Thomas Bohnenkamp and René Ruschmeier: "We have our own fit."
Bodybuilding, CrossFit, and powerlifting are currently booming. But the trend has a downside: the result of many months of “pain and gain” looks strong, but it doesn’t always fit into the European standard sizes. Sleeves pinch, shirts strain across broad lats… Problems that almost everyone knows who trains hard in the gym. Thomas Bohnenkamp and René Ruschmeier are now providing relief with the brand Wiehenstahl.
Mr. Bohnenkamp, you are a co-founder of Wiehenstahl. Your brand offers shirts for the more muscular gentlemen. How did the idea come about?
Thomas Bohnenkamp: My partner came up with the idea for the shirts about five years ago. While working at a men’s outfitter in Bad Oeynhausen, she mentioned that bodybuilders have a hard time finding well-fitting shirts because European standard sizes don’t fit muscular upper bodies. Passionate weightlifters were left with no choice but to have an XXL shirt altered, stuff the excess fabric around the waist into their pants, or just grab a T-shirt instead. We kept hearing about this problem in our friend circle, especially when a special occasion like a wedding came up.
Just as no two people are alike, no two bodybuilders are alike. Why should your shirts fit?
Thomas Bohnenkamp: We developed a unique fit specifically for strength athletes and also realized that not all bodybuilders are the same. That’s why we don’t have a classic size classification, but rather an entirely independent level system with 15 different sizes.
What was the challenge in developing the pattern?
Thomas Bohnenkamp: The problem during development was that there was no data we could rely on for creating the patterns. Therefore, we traveled across Germany for over a year measuring strength athletes. We essentially created all the necessary data ourselves.
Mr. Ruschmeier, where and how are the shirts produced?
René Ruschmeier: The shirts are currently produced in Thailand and Turkey. We are working on expanding production and trying to bring at least part of it back to Germany.
A shirt is not just a shirt. What kind of shirts do you offer?
René Ruschmeier: Currently, we have a total of four different designs in our first collection. Among these are three business shirts made from 100% Ökotex certified cotton, which can also be worn in leisure due to their well-hidden design applications. The fourth shirt is a casual shirt that features 3% elastane, providing even more freedom of movement for the wearer.
Are there plans for other products in the future?
René Ruschmeier: Currently, we are focusing on expanding our selection of shirts. However, we also plan to extend our product range in the future. We want to include more clothing items to become a complete outfitter for elegant fashion for strength athletes.
You just attended FiBo. What was the feedback at the fair?
René Ruschmeier: The feedback was overwhelming. Word quickly spread that our shirts are really as good as we announced. This attracted many prominent guests to our stand. For example, we were able to convince Tom Coleman, Thomas Scheu, Robin Balogh, and Tony Milano, as well as other well-known athletes, of our shirts.
