The Story Behind BONK
Every brand has an origin story. Ours? It starts with bikes, carbs and a student who thought it would be fun to put a pizza on a T-shirt. Five years later, BONK is still here: louder, funnier and hungrier than ever.
Here’s how it all began, in our own words.
Q&A With BONK’s Founder
Q: Who are you?
A: I’m Astrid, been riding bikes since age 11, into streetwear since my teens and the slightly stubborn human behind the brand. Basically, I love bikes, I love streetwear and I love food. Starting BONK was my way of mixing all of that into one place.
Q: So, where did BONK actually come from?
A: About five years ago I rediscovered my love for cycling. At the same time, I was really into sneakers and streetwear. Back then, there wasn’t really a brand that mixed cycling culture with a proper streetwear edge. So I thought: why not create it myself? That’s when BONK was born.
Q: Why “BONK”?
A: Because every cyclist knows what bonking is. The moment when the lights go out, legs stop working and suddenly you’d trade your bike for a plate of spaghetti. BONK has always been about that: food, the highs, fun and lows of riding.
Q: What was the very first BONK product?
A: A T-shirt with a pizza on a bike. Super simple, because my design skills weren’t exactly Michelin-star level back then. Alongside it, I made one bottle and a neck warmer. That was the entire first “collection.” I threw it all on Shopify, pressed publish out of my bedroom and that was the start.
Q: How did things grow from there?
A: Slowly, but steadily. I released small drops, learned to design better and kept building. At the time, I was also working full-time, which made it tough to juggle both but BONK kept creeping into every free minute I had.
Q: What was the big breakthrough moment?
A: Definitely the pasta T-shirt. The famous Eat Pasta, Ride Fasta tee back in 2021. It started as a joke, but cyclists loved it. When we dropped it, things went kind of viral and suddenly we were selling crazy. To date we may have sold over 4.000 t-shirts of that design. That's just crazy if you ask me. I realized BONK wasn’t just a fun side project anymore, it had serious potential.
Q: And that’s when you decided to quit your job?
Yeah. I asked if I could cut back my hours, but my employer said no. So I thought, fine, I’ll quit and go all-in on BONK. Looking back at the revenue we were doing back then, it was kind of insane to make that jump but it was the right move. I’ve never regretted it. Even the company’s accountant came to me and said it was the right step, that I’m the kind of person who should be self-employed. To this day I don’t know if that was meant as a compliment or just a polite way of saying I’m difficult hahahaha.
Q: Fast-forward almost five years… how’s BONK doing today?
A: BONK is growing more professional every quarter. We’ve gone from one pizza T-shirt to full drops, better graphics and a solid community. Sure, we still have growing pains but honestly, I love that. BONK was not supposed to be perfect. It’s about the ride, the carbs, the chaos and the fun that comes with it.
Q: What’s next for BONK?
A: Keep building, keep making clothes that don’t take cycling too seriously. We want BONK to be the brand that reminds people why they love the sport in the first place. Whether you’re bonking, smashing climbs or just hanging out with friends.