“I didn’t have a bike. I didn’t know how to swim. I ran, but just 5Ks,” Mo Wadhwani says. “But when I saw those Ironman athletes, I thought, I need this in my life.”
In 2013, while house-hunting in Austin, Texas, Noor and Mo Wadhwani experienced a serendipitous moment that would shape their future. Their visit coincided with the Half Ironman, and as they sat in the airport, the young couple watched waves of incredibly fit athletes sporting matching backpacks walk by.
“I grew up playing sports and was very active and health-conscious, but what I thought was ‘fit’ paled in comparison to what I saw in these people,” Wadhwani says. “I realized I had to be part of this.”
Inspired, Wadhwani pulled out his phone, researched the Ironman, and registered for his first event on the spot. “You swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a full marathon—26.2 miles,” he explains.
For most, such a challenge would be daunting, but for Wadhwani, it was transformative. Yet he was starting from scratch. “I didn’t own a bike. I didn’t know how to swim. My running experience was limited to 5Ks,” he recalls.
Determined, he turned to YouTube to teach himself to swim, even though it meant open-water training. “He bought an entry-level bike to start with,” Noor says.
As the family settled into their new home in Austin, Wadhwani’s training became a way of life. Noor and their two children embraced triathlon culture alongside him. “My friends, family, and in-laws all said, ‘You’re a freak. What is wrong with you? Why are you doing this to yourself?’” Wadhwani says.
The Life-Changing Moment
One thing about Wadhwani: Once a decision is made, he is committed. He proposed to Noor three days after meeting her. They married a month later. This year, they celebrate 16 years of marriage and the successes of their children: son Rehaan, 15, a student at Ridge High School, and daughter Suhaana, 12, a student at William Annin Middle School.
Life was unpredictable for the family, but that unpredictability was what bonded them. A corporate executive, Wadhwani relocated approximately every year. “In our first 11 years, we moved ten times all over the country: We moved several times to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as to Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte,” Wadhwani says. “We fell in love with the diversity we experienced. Because as we kept moving, the only constant we had was each other, which made us very tight-knit.”
Noor, an entrepreneur with a background in fashion and design, created a digital interior decorating business that could sustain their constant moves.
Life moved forward predictably until one hot summer Saturday morning in 2015, when Mo had a revelation. It was 4 a.m. on a brick day—a day when athletes training for the Ironman perform two or three disciplines in one day. Wadhwani was fueling up for an eight-hour day that included an 80-mile bike ride followed by a 10-mile run. Then, the thought came: Am I doing something wrong? Why is everyone calling me a freak?
“Sitting there in the dark, I realized that I was healthier, more organized, and disciplined than I’d ever been. And because of that, I was more effective as a father, husband, and professional. Our kids were 5 and 3 and running 5Ks,” he says. “I thought, If this is what it means to be a freak, then heck, yeah.”
Energized by this epiphany, he woke Noor and told her they were going to create a brand called Athletifreak to celebrate the positivity of movement. “We wanted to take this concept of ‘freak’ being negative and say, ‘If you’re freakishly passionate about something, that is your greatest superpower,’” Wadhwani says.
Noor popped up in bed and said, “Let’s do this.”
The couple began conceptualizing the business and making plans, but after eight months, they decided to pause. “We had two kids under five, loans, and I had a well-paying corporate job,” Wadhwani says. “We thought we couldn’t pursue a dream at the risk of that security.”
Meanwhile, the family’s relocations continued: Dallas, Basking Ridge, Charlotte, and back to Basking Ridge. “Basking Ridge was always home because, despite all of these moves, our home companies were always from New Jersey,” Mo says.
Through it all, the couple would frequently ask each other, “Remember Athletifreak?”
In 2019, they decided to take the leap. “We preached to our children to follow their heart and believe in themselves, but here we were, not living our philosophy. We realized we were getting older and decided it was now or never,” he says.
The couple set to work, structuring the business, creating designs, setting up the supply chain, building a network, and marketing. They unveiled the brand at a 5K in Basking Ridge on January 1, 2021. “For seven years, our family ran a 5K every January 1,” Wadhwani says. “It was a commitment date, committing to whatever goals we were setting.”
The brand started with one hoodie and one T-shirt. “The vision was to not be sport specific, but rather focus on the attributes of an athlete. Athletifreak is everyone who is passionate about movement,” Wadhwani says. They launched a website, managed pop-up stores, and began working with gyms and companies like Lifetime, which promoted the line at locations nationwide. Within two years, the one hoodie and one T-shirt had grown to 75 products.
They opened their first store at the Bridgewater Commons in November 2022, around their two-year anniversary. Six more stores followed in Short Hills, Garden State Plaza, Bridgewater, Menlo Park, Willowbrook, and Basking Ridge. “Since we develop our own fabrics, we are obsessed with quality,” Noor says. “You want to touch the fabric and understand the features.”
“Everyone out there has this energy within them that is their superpower. We call it your inner freak. It doesn’t matter if you’re 90, 60, or 10. Or if you’re a powerlifter, an endurance athlete, a yogi, or a dancer. What matters is not what you do. What matters is the passion with which you do it,” Wadhwani says.
The couple, born in India, plans to introduce Athletifreak to the Indian market next year while continuing to expand across the U.S., aiming to double their domestic retail footprint.
They are excited to continue the progress of their company from their home base in Basking Ridge, where they spend evenings at Mountain Park watching their children at sports practice or walking to Dunham Park. “That’s one of our sweet spots. It’s a beautiful part of town,” says Wadhwani, who notes readers have likely seen him “running all around Basking Ridge.”
And if you do, go ahead and call him a freak. He’ll know what you mean.
Shop designs at athletifreak.com.
Local Locations -
Bridgewater Commons
- Address: 400 Commons Way, Store 2065, Bridgewater
- Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m - 9 p.m
Riverwalk Village (Basking Ridge)
- Address: 655 Martinsville Rd, Suite 108, Basking Ridge
- Hours: Open daily, 10 a.m - 6 p.m.
Short Hills Mall
- Address: 1200 Morris Tpke, Short Hills
- Hours: Open daily, Mon - Sat: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.