Welcoming Grizz the Bear

On Sunday 13th September, we officially launched the Roarsome x Ryan Libbey: Grizz the Bear Collection with a street party full of families, giant bears, pancakes, face painting, music and plenty of happy chaos.

In Ryan's words: "Grizz is the first physical expression of a series of books I’m writing about parenthood, inspired by my son, Leo. A character built around kindness, courage, curiosity and adventure."

“At a time when boys are increasingly exposed to louder and more performative ideas of what it means to be strong, Grizz offers something different. He reminds us that strength can be patient. It can listen. It can protect without controlling and lead without needing to dominate. Sometimes the strongest person in the room is the one making others feel safe enough to be themselves.”

An extract from Ryan's Letters to Leo:

I had been nervous about the event.

Sunday mornings are precious, especially when you have children. Saturdays have a habit of filling themselves with football, swimming lessons, birthday parties and endless journeys across London. By the time Sunday comes around, most parents, us included, are trying to protect whatever peace remains before Monday arrives and the whole machine starts moving again.

We were asking families to give us some of that precious time.

The weather forecast was not exactly on our side either. There was an 80% chance of rain, and we didn’t really have a wet‑weather contingency plan.

But then, somehow, the clouds moved. At almost exactly ten o’clock, the sun came out and beamed down on our little patch of Northcote Road.

And then the people came too. Families began arriving from every direction. Pushchairs gathered along the pavement. Children climbed aboard the van and threw themselves into the secret soft play, hidden behind a wardrobe inside the shop.

The smell of coffee from Wylie’s drifted through the crowd while bear‑shaped pancakes cooked on the Solo Stove griddle. Shout out to the pancake chefs Martha & Bella, and big love to Black Bee for the delicious honey!

The YETI coolers were filled with snacks for the children, BEAR snacks, I might add. The camp chairs became landing spots for tired parents, who could sit back for a moment and listen to music playing from the van.

Two enormous bears sat beneath the DJ booth, watching over everything and creating the perfect cuddle‑and‑photo opportunity. Children hugged them. Parents took pictures.

For those two hours, nobody needed to be anywhere else. Perhaps that is the best measure of a successful family event: people arrived, settled in and stayed.

There was a moment when I stepped back from the crowd and tried to take it all in.

I watched as other children were excited to wear a character inspired by you. They were pulling on the hats, trying on the jackets and disappearing inside the bear suits.

When you think that it all started quietly at our kitchen table and now it has become something tangible and real, something other children can literally climb inside.

That feeling is difficult to explain, but I suppose the word proud comes closest.

Every idea begins as something fragile.

A thought. A rough drawing. A few uncertain words on a blank page. I’ve got MANY.

At the beginning, you are the only person who can see what it might become. Then, if you are lucky, other people begin to see it too.

Will and Ed saw something in my stories and illustrations. They trusted the story and understood what the character represented. More importantly, they understood the kind of world we wanted him to encourage children to explore. For that, I owe a special thanks.

Roarsome has always been about helping children get outside. Whatever that play looks like, try to spend a little less time looking at screens and a little more time looking at the world.

That alignment felt clear from the beginning. That’s exactly the sort of childhood I am consciously designing for you. One filled with adventures, as regularly as we can make them happen.

Orders are already coming in from America, Canada, Italy and the Middle East. In Banff, there are plans to create an entire Grizz ski run, complete with an adventure and treasure hunt for children along the way.

Imagine that, Leo. A bear inspired by you may soon have his name written on the side of a mountain in Canada.

The collection may have launched in London, but Grizz is going GLOBAL.

And it all began with you.

The little boy behind the bear.

The original Grizz.

This capsule collection includes a signature Roarsome Snow Suit, Puffer Jacket, Trapper Hat, Fleece Mittens, Beanie and Ski Socks.

Explore the full Grizz the Bear Collection here.

Follow Ryan Libbey's adventures here.