How YoungLA Pumped Up Its Activewear Startup To $176 Million In Sales

Forbes

Indian immigrants Gurmer and Dashmeet Chopra started their careers reselling phone cases on eBay. Today, their fitness-inspired streetwear brand sells out every two weeks online—and is about to launch its first store.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonemelvin/2025/08/08/how-youngla-pumped-up-its-activewear-startup-to-176-million-in-sales/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

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00:00Today on Forbes, How Young LA Pumped Up Its Activewear Startup To $176 Million In Sales

00:09In his sample room in Los Angeles, California, Young LA co-founder Gurmer Chopra rolls a synthetic

00:15t-shirt between his fingers for a moment before letting it fall back into place on a wall of

00:20racks containing other unlaunched items from his 11-year-old activewear brand that brings in $176

00:27million in revenue. Chopra, wearing a Rolex Datejust and camo short sleeve from his brand,

00:34says, quote, I spend half of my day in here. Whatever we launch, I've tried every single piece on.

00:41Striking a balance between streetwear and athleisure, Young LA also shares elements with

00:46larger companies Supreme and Gymshark. Founded in 2014 by Chopra, who is 33 years old,

00:53and his older brother Dashmeet, who is 37, the direct-to-consumer brand started off selling

00:59men's gymwear before expanding more broadly into lifestyle clothing. Like New York City-based Supreme,

01:05Young LA generates hype and urgency using a limited drop model for bi-weekly clothing releases.

01:11Supreme typically releases new collections once a week. The most prominent models on Young LA's

01:17website look like bodybuilders. Many are fitness influencers who earn a commission promoting affiliate

01:23links, a hallmark of Gymshark's UK-based business. While both brands out-earn Young LA, Gymshark and

01:30Supreme respectively brought in $780 million and $538 million in revenue in 2024, the Chopra brothers,

01:38who each own 50% of the company, have found steady success turning their activewear business

01:44into a lifestyle brand. Half of Young LA's annual revenue is now from sales of street clothing such

01:50as jeans and hats. The company's growth has propelled it to finally cross into brick and mortar locations,

01:56with the brand set to open its first store this fall. Born in India, the Chopras left when they were 10

02:03and 15 years old. Their grandfather's final wish was for their father to immigrate to the United States

02:08with his family, the brothers and their mother. The four moved to New Jersey, where their dad sold

02:14souvenirs to tourist shops in New York City. After a few years of limited success, their father moved

02:20the family across the country for a new job as a district manager of gift shops in California.

02:25Gurmer, who now oversees branding and marketing for Young LA, recalls, quote,

02:31My brother and I spent a year helping him close out that business in New Jersey

02:35and get rid of all the inventory that he had left over. In Los Angeles, the Chopra brothers

02:41earned money selling iPhone cases on Craigslist before Gurmer went off to college in Santa Barbara

02:46to study accounting. He got an auditing job at Ernst & Young in 2014, only to quit eight months later.

02:53He says, quote, I absolutely hated it. I was the first person in our class of associates to leave.

03:00While Gurmer was at Ernst & Young, he and Dashmeet continued their online resale

03:04business from a shared bedroom in their parents' home, selling everything from soccer jerseys to

03:09vape cartridges on Amazon and eBay. Their profit margins were low, but sales started picking up

03:15when Gurmer quit his job, and the brothers netted just under $500,000 in 2016 after putting in a

03:21collective $5,000 to boost the operation. By the next year, the Chopras wanted to start selling their

03:27own items and launched their first original product, Men's Gym Shorts, on Amazon. They branded the

03:33merchandise with their eBay username, YoungLA, inspired by a DJ they liked, YoungCalifornia.

03:40Gurmer and Dashmeet slowly added new activewear to their line throughout 2017 and 2018,

03:46with the goal of moving off Amazon and directing consumers to shop directly from their website.

03:52Around the same time, they started posting their products on Instagram,

03:56after buying the username YoungLA for $800 from someone who had already claimed the handle.

04:02Within a year, they had amassed 10,000 followers.

04:06By 2019, they began to have days with 100 orders rolling in.

04:11Soon, YoungLA began partnering with fitness influencers and athletes who were gaining traction

04:16on TikTok, which paid off during the COVID pandemic when interest in at-home fitness spiked,

04:22building on the growing popularity of athleisure.

04:26The brand went from earning $6 million in 2020 to $35 million in 2021, as the Chopras began to release

04:33the first of their limited bi-weekly clothing drops and branched out beyond traditional activewear,

04:38something Gurmer says has been a big selling point to partner with more influencers.

04:42For full coverage, check out Simone Melvin's piece on Forbes.com.

04:50This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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