Perth-based activewear brand SUAVE has announced it will close later this year, with co-founder Connor Wright citing the devastating personal and financial fallout from a viral gym video, as well as deeper underlying business struggles, as the reasons behind the decision. The announcement, made via the brand's Instagram page on a Wednesday evening in August 2026, came less than three months after the controversy first erupted.
How the controversy began
SUAVE was founded by Connor Wright — a former FIFO worker — and his wife Chloe with the aim of bringing, in their own words, "luxury with affordability, quality, honesty and confidence back to activewear." The brand's troubles began earlier this year when Chloe Wright posted a TikTok video on her personal account that appeared to mock a stranger at a gym who was using a rowing machine. The clip quickly spread far beyond Australia, drawing intense criticism from viewers around the world.
In the weeks and months that followed, the couple found themselves at the centre of a global social media storm. Connor Wright acknowledged in a video posted to the brand's TikTok page that his wife had filmed someone at the gym and that the public outrage was understandable. "Stepping back and standing with you guys and seeing the outrage, we truly understand and we apologise," he said, also conceding he had handled the initial fallout poorly.
Death threats, job loss and mounting debt
While Wright accepted some criticism as fair, he described the response from parts of the online community as having crossed a serious line. The couple received death threats, with some individuals allegedly threatening to petrol bomb their home. Thousands of people posted false reviews of the brand's website, and a coordinated campaign saw users contact Wright's employer — ultimately resulting in him being fired from his FIFO job.
"People have every right to be upset, but going to the limits of threatening people's livelihood and their safety is just not normal," Wright said in the video, which had accumulated more than 200,000 views. He also described the ordeal as having severely affected the couple's physical and mental wellbeing. "It's massively affected our sleep, the way we've lived, and created a bad relationship with the brand," he said.
Business was already struggling before the storm hit
Wright was candid in stressing that the controversy alone did not sink SUAVE. The brand, he explained, had been in difficulty well before the gym video went viral. An over-reliance on TikTok as the primary — and effectively sole — marketing channel meant the label was not reaching a wide enough audience to sustain itself.
"I ended up putting way too many eggs into one basket," Wright admitted. "I've made a lot of business mistakes and I've made a lot of personal mistakes in the last six months." Now without his FIFO income and carrying debt accumulated through the business, Wright said the couple's immediate priority is selling all remaining stock at cost price in order to recover some of what they have invested and reduce their financial exposure.
Mixed reactions to the closure announcement
Responses to the closure video reflected the divided public opinion that has surrounded the couple since the controversy began. Some viewers expressed sympathy, with one commenter noting Wright appeared "exhausted and stressed" and offering support. Others were less forgiving, with comments suggesting the backlash was a foreseeable consequence of filming strangers without their consent.
The story of SUAVE's rise and fall reflects a broader reality for small Australian brands that build their identity — and their vulnerabilities — almost entirely on social media platforms. For Perth's growing community of entrepreneurial small business owners, the saga serves as a sharp reminder of how quickly an online presence can become a liability. Wright said he intends to close the brand formally later in 2026.
