The Overseas Athletics Club started in Kyiv with a couple of journalists that wanted to be tired from training rather than tired of complaining.
Equipment runs every Friday, 3k+, coffee afterward. Earn your beer.
Your first run is awful. And for every journalist invited it was their first. It hasn’t been anyone’s last.
Every run is at a conversational pace. Conversation improves your lung capacity when running. A conversational pace also gives you the opportunity to talk between gasping breaths . Talk about new threats, ask questions about drone-threat car procedures, talk about mistakes, and share advice.
Humans are a cooperative species. That is what has propelled us through 2.5 million years of evolution. Community is in our nature, but community is not ours by default, and that false assumption is wreaking havoc on our century. In crisis, or at the apex of success, community is essential.
The people around you are the number one indicator of your success.
Overseas Athletics is community, by design.
I designed the ideal athletic shirt, undershirt and all around t-shirt for the club and made
monogrammed shirts for every member. Now I’m offering 90 of them to Observers. You can order your very own, with your very own initials monogramed on the back. Overseas Athletics shirts are made in Ukraine with 180g Ukrainian cotton. They’re great athletic shirts, they are perfect undershirts, I always pack two.
But you don’t need a shirt to throw on some gear (Or a backpack, camera, or boots) and shake off the rust with some friends, they may just be the community you fall back on, or build with.
Looking forward,
Robert
with photos by Conall Kearney
The STA System explained
Sunday, July 19th, 2026
Luggage is both the foundation and fountainhead of Observer: the portable home, the forward base, the baseline. The caravan, sailboat, or sub of the past lives on today—for me and thousands of other traveling professionals—as the suitcase in general, and RIMOWA aluminum in particular.
Observer experiments with suitcases started in 2019. I wanted hard-sided luggage fitted for my cameras like the Tropicanas of old. I wanted the iconic aluminum, I wanted the lingering stares of stewardesses at the check in counter, but not a second glance strapping my suitcases to a Kabul taxi. Or across the cobblestones of Napoli, or at train stations past midnight.
A journalist friend wanted his bullet-proofed: Rolling-cover, turning soft-skinned vehicles defensive on hard streets. Transit hubs, terrorism. It made enough sense to make a prototype.
The STA system, removable armor, velcro organizers and seating
I didn’t want my suitcases to be hidden away in a closet when I got home or to my hotel, I wanted them under my feet or laptop, a constant in my workflow in a sea of changing cities. After decades of service, I wanted to see my trunks, bruised like the day after a fight, swapped paint like stock-cars, as coffee tables, trunks or stools in the alter of home. I designed a universal seat that secured to all styles of Rimowa handles, transforming cases into seating.
My mind turned to Cerakote—the space-age ceramic coating I first came to know during my Force Recon years, when the finish earned a reputation on the coveted, hard-worn firearms of Special Forces. Peerless abrasion resistance. Protection against rust and UV. Seemingly impervious to every solvent and grease known to man. It could endure almost any trial, yet be applied with the detail and variety of airbrushed paint in a layer only microns thick. Its signature flat colors could describe two decades of conflict in Pantone: Coyote Tan, Ranger Green, Benelli Sand. Unlike traditional firearm finishes, almost any color, combination, or pattern was possible. As Cerakote spread into the automotive industry, its thermal-damping properties became another advantage.
The first STA system circa 2019
In 2019 Observer did a necessary and violently costly thing: putting a Rimowa roll-aboard in an oven. While Cerakote can be applied at room temperature, Cerakote cured in an oven is even stronger. We learned some things, primarily the melting point for handles and wheel housings.
Then we made a bigger oven and put more suitcases in it.
I called it the STA System(Straight-to-Airport), and it’s been on the road ever since. The micron-thin ceramic coat has held up across 7 years and hundreds of thousands of miles of air, train, boat, and burro travel. The seating system has been called into remote work stations, and fashion campaigns.
STA armor installed in Ukraine
The soft armor is in a closet in Barcelona, or Kyiv. It once surged and skittered across the southern front in Ukraine as a Bratsvo vehicle patrol dashed across terrain under Russian observation and fires. I sat behind the driver, he sat on the armor, and we agreed that it would favor one of us on insertion and the other on exfil.
STA armor installed in Ukraine
The Cerakote team took an interest in the RIMOWA cases fitted with the STA System and agreed to coat another set for me. The finished cases feature a double layer of Cerakote and vivid yet graphically flat colors that make these iconic RIMOWAs harder-wearing, lower-profile, and inarguably individual.
