The Story Behind the Purple Team Paddy T-Shirt

Back in 2024, I qualified for my first Giants Live competition: Britain’s Strongest Man.

It was a huge achievement in my strongman career, and one that made my family and friends incredibly proud. To celebrate, I decided to print a small run of purple T-shirts as a thank-you to the sponsors who had helped me get that far. I gave them to my family and friends so that I could easily spot them among the 8,000–10,000 people in the crowd.

Little did I know that these simple purple T-shirts, which I had “designed” myself, would eventually become a staple of an international strongman merchandise brand, selling thousands of units to supporters across the globe.

The design has, of course, been refined over the years. We’ve experimented with different shades of purple and made adjustments to the sizing, fit and font until we arrived at what I believe is the perfect purple Team Paddy T-shirt.

Why Is the Team Paddy T-Shirt Purple?

Purple had always been my favourite colour growing up. That was only reinforced by my decision to study and race for the University of Portsmouth, whose colours were also purple. Even my first job in accounting and finance used a subtle purple colour palette.

I hadn’t realised it at the time, but I had been surrounded by the colour purple throughout my life. Perhaps that’s why I grew to love it so much.

However, the colour isn’t just about me.

After competing at Giants Live a few times, I noticed how easy it was to spot my family and friends in the crowd. They were often the only people in the entire arena wearing purple.

That was my light-bulb moment 💡

I realised that Team Paddy could claim a colour of its own. Whenever I looked into the crowd and saw someone wearing purple, I would immediately know that they were supporting me.

Not only did that support inspire me during competitions, but it also showed Giants Live and other major strongman promoters that I was beginning to build a genuine fan base. Pretty insane, right?

More Than Just a Strongman T-Shirt

So, where am I going with this?

When you buy a purple Team Paddy T-shirt, you’re not just buying another shirt. You’re joining a team, becoming part of a community and directly supporting an athlete who genuinely cares about the people backing him.

That appreciation is reflected in every order, from the handwritten thank-you notes to the free gifts and stickers we include whenever we can.

If you’ve recently joined the squad and bought a Team Paddy T-shirt, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please take plenty of photos, tag @Haynes_Strength and help us continue to stand out from all the black and red in strongman.

Together, let’s turn the strongman world purple—and bring that World’s Strongest Man trophy back to the UK.

Haven’t joined Team Paddy yet? Shop the purple Team Paddy T-shirt here.