Former pupil, Ryan Morrison, is celebrating this week after his sportswear start-up company secured a two-year contract to supply kit for The Boat Race, the famous rowing race between teams from Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
As a successful rower during his time at Lomond School, and then as a student at the University of Edinburgh, Ryan was inspired to start Rival Kit when he and his business partner, Jenny Stevenson, struggled to source a reliable supplier of quality custom sportswear. As Kit Secretary of the Edinburgh University Boat Club, Ryan found out the hard way that ordering kits posed a number of challenges: lengthy order forms, minimum order values, and restrictions on when kit orders could be made, making the whole process both complicated and frustrating. On top of this, his experience of delays in receiving orders, poor quality kit, and bad customer service spurred him on to create a brand that would act as a game-changer in custom sportswear.
At only 23 years of age, Ryan has successfully grown the business to supply hundreds of sports teams across the UK with great quality, good value sportswear, and has ambitions to grow Rival’s reach globally.
“We are so excited to be partnering with the Boat Race. This is a massive stepping stone for us and it’s a brilliant opportunity to showcase our kit to a global audience. Since leaving, Lomond School has been a big supporter of Rival. If it wasn’t for this early support, we would not have gotten to where we are today.” Ryan Morrison, Rival Kit Co-Founder.
Lomond School Principal, Johanna Urquhart said:
“It is always fantastic to hear of the successes of our Lomond School alumni. In Ryan’s case, it is even more encouraging to see a former pupil combining one of his passions, with the knowledge and skills he gained through his education, to create a successful business. Ryan achieved a lot during his time at Lomond, including a plethora of accolades for rowing. His drive and enthusiasm for life makes it no great surprise that he has secured such a high-profile contract. We wish him every success!”