Months after first announcing that the Heavyweight Championships would indeed have a Round 2, here is the official overview. Since then, however, developments have moved pretty fast and we have included many details that we didn’t have in the original round. Firstly, the items that everyone is aware of:

• Multi brand/ retailer sponsorship for a much wider range of prizes including money and goods.
• Two categories of competition – Heavyweight (17oz to 20oz) and Super Heavyweight (21oz and upwards) – plus an ultimate, undisputed, overall Champion.
• Only one pair of jeans per entrant, meaning competitors can only go into one side of the competition.
• Greater interaction for competitors, ensuring some fun times and crazy stories for all involved.
• Multi forum involvement, from SuFu to Iron Heart, to Darahkubiru, to Indigo Roots to Heddels, to MyNudies.

And now, to put some meat on the bones of the above, here are the other details:

1. Sponsors/ Prizes

• Rivet and Hide will give the overall Champion their choice of any denim or shirt which they stock.
• The Denim Vault will give $250.00 to each category winner, plus a further $250.00 to the overall champion, making a prize fund of $500 for the Champion.
• Naked and Famous will award a special edition, 32oz, denim bag to the most active poster.
• rue + state will offer an as yet undecided prize.
• ByBeatle will be offering a “special” prize for a “special” competitor… and you won’t know who you are, or what you’ve won until it is all over.
• The Championship Belts – that’s right belts with an “s”. Once again our friends at Obbigood will be supplying us with our freshly designed belt(s), and this time there will be one for each category, and one Yokozuna belt for the undisputed Champion.

To summarize, the overall winner will receive:

• Their choice of Denim or Shirt From Rivet and Hide
• $500 from The Denim Vault
• The Championship Belt from their category.
• The “Yokozuna” Belt as overall Champion.

Not a bad prize at all.

2. Judges

I know that impartiality has been a concern to some people, the judges whom we have selected this time are extremely varied from their backgrounds and experience, but all very qualified. Judges will only decide category winners.

Ruedi aka Swissjeansfreak (Switzerland)

Ruedi is the owner and operator of the jeans museum, and has known more about quality denim than most of us ever will. Having personally met with him on a couple of occasions, I can honestly say that his passion and knowledge make him a prime judge. Ruedi will also be competing, but will obviously not be allowed to vote for himself.

Cheapmuthaf**ka (USA)

A SuFu dinosaur, Cheap has seen, done and worn it all in the modern repro denim game. His knowledge and views are universally respected, which no doubt pisses him off to no end.

Anders aka Steel Feather (Norway)

Much like Ruedi, Anders is a very passionate guy concerning his denim, and that passion has led him on to produce his very own denim brand in Steel Feather. Ander’s passion is in the details, and his honesty makes him an ideal judge.

Roger Hatt – VMC  (Switzerland)

Roger is the owner and operator of the VMC store in Zurich, a long time contributor to the denim scene, and a very genuine fan of quality apparel. Roger is a regular visitor to Japan to see his suppliers from Iron Heart, The Flat Head and many others.

Direz – Darahkubiru and Bluesville (Indonesia)

Direz is the founder of the Darahkubiru online denim community, the biggest online forum for Indonesia and Malaysia; he also runs the innovative high spec brand Bluesville.

Danny – Rivet and Hide (UK)

Danny is the owner and operator of London’s Rivet and Hide. Danny is a long time fan of quality apparel, and a keen study of the detail and process involved.

3. Social Events

Something we really wanted to offer this time around is the opportunity for people to meet up, and do some crazy shit in their heavy denim. Beatle and I are currently working on three main social events over the duration of the competition, over three continents, to give us a defined beginning, middle and end.

The Gosport Chain stitch Massacre

We kick off at the HQ of Iron Heart UK, at some time in March 2013, for a chance to meet up with fellow contestants and see the “Mega Beatle Buster” jeans being hemmed by me, Beatle, Giles and anyone else qualified to operate “Unity”, Giles’ treasured Union Special machine. We will provide free beer, within reason.

The San Francisco Gear Challenge (In Association With Goruck)

For approximately the one year mark of the contest, Beatle is currently organizing a special challenge for hard-core denim competitors in association with super tough bag and backpack makers Goruck. The challenge will be based in San Francisco, and will be specifically tailored to our needs as denim nerds. Beers will be a must. Also, for the weekend of the challenge, Self Edge SF will be offering an express turn around on HWDC repairs, at a reduced rate.

