ROW24 EVENT + TEES

Charity is really cool. It's even cooler when you do it with cool people.

This past weekend (June 3-4), Concrete Jungle Strength and Conditioning (Upper East Side, NYC) hosted a 24-hour row-a-thon, A.K.A. #Row24, for the Manhattan Children's Center to raise money for autism. Thirteen Fit Apparel (hey, that's us!) feel so honored to have collaborated on the event.

There are a few reasons this event hit home for me:
1. As previously mentioned, charity is cool. With so much negativity in the world, it's nice to be a part of the good!
2. My cousin is a behavioral analyst (and a damn good one at that) who works with and teaches autistic children. She's one of my best friends so I'd say I'm passionate by association.
3. It was being hosted by my home gym with our fitness community.
4. Fitness (obsessed) + Design (it's what I do) + Charity (cool) = no brainer.

Before I dive into design stuff, shout out to all who were involved with organizing the event! It was awesome being a part of the Row24 team along with Concrete Jungle members/staff Ian, Stu and Brad along with MCC's Ellaine and Amanda!

Together, we rowed of 500,000 meters and raised OVER $30,000 for the MCC! Because no one can speak to the cause better than the MCC, here's a little blurb from their website:

This program’s transdisciplinary model incorporates ABA, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, as well as sensory integration, natural environment training and family support. Manhattan Childrens Center provides a comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorder utilizing scientific research-based interventions that are effective based on years of experience.

Ok-let's talk design THEN we can get to the photos!

The concept was to design something reminiscent of an old-school college rowing crew tee but with a modern twist. The design is pretty straightforward: we've got the NYC skyline with a sun peeking through that can be viewed as both the sunrise and sunset... this carries right into the next portion which is the large 24 in the background. WE ROWED FOR 24 STRAIGHT HOURS!! Sunrise. Sunset. 24 hours. Yea?
Then we had to introduce the rowing portion. Though we weren't out on the water, I wanted to use the oars to keep with the rowing crew idea (and it's just aesthetically a nicer and more minimal design element rather than illustrating a Concept2 indoor rower). I used the term "crew" to group the community together as a team, a rowing team... the crew!
LASTLY, I added a crown to the "ROW24" - the crown from the Concrete Jungle logo to tie it all together!

Here's the front:
For my fashion folks, remember back in like, 2008 when Jacobs by Marc Jacobs tote bags were SUPER in style? The bags went on and on like:

Image result for jacobs by marc jacobs canvas tote

They've got a sense of humor and are really aggressive... I like that. We had so many things to say on the back so might as well go all out! So, here's our version: