how it started

Our Story

To tell the story of LOOSE is basically to tell the story of my life. Don’t panic — this isn’t War and Peace. Let’s start a long time ago, when I was eight. My eldest sister Zoe had a boyfriend called Wayne. Wayne was older, very cool, and a regular at the Northern Soul all-nighters at Wigan Casino. If you don’t know what Northern Soul is, stop reading now and disappear down a YouTube rabbit hole.

Wayne didn’t just bring boxes of rare 7-inch records round to the house. He taught me the moves too. High kicks. Spins. Swallow dives. That was my first experience of movement as freedom.

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Music became my life.

Music became my life.

I quit school, tried to make records and quickly realised studio time costs money. So I got a job mixing plaster — proper old-school plastering: tin bath, sacks of plaster, rake mixer, pure graft. Eventually that led me into menswear. I blagged a job in a clothes shop in Manchester city centre — which will always be called town if you’re actually from Manchester. Selling clothes came naturally. I ended up working full-time in menswear and even helped start a clothing brand called Elk, once described by Mike Pickering as “beautiful scallywear”.

Around the same time, guitars were put down, turntables were picked up, and DJ Matt Ryan was born. I even played the Hacienda. But eventually the good times turned dark.

all around the world

all around the world

Over the following years yoga took me around the world. I’ve taught in studios, retreats and teacher trainings across Europe and the United States, guiding complete beginners, experienced practitioners and occasionally a few well-known faces. But the most important thing I learned wasn’t about postures.

It was about consistency. How breath, movement and discipline can slowly bring someone back to themselves.

operation shanti

all around the world

That idea became LOOSE. Clothing designed for movement, breath and everyday life. Not spiritual costumes.
Not shiny performance gear.
Just well-made clothing that works when you move and still looks good when you leave the studio. But LOOSE exists for another reason too.

Over years of travelling to Mysore I became closely connected with Operation Shanti, a charity supporting children who had previously lived on the streets. Their work provides housing, education and long-term support to help young people build stable futures. Seeing that work first-hand changes your perspective. So from the beginning, LOOSE has committed to supporting their work. A portion of every product contributes to the charity’s programmes. Because movement can change an individual life. But opportunity can change many.