Winners Party in Jakarta and Singapore

To round off the competition, we will be organizing a two stage winners competition, firstly in Jakarta at The Denim Vault and secondly a winners ceremony/ belt presentation in Singapore with our friends at Obbigood. Beers, food and winners!

As a caveat, I must say that Beatle and I are just regular working people, and we have the financial responsibility of bills and families, so some of the above may change due to our personal financial circumstance.

4. Themed Challenges

This is the part that intrigues me most. Roughly every 12 weeks we will issue a set of three themed challenges. Each competitor must select one of the three challenges, and must post their completed challenge. To give you an idea of what they will be, here are the first three (commencing 01/04/13).

1. Denim at the Movies – with the summer blockbuster season just around the corner we have a movie themed challenge. Wearing your Heavy Denim you must either recreate your favorite movie poster and post the picture, or film a recreation of a clip from your favorite movie and post it up.
2. Denim Devils / Denim Angels – post a picture and details of yourself doing either a good deed in your denim (if you’re an angel), or a random act of spite (if you’re a devil). Remember, Karma is a bitch.
3. Dirty Denim – As simple as it gets, give your denim a dirt bath, show them no respect, treat them like dirt.

5. Products

In round 1 the tee’s and stickers provided by Double XX proved extremely popular, and I know that people have been asking if they will be back for round 2. Well, the answer is yes, in additional to some other unexpected items.

Double XX T-Shirt

Similar to last time, Jimmy Crow and Beatle will be designing and supplying a Competition Exclusive Tee and Stickers. Unlike last time, however, if you’re not participating in the competition, you are ineligible to receive; therefore a pre-order is necessary to confirm numbers. Price to be determined as well.

The Denim Vault Shirt

Vincent and the boys at Jakarta’s Denim Vault will be making a Premium Raglan 3/4 Length Sleeve Tee. The tee will be indigo dyed and will display all our sponsors logos, as well as a simple “Heavy Champ” on the front. This will be a preorder only item with price and delivery to be confirmed.

Ebbets Field Flannels Baseball Cap

Ebbets Field will be supplying a special edition HWDC baseball cap, simply bearing the “HC” logo on the front of a plain black cap. This item will also be available for pre-order only with price and delivery to be confirmed.

Iron Heart Mega Beatle Buster

As everyone is aware, we will have the Mega Beatle Buster jeans from Iron Heart, made from their legendary 25 oz. denim.

We still have some ongoing discussions with other brands and retailers about some more exclusive products, and this section may well expand.

6. HWDC2 Website

We are hoping that we can provide a space on the web for participants to upload all of their pictures and updates in the same place. We hope that this can be up and running by the start of the contest, but it is an expensive and time-consuming thing to get done.

Also, we realize that space may well be limited for pictures, and as we do not want to detract from all forums, the website will purely be for updating the condition of your denim. All challenge and social pictures must stay on the forums.

Beatle will be administrating on SuFu, I will be looking after the threads elsewhere.

7. Registration

Registering for the competition could not be easier – simply send me a private message with your name (forum name), your denim, the weight of your denim, your country, and which forum you post on.

I will compile a list and transfer it onto every forum, each contestant will be assigned a contestant number in the order which I read the PM’s (very scientific I know).

8. The Bad News and Fine Print

Unfortunately, there is a small sting in the tail. As was alluded to on SuFu a few weeks ago, all this does come at a price. We have had to cover costs of professional printing, product sampling and design up front. Also, similar to last time, Obbigood will be producing the belt at cost, but unlike last time there are now three belts to cover. I must stress that Obbigood does not take a profit from these belts and they are doing so purely to support the competition.

Personally, I think that the above comp is shaping up to be the biggest, most ambitious Denim Championship ever undertaken. I think what we have planned will bring everyone onto center stage, and most importantly be lots of fun all round, for the full duration of the two years.

Beatle and I both have said that any costs for the competition would be optional, and as much of the costs have already been covered from our point of view it would be wrong of us to set an “entrance fee”. What I would say is we do need to cover the costs of the belts at least, and anything additional we can put back into the events.

Therefore, I am asking for a donation of between $10 and $25 from our competitors; which is optional and as is the amount. Please feel free to give less, more if you’re feeling super flush, or nothing if you’re squeezed. Any way you choose will not effect your participation in the contest.

9. Final Thoughts

We are super excited for the upcoming two years. We think it could be epic beyond all understanding, although what makes any competition special is the people competing in it. We encourage that to get the most out of the HWDC2, one needs to put the most into it in terms of time, updates, and involvement. When you can post, do post.

Looking forward to a heavy couple of years, while I’m off to think about how to make round 3 even bigger!