Ahead of the Paris Olympics, gymnast Frederick “Flips” Richard had goals larger than a gold medal in mind, seeking to change men’s gymnastics and show everyone what the sport was really about.
On Friday, at the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup and with a bronze medal under his belt, Richard debuted a new, custom men’s gymnastics uniform in an effort to introduce, as he called it, “a modern-day switch of the uniform” — one he hopes will be quickly adopted in the sport.
In place of the tight unitard and pants that cover gymnasts’ feet, Richard went for something cooler and more comfortable: a looser-fitting tank top and shorts that resemble a more tailored basketball uniform, and optional leggings men can wear in events like pommel horse, when their legs can skim the apparatus.
Richard said in an interview that he’s been working with a designer since the Paris Games to “find all the pain points that I hate about the uniform” to come up with the perfect final product. They partnered with Turn Gymnastics — a men’s gymnastics apparel company — to manufacture and produce the uniform.
“It’s pretty simple, but it’s kind of just much more comfortable feel,” Richard said of the new look.
Soon, Turn and Richard will launch a website that enables gyms around the country to customize and order the uniforms for their teams to wear.
“People in the crowd eventually will get to wear our jerseys, will get to wear our uniforms, which is something you don’t see in gymnastics,” Richard said.
The new uniform came at a cost for Richard on Friday: three-tenths of a point knocked off of his all-around score — a penalty that can be the deciding factor in very competitive meets.
The national team is decided at the Winter Cup, but Richard already has a spot as one of the five members of the Paris Olympics men’s gymnastics team. They won’t have to compete for their spots again for another year, he said.
The new uniform is part of Richard’s larger plan to bring men’s gymnastics into the sports zeitgeist.
“I feel like these next four years for me is, like, my arc of changing the sport,” Richard said. “Not just changing rules or changing uniforms, but bring more eyes to the sport, partner with different athletes, partner with different artists, partner with different people, to bring eyes to gymnastics and to tell my story.”
Growing up, Richard recalled “feeling uncomfortable or kind of embarrassed to tell people that I do gymnastics” for many reasons, but the uniform was a big one.
He felt like he couldn’t even go to the gas station after practice without people questioning why he was wearing tights. It got him wondering, “Why does it look like this still?” when styles have changed so much.
“There has been no innovation in it, no revamping of it,” Richard said.
So he jumped on the opportunity to make a change — both for his younger self and kids who might be in a similar situation now.
“We had this Olympics. We had our successes. It kind of feels like the revamp of men’s gymnastics,” Richard said. “Anything that we’re passionate about changing, let’s go for it.”
Luckily for Richard, many in the gymnastics world have responded well to his innovation, especially fellow college gymnasts who he said agree it’s time for a change.
Richard hopes this uniform can give gymnasts of all ages and levels another option without having to accept point deductions.
He said he sees a clear path to that in college gymnastics, where team coaches can vote to make a rule change. Richard said a lot of the college coaches he knows are on board.
Children’s gymnastics doesn’t adhere to the same rulebook, so the switch can happen even faster, he said.
It’s trickier on the world stage, though, so Richard said he spoke to international gymnastics officials about the uniforms.
He said they told him to wear the uniform to a meet to show that it not only looks good, but that it’s also safe to compete in, and to see if it gets people talking about whether it’s really time for a change. If it gains more traction, officials would have to vote on a final decision about whether to allow it.
USA Gymnastics said it does not have an official comment but noted that Richard is wearing what he is comfortable in and is taking the International Gymnastics Federation, or FIG, deduction as a result. FIG did not respond to a request for comment on Richard’s uniform.
Richard said he will be showing off the uniform at every individual meet he attends as he works with Turn to get their website launched and the official “Frederick Flips” line out to the world. By next season, Richard said he hopes to see kids and college students sporting his designs on the mat.
“My dream is to walk into the L.A. Olympics being able to wear it,” Richard said.
