Rick Owens

[curiouscharles]

I don't understand the recent drop in footwear quality (by recent i mean last two years)... my s/s 07 combat boots have lasted multiple rain-ridden fall seasons of almost daily wear and are still in immaculate condition... correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't the same factory been handling construction since the label's conception?

his shirts have always degraded quicker than a cone in hell, but that's not a fault so much as an inexorability with such flimsy pieces of shit (can u tell i can't be bothered to buy them anymore?)

and to what shye quoted - i don't know how much i buy that explanation of "experimenting with materials" rick seems to just cycle between a palette of regular materials every season (or at least they look that way to the perfunctory eye)

[empaulio]

Regarding his sizing inconsistency I always put it down to the season as if pieces were intended to be oversized.
For instance the current (Spring 10) season basics have been huge compared to previous seasons surely this cannot be an error as these pieces in these materials have been around forever

[xeraphim]

industrie magazine, issue 01

Get Fit With Rick
Mr Owens' guide to sublime physicality

Rick Owens was once a chubby Californian kid dreaming of rock-hard washboard abs. But once he'd been nudged towards the gym to compensate for his excesses, he dramatically transformed his physique. Now he's such an expert that we've asked him to show us how it's done

Photographed by Kacper Kasprzyk
Written by Murray Healy

Rick Owens discovered the joys of the gym relatively late in life. The desire to sort out his body had always been there, languishing in his heart, weak and neglected, since childhood. "As an introverted sissy growing up in a small town in California," he remembers, "all I wanted was Joe Dallesandro hair and washboard abs. But I wore 'husky'-sized poly pants," he says, referring to the American boys' trousers made with added ease on the waist and hips, "and I had big, soft, 13-year-old-girl nipples. And buck teeth."

A couple of years in braces sorted out the teeth, but it wasn't until his early thirties that he started picking up the weights, when his partner Michele Lamy persuaded him to do something to compensate for the excesses of his lifestyle. "Her reasoning was that if I was going to drink so much, I had to balance it out. After years of enjoying overindulgence, discipline felt even better." As his efforts slowly remodelled his physique, Rick soon found working out as addictive as life's more obvious pleasures. "The changes were imperceptible from month to month, but after a year things had changed. By then I was hooked."

Right from the start he worked with a trainer. "If you want to make serious changes, that's essential - otherwise it's too easy to suspect that you're not doing it right, and get discouraged. I couldn't really afford one then, but I prioritised." His search for the right trainer wasn't particularly scientific. "Frankly the main qualifications were that they had to look like they knew what they were talking about, and be someone pleasant to hang out with every day. Because no matter how technical you get, the main thing - the main thing - is consistent repetition."

He worked his way through five instructors over the next eight years. But when he relocated from Los Angeles to Paris seven years ago, he decided not to employ a trainer. It's not as if he needed the encouragement: working out had long since become as integral a part of his day as brushing his teeth. "And there's only really about ten things you can do," he reasons, "so you just have to do them over and over. Like a Donald Judd installation: classic, simple, pure, repetitive."

The purpose of his workouts has changed since the early days too: he's no longer so goal-oriented, as each session has become its own reward. The entire ritual, from the second he steps out of his apartment, heading out through the Tuileries and up rue de la Paix to his gym near the Paris Opera, is a moment for some me-time. "Working out has become a combo of discipline, joyous release, meditation and vanity. It gives me a break in the day to absorb and formulate ideas. I used to love dancing, but music never sounded as good as it does now through those earbud headphones, pounding bass into the pit of my stomach as I enjoy the simple pleasure of feeling physically active."

But away from the free weights, he is less disciplined when it comes to his health. "I smoke, I don't particularly watch my diet and I hate cardio," he admits. "If I had to run a mile I'd probably pass out in a pool of vomit." He never had any patience for supplements, preferring to use steroids to boost his training - a strategy he thoroughly recommends. "Sure, they bloated me for a while. But after I stopped, the bloat went away and the steroids had gotten me to another level. It was very rewarding. And I'd certainly take worse before."

