Until 2017, Ciele Athletic was a brand that we knew about but couldn't get close to. On a group trip to the Drakensberg mountains, I had the opportunity to finally lay my hands on an actual Ciele Athletic cap, thanks to a close running friend. The cap's shape and design were captivating, and for months before and after this trip, I searched for a way to get one to South Africa. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible unless I had friends in Canada or was willing to pay an unreasonable amount of money.
At the time, Flat Mountain Living was only a seed. Two years later, while forming the brand, my then partner suggested that we reach out to Ciele Athletics. It sounded crazy, but after submitting an application and negotiating, we were successful. A few months later, we had our first batch of Ciele Athletic caps in our hands, and the moment was magical! These caps were a few cuts above the rest, and there simply wasn't any competition.
Our journey with Ciele has been filled with ebbs and flows, but our passion and desire to make these caps available to a deserving running community have driven every inch of our decision making. To this day, we uphold that passion and are now taking it a step further with our TRADE store. In this way, we're able to take Ciele to even more runners!