Culture Athletics launches active apparel and fitness boutique in Toronto's east end

Photo: Culture Athletics

In case you didn't know, the only thing that makes a brutal sweat session bearable is chic activewear. And Leslieville now has a destination for workout wear to make you feel like a boss.

Culture Athletics is an athletic apparel and footwear boutique that just launched near Queen and Jones. 

Nigel Fick, who co-owns the shop along with Sarah Deas, says the focus is on the pillars of running, cross-training and yoga to create a one-stop shop for active living gear.

"Partnering with local personal trainers, yoga instructors and nutritionists, we’re looking to establish ourselves as a hub in the local fitness community," Fick says.

Culture Athletics stocks brands in the running, training and yoga space with men's and women's apparel, footwear and accessories. The shop carries a mix of the big brands that people usually associate with athletics, and unique and emerging companies that you can’t find everywhere.

Apart from apparel, the shop will offer healthy-living sessions — nutritional seminars, stretching workshops and one-on-one holistic nutritional services — in a studio space in the basement. Plus, a schedule of guided runs, workouts, yoga and meditation is already underway.  

"We don’t want to provide just a traditional retail experience — we want to create a space that supports a healthy lifestyle for anyone interested."

Fick says it's about trying to bring something different to the neighbourhood.

"We aren’t a big box store. We aren’t a flagship store. Our target demographic isn't everyone, and that’s our strength," he says. "We’ve partnered with brands that produce high-quality, on-trend apparel, to provide a curated boutique shopping experience."

Culture Athletics has partnered with Radical Road on a weekly Wednesday 3 km and 5 km beer run with $5 pints... after. A 4 km and 6 km run club is underway on Saturday mornings. Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings are for yoga sessions. 

"Sarah and I are both lifelong fitness enthusiasts and eastenders — Leslieville and Riverdale born and raised — so it was important to us that we brought our vision to life in our home neighbourhood. We were both raised in the local fitness community and we see Culture as an opportunity to continue to strengthen our roots and find a way to improve an already bolstering community."

Whether you're hopping on the saddle at your fave spin class or getting your yoga game on, the shop has an ensemble that will make you feel as unstoppable as you are.

Run over and check them out at 1175 Queen St. E. Visit them on Facebook and Instagram.