# 153. Aero mutinies and secret shorts with Castelli's Steve Smith

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cyclist-magazine-podcast-471315/153-aero-mutinies-and-secret-shorts-with-castelli-s-steve-smith
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cyclist-magazine-podcast-471315/153-aero-mutinies-and-secret-shorts-with-castelli-s-steve-smith.md
Podcast: [Cyclist Magazine Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/cyclist-magazine-podcast-471315)
Published: 2026-03-19T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/cyclist-magazine-podcast/episodes/153-the-truth-behind-the-kit-we-were-with-castellis-steve-sm
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/618e52740da782001471efbe/e/69ba881cefe096304cbe961e/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/cyclist-magazine-podcast-471315/episodes/153-aero-mutinies-and-secret-shorts-with-castelli-s-steve-smith
Duration seconds: 4558

## Resource

This week Will and James are joined by Castelli and Sportful’s global brand manager, Steve Smith. Steve grew up in Portland, USA, where he – like most of the city he says – worked for Nike for 10 years. But in 2000 he decided to make a bold move to Italy, to live the bella vita with a job at Sportful. Four years later parent company Manifattura Valcismon bought Castelli, and in the years since Steve and his team have been responsible for some of the biggest game-changers in cycling, from creating some of the earliest, wind-tunnel designed aero kit to the now infamous Castelli Gabba, which revolutionised foul weather cycling gear and spawned a whole new genre of clothing along the way. In this chat, Steve explains how those early aero jerseys sparked a mutiny within Castelli’s sponsored pros; the day Castelli blew everyone’s minds – including the race commissaires – with turquoise shorts; what the fastest kit would really look like if riders could only put it on properly; what changes in the law around PFC chemicals have really meant for cycling clothing; and how waterproof kit actually works – and why some jackets lose it, while others will be waterproof forever. Our chat with Steve begins at 10.34 ------------------ This episode is brought to you by the Hammerhead Karoo GPS bike computer. Visit hammerhead.io and use the code CYCLIST to get a free HR strap with every purchase (just be sure to add the strap to your cart then apply the code at checkout) ------------------ Did you know  Cyclist  is also stunning monthly print magazine? Subscribe now at  store.cyclist.co.uk/cycpod and get every issue for less than in the shops, delivered straight to your door And it's also a rather lovely website about everything road cycling and gravel. Check us out at cycl…

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