At just 18, David Lukic was flexing his way to the top of the bodybuilding game, taking home the title of Mr Teenage Australia.
By the time I was about 17, 18, I decided to enter a local bodybuilding competition. which was the NABA 2003 Mr Australia competition, and I won the competition.
The once-skinny kid was an overnight success, but as he built his body into a new shape, he found a new challenge - He couldn't find anything to wear.
"Because I was pretty big at the time, everything was just not the right fit for a bodybuilder. So I'd wear my big baggy loose type clothes, and I [wanted to] just design something that fit me. And I thought, if I've got this problem, so do others."
It all started after Lukic hung up his competitive budgies, and was working as a security guard to pay the bills. He began designing clothing and taking orders, using his grandma's garage as a warehouse, and the discipline of an athlete to stay focused on his goal.
Before being an entrepreneur, Lukic was an award-winning teen bodybuilder. Source: SBS
"There was no road for me to follow. I had no competitors at the time so it was simply uncharted territory for myself I just had an inner belief and a passion, and I just went with my gut."
Making and designing clothes for his sporty physique was partly a labour of love.
A bold choice for a young man from a family of migrants who came to Austalia from Serbia to seek their fortune in the opal mines of Coober Pedy in South Australia.
"I saw my family struggle. So seeing them struggle pushed me to see what I didn't want for myself and my family."
Today, fitness label Ryderwear operates out of a cavernous Adelaide warehouse.
With an annual turnover of around 10 million dollars, Lukic says his business growth has been exponential.
He puts it down to a recipe of hard work, tapping into an emerging industry at just the right time, and using some savvy marketing methods.
Ryderwear will soon expand into mainstream gymwear for the everyday gym junkie. Source: SBS
Unlike some of their major competitors, Ryderwear has never done any traditional advertising, choosing instead to use the power of influencers.
"Currently, we have about 45 athlete influencers. These people are scattered all around the world, different demographics. We've got people just starting out to the scene, and we've got top level bodybuilders. So we pick them by location, by following, audience and I guess how they best represent the company."
From Facebook to Instagram, Snapchat to Pinterest, Ryderwear is every bit a business built on social media marketing.
Influencers - such as international bodybuilder Kai Greene - are recruited to support the brand and post pictures of merchandise to their followers.
Together, reaching a targeted audience of more than 20 million people worldwide.
Kai Greene is one of the most famous influencers for Ryderwear. Source: SBS
Next, the company plans to move from a niche business to mainstream wear, hoping to reach a broader market.
And though the brand has experienced solid growth in its seven years of operation, the path has been fraught with setbacks.
"There's been quite a few [setbacks] actually, but I don't look at failure as a normal person would. I look at it as [being] one step closer to success."
A winning mindset -- for a brand built on being the best.
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