doubling sales on last year's event. Most popular items flying off the shelves were our North West Hoodies and Air Head Visors. On Saturday May 16 at 12 noon, Crewroom launches its amazing new Stand-Up Paddleboarding club. If you’ve never tried SUP, why not join in the fun? For details and to reserve your place, email [email protected].

When new Crewroom designer Ana Kaefer seeks the inspiration to dream up next season’s winning sports kit, she needs to look no further than her own sports-crazy family. Ana, 24, who was born in Brazil, is a keen runner and, as a teenager, spent four years as a competitive pentathlete, practising high jump, long jump, 1,000 metre running, 100 metre hurdles and shot-putting. Then there’s her elder brother, Junior, aged 25, and her younger brother Jonathan, 17. “They have both competed in Brazil’s national championships as 1500 metre and 400 metre runners,” says Ana. “At school, I also did gymnastics, then I went into basketball, and then boxing. Everybody is very active in my family when it comes to sport and also a little bit competitive.” We forgot to mention Ana’s cousin, Alex, 30, who has also competed in Brazil’s national championships. Alex is an accomplished high jumper. Oh, and then there’s her Uncle Luis, who has taken part in State competitions at volleyball. He’s now 50. Away from the athletics track, Ana worked in Brazil as a designer for a sportswear manufacturer. She came to England in 2009, aged just 18. Now she’s designing Crewroom’s spring and summer 2016 ranges. With her two brothers, Ana grew up in a small town in southern Brazil named Dois Irmaos (co-incidentally the English translation is: ‘Two brothers’). It’s a three-hour flight to Rio, her favourite city, and the setting for next year’s Olympics. “Brazilian people are crazy about sport. They take it very seriously. When I came to the UK, I went to watch the 2012 Olympics here and I fell in love with it. The way the UK managed to stage such an event and make it about their people, was fantastic,” adds Ana. “British people are clearly passionate about their sport and now, working with the Crewroom team, I'm glad to be a part of the sports community here. I love the Crewroom family, everyone is so friendly. I'm very, very happy about it.”

It’s retro, it’s bold and it’s coming your way later this month – stand by for the official launch of Crewroom’s hot new summer range, ‘Americana’. Inspired by retro styling from the late Seventies and early Eighties, ‘Americana’ means bold colours and badges, patches and large logos, bindings and pipings. The range was fleetingly on display a fortnight ago when runners and trade delegates were treated to a sneak preview at the Virgin Money London Marathon expo in Docklands. Items showcased at the trade show, and attracting much interest, were Americana’s ‘Sweater Vest’ (£32) for women, and the ‘Billy Vest’ (£35) for men. The Americana colour palette includes marl grey, reds, greens and blues. The Women’s Sweater Vest (pictured) is a workout vest for women, a soft, lightweight technical jersey that has a panel construction and mesh detailing and is adorned with a distinct reflective Crewroom logo in retro font. It comes with a flattering cut-out back, is moisture-wicking and quick-drying, anti-bacterial and has a technical function with ultra comfort. The Men’s Billy Vest is a sleeveless running top that’s a soft, lightweight technical jersey with breathable mesh panels. It’s moisture-wicking, quick-drying and anti-bacterial. It has a technical function with ultra comfort, plus reflective detailing and a handy pocket. Crewroom Founder Kate Giles said: “We’re really excited about our new Americana summer range. We’ve used some beautifully soft technical fabrics and mixed in some bold retro colours and block logos and designs to create an old school look and feel with a modern twist. “We’ve definitely been influenced by some of the sportswear and casual wear coming out of America during the late Seventies and early Eighties. We’ve taken this influence along with our technical know-how to create a pretty cool and functional range of kit.” Enjoy our Americana range here.

The Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth has praised Crewroom for its support of the Boat Race and businesses in the borough. Deputy Mayor Councillor Richard Field was speaking at the launch of an historic exhibition in Putney to throw a spotlight on the kit worn by rowers over the ages. Crewroom and the Putney Exchange shopping centre are co-hosting a four-week photographic exhibition highlighting the role of lady rowers at the races. The River & Rowing Museum in Henley, Oxfordshire supplied a range of rare, historic images and other memorabilia for the show, which attracted headlines across the local media. Cllr Field, who officially declared the exhibition open, praised both Crewroom and the Putney Exchange for helping to raise the profile of the borough in the run-up to the Boat Race. “It's been a great pleasure visit the exhibition. I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing some of the wonderful photographs, and some great exhibits. Crewroom and Putney Exchange are to be congratulated on doing such a splendid job,” he said. “Anybody who wants to visit this exhibition should come along and see it for themselves and enjoy the fact that the ladies are there this year rowing down the Thames.” The Deputy Mayor described Crewroom’s appointment as kit supplier to the Boat Race crews and involvement in the event as “very important”. He added: “It is generating interest in the borough, it's generating potential new rowers for the sport, it's generating new businesses to be associated with it, and all encouragement is to be given, particularly to young people who want to get into the sport, get into retail, and who want to understand about technological clothing and how important it is in today's society when you are in sport. “The more people who come into the borough the better. I think we are going to see a great explosion of new businesses opening up in the borough.” The exhibition at the Putney Exchange shopping centre runs until April 17.