Apart from founding Inventory Magazine and formerly leading the creative direction for Stüssy, polymath Ryan Willms has kept busy with a dizzying number of projects over the years. With such a workload, he has had firsthand experience with why it is essential to sustain one’s personal health, and it only seems fitting that he would eventually look for ways to stay level-headed and dip into the expansive pool of wellness.
Into The Well is a space where Willms shares his personal experiences, offering both educational insights and close examinations for wellness management. One of his latest features brings us inside UNDEFEATED‘s Los Angeles gym, UACTP (UNDEFEATED Action Capabilities Training Program), while illustrating the importance of exercise, challenging yourself with new experiences and learning to adapt to the challenges that come with them.
Apart from all the gym equipment and UNDEFEATED logos scattered across the gym, UACTP is scrawled with words that nod to the facility’s ethos: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” After a series of workouts and a few extra pushes from Rob Abeyta Jr., director of the training space, Willms takes on Jiu Jitsu for the first time, describing it as an experience that propelled him past his comfort level and in turn allowed him to discover new things about himself. Willms notes that UACTP "was just the place to learn more about myself."
Scroll above for a video of Willms at the facility and see below for a short excerpt from his latest feature on intothewell.net.
Elsewhere, Stüssy dropped a fishing-inspired capsule, "Extra Fly Gear," for both urban and natural settings.
"Consider our bodies as our chief instrument for experiencing life, for tasting food and feeling emotion, for understanding pain and perceiving our surroundings. As adults, it’s very easy to remain comfortable, and beyond the soft couches and ergonomic office chairs we inhabit, it’s easy to keep running the same loop or do the same exercises without pushing ourselves. We don’t often ask ourselves if maybe it’s time to take the next step in our own personal growth. Trying something new, be it yoga, Jiu Jitsu trail running or rock climbing, and keeping the ‘beginners mind’ can be invaluable for our long-term well-being, but also for our short-term growth and ability to adapt and evolve."