Mark Agyakwa knows what it’s like to chase someone else’s goals. He followed the path of becoming a footballer until he realised that wasn’t his dream – so he created Y-Fit Wear to inspire other people to push their limits and discover their own ‘why’. From sweat-wicking women’s fitness wear to bestselling tech socks, this is how Y-Fit’s performance wear is the ultimate motivation.

What is Y-Fit Wear: What are your products and what’s the meaning and mission behind the brand?

Y-Fit Wear is a purpose-driven sportswear brand founded in 2016. We specialise in fitness and athleisure wear, combining performance, functionality, lifestyle, and culture.

Y-Fit’s mission is to inspire individuals to move with purpose, emphasising the importance of understanding one’s ‘why’ as a source of motivation. The brand’s logo symbolises hope, motivation and overcoming adversity, reflecting the commitment to empowering people through movement and intentional living.

What was missing from other activewear apparel that inspired you to create your own? 

The emphasis of channeling your why: your reason for wanting to be healthy and pursuing your fitness goals. There are so many layers when it comes to health; I don’t see brands explore and tap into those layers.

I had a dream to become a professional footballer but didn’t know why I wanted to be one. In hindsight, it was ‘the’ dream to have – not ‘my’ dream. I didn’t find my ‘why’, so I created Y-Fit as a visual representation to remember my ‘why’. A powerful ‘why’ creates a clear vision. 

What are some of the features that make Y-Fit Wear products suitable and effective for fitness?

Every element of our products makes them effective and suitable for fitness. It starts with material: it must be sweat-wicking, comfortable and durable. 

Next are the technical features that make it ideal for training, [such as] the technical stitching. For example, a raglan sleeve is where the shirt is stitched in a way where the stitching runs across the shoulder, alongside your collar bone rather than around your arm and armpit, which can resistance movement of the shoulder like a regular shirt would.

Our Tech Socks have a lot of different features: the technical stitching for ankle support, grip elements, a left and right foot, and more. I could go on all day about the features. 

How has the brand grown since you started?

The brand has grown a lot over the past nine years. We have shipped products to 21 countries. I’m grateful for the growth; there is a long way to go but we have made a lot of progress.

My first product was men’s performance t-shirts. We then went on to do women’s products and unisex products. That direction has resulted in around 70% of our customer base being women.

Why do you think Y-Fit now appeals so strongly to women?

Good question. At first, I had no idea but when I looked deeper, it came down to a couple of things. Firstly, our brand and what it represents: we speak to the underestimated. The activewear market is very competitive; it’s like David vs Goliath, but we know our power and the value we can bring to the world. I believe women can relate to that.

The other aspect is our products. They are carefully crafted to fit women well and the colours we choose are very unique. The combination of the brand and the product speaks to women.

How do you engage your community to decide what product to launch next?

We make sure we are close to our community and listen to their feedback. It’s the best way to see what we need to update and work on.

For instance, even though we are a sportswear brand, we saw that a number of people within our community would wear our products to travel and to carnival, so that informed us to produce updated versions of our Tech Socks. The Version 2 has less compression so it’s more suited to everyday movement and not just to work out in.

How do you ensure high clothing quality that’s effective for its purpose?

Quality control is a big part of our process. A product collection can take up to 18 months to produce, from making sure the suppliers have everything in check, to the samples, the testing of the samples, updates and adjustments, to the bulk production.

Every part is important to ensure we produce the best quality products. It’s technical wear so a lot goes into the testing of the products.

What is the bestseller for men and women?

The Tech Socks are our bestsellers. The main feature of the Tech Socks are the ‘shark gill aerodynamic stitching’, which we coined because the stitching reflects the gills of a shark.

The purpose of the stitching is to give support for the ankles and a natural 360 motion feel – so the socks move with you. The material is sweat-wicking and we use a high friction yarn for grip and protection.

Beyond products, how does Y-Fit Wear get people involved in fitness and sports through events?

We run events monthly – different sports and activities – bringing the community together and promoting a healthy lifestyle. The events are fun and a great way to improve our fitness as well as bond as a community, trying different sports and training together. We also sponsor other events within the community. 

We have an events page on our website, on Luma, and on our bio on our Instagram page, @yfitwear.

As a business owner, what’s been your biggest achievement?

The biggest achievement was launching and the second biggest achievement is still being here after nine years. I’m grateful for all the products and growth in between.

What’s a collaboration or milestone you’d love to achieve?

Getting to 10 years of business would be a great milestone to reach. Maybe [we’ll] throw a fitness party! We will see.

“The vision is bigger than sportswear and clothing. It’s about ownership”

What’s your long-term goal?

The biggest long-term goal is our own factory in Ghana. Over the past nine years we have learned a lot about the supply chain and the process. The goal is to own each stage of it – both from a sustainability standpoint and a vision standpoint.

The vision is bigger than sportswear and clothing. It’s about ownership and creating economic empowerment for our communities. We want to use our brand and the knowledge we have gained to create jobs, build infrastructure and support creatives; to help build up the next generation, show them what is possible when you believe in yourself and you are aligned with the vision.

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