Does The Sportswear Industry Ignore Serious Athletes? These Entrepreneurs Think So.
Thirty-eight-year-old Matt Taylor has been running his entire life. What he loves most about the sport is the competition. When he trains for races, he’s trying to win a medal or at the very least, beat his previous personal record. Over the years, though, he’s struggled to find an activewear brand that speaks to competitive runners like himself. In a post-athleisure world, companies like Nike and Adidas are increasingly designing clothes for casual fitness activities, like going to the gym or a studio class, rather than hardcore athletes. “Our culture now has this philosophy where everyone is a winner,” Taylor says. “But when you’re running a race, that’s just not true. There’s only one winner.” Taylor has a keen understanding of how big sportswear brands reach consumers: He spent several years in the belly of the beast as a head of marketing for running apparel at Puma. But three years ago, he decided to strike out on his own to launch a clothing label called Tracksmith, designed with serious runners in mind. His brand uses cutting-edge technical fabrics engineered specifically for serious male and female runners, and it honors the history of the sport by re-creating vintage running singlets. It also publishes Meter Magazine, a quarterly journal that delves into the lives of famous runners. Read more at Fast Company.