When asked the particulars of his workout, he declines to give a detailed answer. But briefly: "I do one leg part, two upper-body parts, stomach and stretching every time I go, which is five or six times a week. I take my time and don't worry about the weights - I just do what feels good. I don't feel the need to force my body the way I used to."

He's philosophical about his gym-going these days. "Obviously, I've replaced the romanticised determination to self-destruct with the fantasy of control and immortality. And at this point in my life, it's as lovely an indulgence as any."

[mononon]

with the footwear sizing, i really do not understand the reason behind not labeling the shoes with the size and only sticking a tiny sticker on the bottom that falls off really easily...

[couturehomme]

with the footwear sizing, i really do not understand the reason behind not labeling the shoes with the size and only sticking a tiny sticker on the bottom that falls off really easily...

isn't the size also written on the inside flap where the side zip zips up?

i can't speak for boots but it's definitely on both my sneakers...

[eat me]

Hey guys, I need some practical help.

Does anyone know the sizing of the models that do Rick's shows? Or perhaps you wear the same sizes that they make their samples in and you could tell me yours? Or you know someone who knows and I could get in touch with?

I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

[mrbeuys]

Get Fit With Rick
Mr Owens' guide to sublime physicality

Thanks for posting this! As content and message free as I expected it to be. Steroids here I come.
Seriously, Steroids?? Kinda disappointing.

[swami]

Thanks for posting this! As content and message free as I expected it to be. Steroids here I come.
Seriously, Steroids?? Kinda disappointing.

Agreed , thats a serious WTF
While I always appreciate his intense honesty , It seems irresponsible to make statement like that

[cjbreed]

^^true i had the same kind of thought. some things better left unsaid...

btw - can't be that lean without watching what u eat and doing lots of cardio though, no matter what he says.

about the steroids thing i don't know many who have done it but i know a couple guys that did like one or two "cycles" or whatever it is and had nothing but good things to say about it. no side effects and the lean muscle gains lasted long after the initial use.

just sayin', ya know...

where to kop

[swami]

^^. no side effects and the lean muscle gains lasted long after the initial use.

just sayin', ya know...

where to kop

Hook me up when you find out ...
Even creatine managed to fuck me up , in 2 weeks I saw more hair sprout than muscle Have managed to stay clear of any kinda supplements this far...

[mononon]

isn't the size also written on the inside flap where the side zip zips up?

i can't speak for boots but it's definitely on both my sneakers...

i have owned three pairs of rick sneakers, and four boots, and they are on none of them. a lot of people say the size is written in the inside flap, but i can't find them anywhere ...
oh well, i don't really care too much, unless they fit weird haha

[mononon]

i think steroids have amazing effects in the beginning or with recommended or minimal usage. it only becomes detrimental to the body with extended use since a lot of people go kinda "power hungry" with the whole thing

as with diet and all, some people are really fortunate to stay lean and eating whatever the fuck they want with no exercise...
a lot of people i know need to eat junk in order to not "atrophy", although i personally find that if i eat really healthy for a week and not exercise at all, i would look much leaner and better than if i exercised every day for a week and ate junk.

p.s. it would be nice to have some sort of health thread...

[stretcheroo]

^+1. Given the amount of time and energy we spend thinking about (read "obsessing") about clothes, having a thread that discusses workouts, food, diets, etc. would seem to fit. For example, last week, there was a discussion about how good hommedeguerre is looking with all the weight loss. How'd he do it?

[stereophobic]

he was already getting a lot of cardio before the weight loss, he just cut out all processed foods from his diet. I felt like he shot my (imaginary) dog when I read what his new diet was like.

[kunk75]

not even. risks are way overblown, believe me. i took ungodly amounts for 10 years. the smoking and obsessive workouts, I do believe, render rick my soul brother.

i think steroids have amazing effects in the beginning or with recommended or minimal usage. it only becomes detrimental to the body with extended use since a lot of people go kinda "power hungry" with the whole thing

as with diet and all, some people are really fortunate to stay lean and eating whatever the fuck they want with no exercise...
a lot of people i know need to eat junk in order to not "atrophy", although i personally find that if i eat really healthy for a week and not exercise at all, i would look much leaner and better than if i exercised every day for a week and ate junk.

p.s. it would be nice to have some sort of health thread...