American-born premium activewear brand Rhone launched 12 Pursuits, a year-long founder-led initiative designed to transform how consumers approach goal setting and personal development.
American-born premium activewear brand Rhone launched 12 Pursuits, a year-long founder-led initiative designed to transform how consumers approach goal setting and personal development.
Founded in 2014 by brothers Nate and Ben Checketts, the Connecticut-based brand entered the market to address a gap in men’s performance apparel. It positioned itself as a premium alternative often compared to Lululemon for men. The company built its reputation on technical innovation, including proprietary GoldFusion antimicrobial technology, and versatile pieces that transition from workout to everyday wear.
After nearly a decade focused exclusively on men’s activewear, Rhone expanded into women’s apparel in 2024, broadening its market reach while maintaining its premium positioning. The brand now operates 25 retail stores across the US and has a growing global digital presence.
From resolutions to sustained action: a 12-month program led by the brand founders
The 12 Pursuits program, announced on 21 January, shifts focus from traditional New Year’s resolutions towards sustained behaviural change through 12 monthly themes that alternate between mental and physical wellness practices. The Checketts brothers will guide participants through monthly pursuits including perspective, sleep, nutrition, nature, breathwork, social connection, hydration, movement, learning, play, gratitude and service.
Building on internal practice
The framework originated several years ago as an internal company practice at Rhone, centred on six mind-focused and six body-focused pursuits. The approach created intentional space for balance, reflection and personal growth across the organisation before expanding to the brand’s broader community.
Over the past year, Rhone activated the 12 Pursuits internally through expert speakers, team-wide challenges and shared activities designed to build habits around each monthly focus. The brand then extended the program externally, hosting mental fitness events at premier US landmarks – including New York City’s One World Observatory and Rockefeller Center, as well as View Boston – attracting over 3,000 attendees.
Through its retail community programming, Rhone also activated over 100 local store events open to anyone in the community, serving as hubs for connection, movement and reflection, reinforcing mental fitness as a daily practice rooted in real-world participation.
Structured program delivery
This year, the program has gone bigger, and more social community driven. The program delivers monthly Kickoff Videos led by the Checketts brothers introducing the month´s mental fitness theme.
Mid-month, the co-founders share how they apply the pursuits in daily life, such as improving sleep quality, spending more time in nature or implementing gratitude practices. At month’s end, the brand showcases collective community progress.
The physical part: Influencers, PR partners, Rhone community members and team members receive Pursuit Kits, curated boxes containing tools designed to support each monthly theme, ranging from sleep masks to journals. This network of storytellers will share how they practice monthly themes in their own lives, providing actionable inspiration to deepen community participation.
“The 12 Pursuits is our love letter to the Rhone community,” the co-founders said in a statement. “An invitation to live the values that guide how we move, train, work and connect.”
The theme calendar alone has inspirational power:
- January: Perspective - Create space to reset and see your life more clearly.
- February: Sleep - Restore your body by honoring rest as essential fuel.
- March: Nutrition - Tune in to how what you consume impacts how you feel.
- April: Nature - Reconnect with the grounding power of the outdoors.
- May: Breathwork - Slow down and come home to your breath.
- June: Social Connection - Strengthen relationships that inspire growth and belonging.
- July: Hydration - Support your body with the basics, starting with water.
- August: Move - Build consistency through movement that fits your life.
- September: Learn - Embrace curiosity and lifelong learning.
- October: Play - Make room for joy, creativity, and lightness.
- November: Gratitude - Practice awareness of the good around you.
- December: Service - Use your time and talents to make a meaningful impact.
A strategic shift: from performance gear to holistic wellbeing partner
The programme represents Rhone’s first collaboration with people-first agency HLoveCo, combining creative strategy, influencer engagement, PR and community activation.
The move signals a broader shift in how performance brands position their products – not just as functional gear, but as enablers of holistic wellbeing. Across the activewear industry, the “mental fitness” label is migrating beyond digital apps and wearables into the garments themselves. Brands are weaving wellness narratives directly into product marketing, linking physical apparel to psychological outcomes like confidence, focus and emotional resilience.
What sets Rhone apart is execution: rather than confining mental wellness to product copy or isolated campaigns, the brand has built a year-long, founder-led programme that makes the connection explicit and sustained. The 12 Pursuits is designed to deepen in its second year, expanding both community participation and the tangible impact of each monthly theme.
Go deeper
