Nick Symmonds Signs With Gymshark, What Does That Mean For His Anti Doping Stance?

Nick Symmonds announced via his Youtube page this week that he is signing an endorsement deal with athletic apparel company Gymshark… so why does that endanger his previous anti doping stance?

Nick Symmonds built his brand as a competitor behind being brash, and doing things his own way for the benefit of Track & Field as a whole. His fight against USATF/IAAF around logo regulations and sponsorship did genuine good for the potential earning power of today’s Track & Field athletes.

He has also been adamantly anti doping throughout his career, using his World Championship Silver Medal and multiple Diamond League victories to bolster his image as the voice of clean athletics during his time as an athlete. He took this stance in a business insider interview,

“Of course, doping is the most immediate concern, For the long term, I want to know how (Coe) is going to revitalize the sport, how you repackage it and make it palatable to a 21st century audience. Right now, nobody wants to watch track and field.”

So why is signing with Gymshark a problem?

Gymshark is an apparel company that sponsors fitness influencers, pro bodybuilders, and is generally a fitness lifestyle company.

The problem comes when you look into the athletes that the company promotes. Former Gymshark athletes have come out about the company’s promotion and knowledge of their use of PEDs such as SARMS, Steroids, and Testosterone.

This is essentially the fitness community’s Nike dilemna, Symmonds has been hesitant to call out Nike directly in the past due to his close ties with the company but in an interview with Outside Magazine — for the Clean Sport Collective — Symmonds said,

“there are several major brands that could have more to gain by turning a blind eye to doping — specifically, he points to Nike as a company that has a history of sponsoring…