Who said you had to have a favorite sports team or played in a professional league to wear athletic gear? As more and more styles of clothing bleed into each other, we’re left with unique ways of meshing lifestyles. Now you don’t have to worry about picking a shirt for the day that will have you looking fresh while you’re out with your friends for brunch and will be suitable for a pickup wiffle ball game in the evening. Your answer has arrived in Baumer. The American clothing company was created around the idea of practical menswear that borrows from military and sports designs. In so many words, these guys are super competitive and they treat their products as such. I wouldn’t want to play them in Risk.

If you look at their available designs, you’ll immediately think that this brand is for the active man. And if you’re not the active man, hopefully it encourages you to become one. The high quality moisture wicking and quick drying materials don’t prohibit the pieces from looking and feeling like your favorite, worn in t-shirt. So now you don’t really have an excuse not to look good as you hit your first grand slam in your local park. As for the name of the brand, it came about by arranging the letters to create a phonetic spelling for a symbol of power. After a few variations, Baumer was born. Peep our interview with the founder below and check out the slideshow of their pieces afterwards.

You can buy your new excuse to start working out and joining local sports games by visiting Baumer’s website and follow them on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on their future releases.

For those unfamiliar, New Threads is a fresh column we’ll be executing to celebrate independent fashion companies and the minds behind them. A teenager in an American suburb with a dope idea and a few bucks should be given mad props, if they’re due, just like your favorite luxury brand. We’ll pick a creator that deserves your attention and ask him/her a few questions, including our Final Four questions we ask all of our creators for that month. What’s the requirements to be featured on New Threads? Originality and quality. And please, make something you’d wear proudly. Hit us up on Twitter if you know someone who has or you yourself have a dope brand on the rise. Or send us an email to SYLR@thesource.com.

Who are some of your favorite sports teams or figures that inspire you?

I grew up a NY Giants and Yankees fan. As I got older I began to look at teams that were assembled well and played good team ball. A better built team equals a more entertaining game and hopefully greater success.

Rickey Henderson, Michael Jordan, Laurence Taylor, Magic Johnson, Don Mattingly, David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Lebron James, Chris Paul, Rondo, Derek Jeter to name a few.

I noticed some pictures of armed forces on the Tumblr page. Do you see the armed forces as another form of a team sport? What’s the connection to the brand? Same with the Native American photos.

Baumer is inspired by competitive culture, specifically the unique relationship between sports culture and warfare. Sports are civilized forms of warfare, they are competitions between warring factions. Colors and mascots have been associated with kingdoms and tribes going back to ancient times.

In sports and in war the elite competitors abide by a certain code of honor. We draw inspiration from a wide array of ideas ranging from the Revolutionary War to mid century design to samurai culture. The challenge is being able to tell a narrative that sensibly ties these ideas together. Working with a blank canvas as we are with Baumer gives us the unique opportunity to do so.