Hi ya! Happy Thursday to you all.
So, I decided to forego a lunch break for a run in my new kigos – we’re fit testing the Fall/Winter lines (and holy moly…but that’s for another post soon to come.) Seems fitting that I sat down to the computer to scan through articles, and found this particularly well written and interesting post from Barefoot Running University’s Jason Robillard.
This is worth the few minutes of reading. It’s an insider’s perspective on an incidence of growth in an industry that hasn’t been seen since the dawn of the Nike waffle sole. This is about business, viral uptake, health and fitness, and history in the making. All that to say, the article is interesting whether you embrace minimalist footwear and/or barefoot/minimalist running (“BFR/MR” in the article).
Here’s our response, just to pique your interest in case our encouragement above didn’t do the trick.
Jason,
This post rocks. You had me laughing out loud with the snarky middle section (you know what I’m talking about).
If anyone is going to push BFR/MR through to the other side, it’s going to be guys like you, Patton Gleason, Mark Cucuzzella, Thomas Hollowell and the other tribe linchpins.
Rest assured that the minimalist companies that REALLY care are listening to you and the community, and are focused solely on creating the right tools for the job.
Recent numbers say that the Natural Running footwear market is poised for 265% growth in 2011. What the what?! That’s unprecedented – a serious chasm jump. There’s something driving this growth, and certainly it is the presence of the larger, more historically relevant brand names jumping in, but it’s also EDUCATION.
The rise of things like Chi and POSE classes, Natural Running and Walking Centers, run specialty stores that have just one or two knowledgeable minimalist enthusiasts…and voices like yours hollering through social media, blogs and books – THAT’s what’s going to make this growth last.
We’re working to do our part by designing, listening, participating, talking and writing, and when we stand back and witness what’s happening we have such hope…for the health and fitness of a population that needs it more than ever, and for improved performance and JOY in running and walking.
Way to go with the post, Jerry Maguire. It’s a manifesto to be proud of.
kigo is with you!
