Support for LAist comes from
Made of L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

There's A Silly New Fashion Trend For Rich Goths That Work Out

health-goth.jpg
If you're looking for a Health Goth outfit, may we suggest this one? (Photo via HealthGoth.com Facebook)
Support your source for local news!
The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership. Thank you.

Gyms aren't only for bros with snapbacks and women in Lululemon. Goths like to pump iron, too! And so we have a movement called "Health Goth."

It's a lifestyle that involves eating healthy and lifting weights but to industrial tunes instead of an EDM remix of Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness." And instead of wearing the aforementioned Lululemon, health goths have a look that can be described as street goth, goth ninja or cyberpunk. The shoes are futuristic, and of course they're wearing black, lots of black. It's surprisingly serious.

Post by Healthgoth.

Post by Health Goth.

Support for LAist comes from

Post by Health Goth.
Mike Grabarek and Jeremy Scott of Portland started the Health Goth Facebook page in April 2013 that got the trend rolling. They explained to Complex UK how the whole thing came about:

When I thought of the name, I was sort of making fun of the whole street goth thing. The more I thought and talked with friends about it, the more I realized that joking about dipping a perfectly fresh pair of Nike TNs in a swimming pool and being draped in black mesh was actually cool.

Grabarek and Scott are very serious about the fashion and described their aesthetic as "mesh, moisture-wicking fabrics, BioWare, body enhancement tech, prosthetics, shoe dipping, various fashion and performance wear brands, transparent clothing, chains and light weaponry, tactical gear, elemental aesthetics, corporal mortification, and rendered environments." They're inspired by brands like Cottweiler, Whatever 21, and A D Y N.

Johnny Love, a Chicago music promoter, cashed in on the trend and created a fashion line at HealthGoth.com and wrote a (very short) #Health Goth Fitness Bible with gems like this reminding health goths to know their limits: "If you try to lift more than you're able to, you're going to hurt yourself, and this is not the kind of self harm goths are fond of."

Love's brand includes backwards and upside-down Nike and Adidas logos, but those brands might actually be getting on board with the trend, which doesn't seem very goth. The Health Goth Facebook page has been posting emails in the last week from Nike and Adidas reps who have been asking them to meet up to collaborate on fashion sportswear concepts. Even Marie Claire UK is talking about it; they described it as "Weird? Very. Cool? Apparently."

Most Read