Mario Cipollini's muscle skinsuit

Mario Cipollini’s muscle skinsuit

There’s something about weird athletic apparel that’s fascinating like Mario Cipollini‘s human muscle design time trial skinsuit.  I’m sure he was also happy about the team kit for Rock Racing cycling team during its short lived time, having so many varying designs and colors just for different events.  Such things are most likely not ITU legal (and neither were they in the ICU for Cipo).  Despite that, some of the weird stuff is actually cool and probably can be pulled off by the age groupers.

Cipo’s muscle skinsuit inspired Polish designer Tomasz Pietek to create sports apparel with a print of the human muscular system, and it’s available to purchase online for those cyclists or runners interested.  There are both short and long versions with or without chamois respectively, and the prices are pretty typical and respectable.  Also available are accessories such as warmers, and another suit design with a skeletal X-Ray.  Pretty neat.

My 2012 Halloween Costume: "The Amazing Inside-Out Man"

My 2012 Halloween Costume: “The Amazing Inside-Out Man”

I was inspired by Cipo for my 2012 Halloween costume for which I was the “amazing inside-out man.”  It was just a simple Morphsuit that had a half-decent muscle print, nothing too high quality.  I thought it was pretty cool anyway.  Today, as I was browsing around the Internet for the official websites of other Triathlons I am considering for this year, I found a video for one in Asbury Park, NJ.  At about 3/4 through the video there was this guy, crossing the finish line, trying to catch his breath in a muscular system design tri suit.  Boom – it hit me.

Epix Gear Muscle Suit

Credit: TriRig.com

“Why didn’t I think of that before?!”  I looked all over the internet for it and found the brand name that made it.  It was made by a company called Epix Gear, and sadly is no longer available for purchase.  On a lighter note, Epix Gear makes some pretty wild limited-edition triathlon suits (at an affordable $99!!) and cycling kit designs and also does have an ITU legal kit that can be customized for you with the necessary name and logo additions.  They also do one-off custom orders for around $200.  If I already didn’t purchase two past-season 2XU tri suits at a discount to switch between this season, I’d consider one of these. Since I found this cool company I didn’t want to be greedy and hold back the tip from you.

So if you’re into weird crazy athletic apparel like Cipo’s skinsuits, and you’re a triathlete, check out Epix Gear.  They’re very affordable and really neat.