Cycling clothing brand Mamnick accuses Rapha of “stealing brand message and ethos” [Video]

“Seriously — how would you feel? If a company that is worth approximately $260,540,000 stole your brand message and cycling ethos, that you’ve spent over 10 years creating and refining?” 

That is the question Thom Barnett, founder of Sheffield-based “fine products” and cycling clothing manufacturer Mamnick, was left asking on social media after Rapha, the self-professed “world’s finest cycling clothing and accessories” brand and one of the biggest names in the cycling industry, announced, promoted and ran a new bikepacking event in Southern California — the Yomp Rally.

Mamnick’s issue, Barnett explained to road.cc, is with the ‘yomp’ branding. And while he openly admits Mamnick has no trademark on the word — which originates outside of cycling, notably in a military context and made famous by the Royal Marines when referring to a march with heavy equipment over difficult terrain — for Barnett, as the culmination of a decade producing …