You can see the entire design process, from our color samples to the Cerakote process on the Observer Instagram. If the end results interest you, I’d ask you to share that interest with Rimowa. I think, and believe the Cerakote makes an incredible custom option for the world’s professional travelers.
STA system seating
While these Rimowas aren’t for sale, with a certified Cerakote applicator, you can certainly void your warranty making your own, using either a new Rimowa, or a well-used one that has been stripped and its exterior cleaned. Observer believes in providing you with a peerless canvas for your adventures, even if it can only be as a proof-of-concept….
New STA System: Rimowa Original XL Trunk in Kabul Cafe , and Rimowa Classic in Amber Clad
As Russia battered Ukrainian cities this winter, the coldest in 20 years, electrical grids failed across the country. Homes sat in freezing darkness for weeks at a time while power plants burned across the country. Ukrainians, adaptive as always, found a solution in their cultural past: Intricate, vibrant, and above all insulating traditional Ukrainian carpets re-emerged to cover the walls, floors, beds and ceilings of modern homes.
I was enamored with the beauty, craft, and history of these tapestries instantly. Babushka baroque just can’t be beat.
These hand woven flat weave treasures are a rare cultural craft that has survived decades of oppression and the homogenizing forces of modernity. They are made of symbols, myths, humor and strength as much as wool and cotton. They are almost always woven at home, on hand powered looms. Their vibrant scenes speak to the frigid months clinging to the promise of spring, and the hope for peace.
While these tapestries offer infinite variety, they share a canon of symbols, many Christian, many pre-Christian, and many, many flowers. Some detail entire spring scenes, or chapters of myth and song. They offer an insulative ability against both cold and heat, and like all tapestries, signaled both a household of taste and plenty.
Ukrainian tapestries are the usual decor for village hattas, and many a tired soldier, or lost journalist has found their comfort alongside the robust hospitality of Ukrainians along the frontline. I’ve bought dozens of these carpets across Ukraine to furnish Observer HQ, and I am now offering some of these to you. I hope they will serve as a reminder of Ukrainian sovereignty in your own home.
When used as carpets “Carpathian Carpets” work best with a carpet-mat underneath. Most feature rear mounting to apply to a wall easily. Each carpet is entirely unique, and have been found in immaculately well-kept, albeit used conditions.
You can see the Carpathian Carpets we have currently available here
looking forward,
Robert
The JM LeBoy Bedouin Observer GMT
Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
I’ve known LeBoy for a decade. Our Marine years overlapped. The years since we have caught up where we could, between armies or stories, trying to give our own dreams shape on bar napkins. Camped out on the corner of Uzi and Hitman street on the outskirts of Gaza, Leboy showed me the first Bedouin prototype two years ago.
A brands first offering had no right to be beautiful.
I told him two things then; wear it, and make me one.
Beauty has a function all of its own. “Travel/backpacker/tactical” designs would have you think life in the wind is a dull granola of earth tones and colors-against-nature. Yet amongst the world’s real and last nomads, beauty is worked by hand into everything.
The sand dune dial.
I miss the desert. I missed it before I’d ever been. I dreamed of the desert before I first knew the wonder of the night’s firmament. I missed it before I knew the terror dulled years across it. I remember the desert with each warming glance at the Bedouin’s dune dial, and with it the urge to shake the talcum powder sand out of old boots.
The Mediterranean blue bezel. It’s not the oceans I or LeBoy grew up with, but the seas we grew up reading about. The elegant Aegean.
The elegant Eastern Arabic numerals and rice grain bracelet add a refinement not found in field watches. It’s a reminder that “The better you look, the more you see”.
The less you have in this world the more free you are, and conversely, these precious few objects become more personal, valuable, and useful in travel. In this I marveled at the first J.M LeBoy Bedouin, and the Bedouin Observer clasped to my wrist today.
The Bedouin Observer GMT is limited to 5 made-to-order watches, with a hidden Observer Roundel on the caseback, and a hand-enameled “Evil Eye” on the crown. Each Bedouin will come with an Observer Alpha case, a new design specifically for carrying and packing watches, pens, and other small tools on our bags or your belt.
Enjoy your time, and your fancy clock,
-Robert
Our Trunk Shows
Monday, November 18th, 2024
Trunk shows are an uniquely Observer format given their traveling nature. While the concept of a trunk show is little changed from the golden age of tailoring, it’s worth illuminating the process for the un-initiated & aficionados alike.
