14 DAY TRIAL // A United Arab Emirates-based company dubbed Al Shibla is now in the business of making luxury sportswear for camels. Yes, camels, as in the humped animals people in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia rely on for milk, meat and transportation.
More precisely, this company makes and markets sportswear for one-humped camels, otherwise known as dromedaries, that take part in racing competitions and must, therefore, be in exquisite physical shape at all times.
Al Shibla, whose luxury sportswear designed especially for racing camels chiefly sells in the Middle East, claims that its costumes, photos of which are included in the gallery below, help the animals run faster than they would if allowed to expose their bare derrière to the crowd.
How the sportswear helps camels run faster
The folks behind the United Arab Emirates-based luxury sportswear company explain that the odd-looking and seriously oversized leotards are designed in such a way that they compress the camels' body ever so slightly. In doing so, they cause blood vessels to constrict.
It is understood that, if worn before and after undergoing training for one race or another, the costumes help increase the amount of blood and oxygen reaching the animals' muscles. As a result, the animals are less likely to experience cramping during or after a more intense training session.
“We can compare it with the compression socks we get in the hospital. It activates the blood circulation in the muscle,” the luxury sportswear company says. “The animals are much fitter, so you can just see everything has a good blood circulation,” it adds.
What's more, it appears that, by neatly hugging the camels' body, these suits can prevent weight loss during times of stress. Specifically, they help camel owners make sure that, when transporting such an animal from one place to another, its curvaceous figure is not lost on the way.
“If you ship a camel from the UAE to Saudi or Qatar, it can lose 15 to 30 kilograms [33 to 66 pounds] because of stress. Our research and testing has shown that we can get that down to about 7.5 to 10 kilograms [16 to 22 pounds] by wearing our outfits,” the company says.
People actually want to buy such costumes
According to Oddity Central, it was this past December that Al Shibla introduced the world to its downright bizarre luxury sportswear for camels. Still, it looks like plenty of folks who race camels for money have so far contacted the company hoping to buy one or more.
In case anyone was wondering, the suits sell for an impressive $1,000 (roughly €845) apiece. Seeing how each and every camel is unique in its own, special way, they are not readily made. On the contrary, each animal gets its custom suit designed to fit it perfectly.
Word has it that, in the months to come, Al Shibla hopes to develop one other type of bodysuit that camels can wear while actually racing. Like the costumes the company now makes and markets, the racing outfit that is currently in the works will too help improve the animals' performance.
