In short: After a three-year battle for survival—leaving Russia, facing political persecution, and overcoming a management crisis—Maskulo is back. We have reclaimed 469 units of "Forbidden" archive styles thought to be lost forever.
SHOP THE FORBIDDEN STOCK BATCH 01
Want the full story? Read our manifesto below.
The Truth Behind the Silence (2022–2025)
Many of you noticed something was wrong. Empty shelves. No new drops. Total silence. Between 2022 and 2025, Maskulo wasn't just facing "stock issues"—we were in a fight for our lives.
When we chose to leave Russia in protest of the war, the blowback was immediate and brutal. Our founder, Bulat Barantaev, was officially designated a "terrorist and extremist" by Russian authorities for standing against corruption (and earlier openly against Putin) and funding the anti-corruption movement of Alexey Navalny. We lost our team, our warehouses were in chaos, and the weight of depression nearly ended the brand.
"We hit the bottom. But the bottom is the strongest foundation for a launch."
The "Forbidden" Recovery
We’ve spent the last six months working with global partners to recover a limited supply of our most legendary discontinued styles. This isn't a reprint; these are the original, high-performance pieces—the "Forbidden Stock"—reclaimed from our international archives.
- Batch 01: 469 units of legacy favorites (LIVE NOW).
- The Vault: Every 14 days, a new recovery batch is unlocked.
- The Scarcity: Once these are gone, they are gone forever. No reprints.
Left: Bulat Barantaev posing over the just hung out 12-meter highway banner against homophobia ("Men who hate gays show physical arousal to other men") in Russia. Courtesy: Stanislav Shevchenko, Flickr: Rlyatas. Right: The press covers the political persecution of Barantaev that nearly cost us our brand.
The Rebirth: Maskulo 2026
The journey from Novosibirsk to the official "terrorist" list of a global superpower is not a typical business path. At Maskulo, our gear has always represented the unapologetic freedom to be yourself. In 2022, staying in Russia meant complicity. Leaving meant losing everything.
We have spent the last year rebuilding from the ground up. Today, our operations are powered by our new European Fulfillment Hub (Wilton Europe UG) and our Florida Fulfilment (Nolle Trading LLC). We have replaced the "crisis anxiety" with a streamlined, domestic delivery system for our global community.
Why Wear the "Forbidden" Gear?
By wearing these recovered pieces, you aren't just wearing a brand; you are wearing a symbol of a community that refuses to be silenced. These are the same iconic designs that graced the world's most defiant dancefloors, reclaimed from the chaos of our relocation.
This is the last chance to own the "Old Guard" of Maskulo before we transition permanently into our all-new 2026 Collection this Year.
How to Claim Your History:
- Visit the Forbidden Stock Collection.
- Add your legacy gear to the cart.
- Complete checkout before Batch 01 sells out.