Trunk shows allow us to meet clients in a few cities around the world on a quarterly schedule. This allows us both to measure & consult with clients, as well as conduct fittings, & deliver finished garments.
What is unique to Observer Trunk shows are we will be bringing examples of most of the collection with us so customers may learn firsthand about our designs, material & process. It’s also an opportunity to get familiar with our sizing, weather that is for our tailoring or denim. If you are undecided on an order it’s also a chance to be measured for the future & consult fabric books in person.
We view this as a chance for private consultation, not a committed shopping session. Tailoring is above all a service.
We also offer multiple formats of Observer tailoring during our trunk shows; Bespoke, Made-to-Measure, & made-to-order. These terms are often mis-used & require some personal definition
Bespoke means a pattern is drafted to your measurements & figure, which we retained for future use. Every subsequent order will be an optimal fit with minimal fuss. Bespoke involves an initial taking of measurements, figuration & style consultation. A Baste fitting follows, where a draft of your suit is prepared & fitting notes are taken, the trial fitting garment will be returned, completely disassembled & re-sewn as a more finished forward lifting. This second fitting is often the final fitting, provided all goes well the suit will be finished. From this point your order can be shipped directly, picked up at our LA HQ or Trunk shows with a final in person review.
Subsequent bespoke orders can usually begin at the forward fitting phase, saving time, at no compromise to quality.
Made-to-Measure (MTM) involves modifying our house patterns to fit each customer individually. In this process an initial meeting is needed for measurements, figuration & style consultation. The next fitting is a forward fitting, which still allows for adjustments where needed. Following this your finished suit can be picked up, or delivered.
For Made-to-order (MTO) STRO suits, trial STRO suits sizing & measurements are used to determine your correct size & retained for future orders. A style consultation is conducted for your choice of fabric & details. Next your suit is prepared & can be either deliver, or picked up as preferred, minor alterations to length are always possible, as well as some alterations to shape at a charge.
All of our STRO suiting is made to the same standard, with a hand padded lapel, half canvased chest, handworked shoulder & buttonholes. Bespoke & MTO will afford you more styling options (such as waistband configuration, & pleats) however.
for tailoring questions, you can always reach out to myself
The Overseas Athletics Club started in Kyiv with a couple of journalists that wanted to be tired from training rather than tired of complaining.
Equipment runs every Friday, 3k+, coffee afterward. Earn your beer.
Your first run is awful. And for every journalist invited it was their first. It hasn’t been anyone’s last.
Every run is at a conversational pace. Conversation improves your lung capacity when running. A conversational pace also gives you the opportunity to talk between gasping breaths . Talk about new threats, ask questions about drone-threat car procedures, talk about mistakes, and share advice.
Humans are a cooperative species. That is what has propelled us through 2.5 million years of evolution. Community is in our nature, but community is not ours by default, and that false assumption is wreaking havoc on our century. In crisis, or at the apex of success, community is essential.
The people around you are the number one indicator of your success.
Overseas Athletics is community, by design.
I designed the ideal athletic shirt, undershirt and all around t-shirt for the club and made
monogrammed shirts for every member. Now I’m offering 90 of them to Observers. You can order your very own, with your very own initials monogramed on the back. Overseas Athletics shirts are made in Ukraine with 180g Ukrainian cotton. They’re great athletic shirts, they are perfect undershirts, I always pack two.
But you don’t need a shirt to throw on some gear (Or a backpack, camera, or boots) and shake off the rust with some friends, they may just be the community you fall back on, or build with.
Looking forward,
Robert
with photos by Conall Kearney
Observer was born to equip you to see the world. Now I think it is time to share some of 
I’ve known LeBoy for a decade. Our Marine years overlapped. The years since we have caught up where we could, between armies or stories, trying to give our own dreams shape on bar napkins. Camped out on the corner of Uzi and Hitman street on the outskirts of Gaza, Leboy showed me the first Bedouin prototype two years ago.
Trunk shows are an uniquely Observer format given their traveling nature. While the concept of a trunk show is little changed from the golden age of tailoring, it’s worth illuminating the process for the un-initiated & aficionados alike.
Trunk shows allow us to meet clients in a few cities around the world on a quarterly schedule. This allows us both to measure & consult with clients, as well as conduct fittings, & deliver finished garments.
What is unique to Observer Trunk shows are we will be bringing examples of most of the collection with us so customers may learn firsthand about our designs, material & process. It’s also an opportunity to get familiar with our sizing, weather that is for