I’ve been riding bikes since I was three, taught by my dad. Through school, through lockdowns, through life. Movement became more than a habit. It became part of me. An escape.

But off-the-bike, in the office, we feel an absence. The stillness between rides and workouts leaves a void.

How do we live in those hours?

My dad rode his bike almost every day, until the 14th of August, 2024, when he took his own life.

It took time before I could ride again. But in that pause, I learned that the answer wasn’t to stop moving, but to embrace it even more. Six months on, I cycled around New Zealand’s South Island. Nine-hour days. Endless roads. And strangers who felt like family, united by motion, purpose, and the quiet philosophy of an athlete.

That’s when Sadl. was born.

This brand exists for the space between movement, for the recovery, identity, and reflection that makes us whole. It’s for athletes who understand that the work is only half the story.

Each year starting August 14th, 2026, I aim to host an annual mental health group ride to honour the man who taught me how to pedal forward.
Sadl. is how we carry on.

Jackson Cowden