Why Forever Leeds?
Like so many Leeds fans, I have my dad to thank for my love of the club. He followed the great Don Revie side of the late 60s and 70s, so there was never really any chance I was going to support anyone else.
The unusual part? I grew up about 30 miles from London. At school I was one of only two Leeds fans, and my mates quickly nicknamed me ‘Dirty Leeds Gary’. I absolutely loved it.
From a smiley badge on a white tee
Back then, finding Leeds shirts in the south wasn’t easy. I even remember drawing the smiley badge onto a plain white T-shirt because it was the closest thing I could get. Then one day my uncle got hold of the iconic yellow away shirt. I wore it so often that my mum practically had to wrestle it off me whenever it needed washing.
Over the next four decades I lived everything that makes supporting Leeds what it is. The highs, the heartbreak, the false dawns, the years outside the Premier League and, through it all, the unwavering belief that one day we’d be back where we belonged.
How it began
That's how Forever Leeds began
Fast forward to 2014 and there was a real buzz around Leeds when Massimo Cellino bought the club. None of us knew quite what was coming, but it felt like the right time to create something that wasn’t available anywhere else. Rather than official-style merchandise, I wanted to design clothing that Leeds fans would genuinely enjoy wearing every day.
Some of the first designs celebrated players like Lewis Cook, Mirco Antenucci and Pontus Jansson, and head coach Neil Redfearn. It was brilliant to see the lads share photos wearing the shirts.
Shirts with a story behind them
Every design starts with a player, a moment or an in-joke only Leeds fans would get. Here are a few of the ones that started it all.
Berardi Fight Club
The design that really captured people’s imagination was Berardi Fight Club, inspired by the one and only Gaetano Berardi. More than ten years on, it’s still our all-time best-seller.
One of my proudest moments came when Bera bought a whole collection of Fight Club clothing for himself and his family after leaving the club. I offered it to him, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He insisted on paying for everything.
Shop Berardi Fight ClubThat tells you everything you need to know about the man. A proper gentleman.
Gary, founder of Forever Leeds
The players and legends behind the designs
Over the years I've been lucky enough to meet some of the Leeds greats, and a few world champions who love the club as much as we do.
What we stand for
The goal hasn't changed
More than ten years later, the goal remains exactly the same. I want Forever Leeds to create original, high-quality Leeds-inspired clothing with personality, humour and a story behind every design. I don’t want to copy what’s already out there. I want to make something different that fellow Leeds fans can wear with pride, whether they’re at Elland Road, down the pub or on the other side of the world.
Leeds United has one of the most passionate fan bases anywhere in football, and wherever you are, you’re part of the same family. Forever Leeds is independent and fan-run. We are not affiliated with Leeds United FC and we never claim to be.
Thank you to everyone who has supported Forever Leeds over the years. Your support means more than you’ll ever know.
— Gary, Founder