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Running has gone stale. Since the sport moved from the seclusion of university and professional venues to the mainstream in the 1970s, jogging apparel has become a wardrobe staple for anyone with a regular fitness regimen. Garments have routinely been improved since those early days, leading to advancements in both performance and comfort — but has running’s continual increase in popularity lead to an eventual plateau in the clothing we don when pounding the pavement?
Brice Partouche doesn’t think so. Partouche was born in Grenoble, France, and grew up in the French Alps during the heyday of skateboarding, snowboarding and punk rock. At age 17 he created his first brand, a skateboard clothing line called Biscuit (named after the punk band Gorilla Biscuits) and sold and traded clothing to friends. “I never intended on it becoming anything serious,” says Partouche. But years later, in 2001, he launched April77, a denim brand founded with the same ethos and focus on the youth culture he grew up in. Eventually, April77 expanded and became a music label as well.
Partouche’s entrepreneurial drive was fostered by his background in counter culture, and the no-holds-barred creative spirit that’s endemic to it. In his mind, running, despite its mainstream impression, is ripe for a shakeup. That’s why in mid-2015 Partouche moved forward with his next project: a running-focused apparel brand called Satisfy.
Q: What led you to start Satisfy?
A: I started running five years ago, mostly because I felt the need to step out of my comfort zone. It totally surprised me and I became quickly addicted, running 200km per month. I was never attracted to the culture of running, or running clubs, and even less to the clothes. It simply wasn’t cool in my humble opinion. But I liked the experience. The sense of meditation and quiet ceremony of running alone felt very similar to skateboarding to me, just none of the brands were talking about it this way. If you went into a running store, it was all performance, winning and bravado. I felt there was a need to celebrate the daily ritual of running and that’s how Satisfy was born.
Q: There’s a lot of running clothing out there, and many large companies providing it. How difficult is it to challenge the standards they set?
A: I don’t think it’s difficult for us to challenge these standards because we aren’t imprisoned by the same artificial straight jacket as the large players in the industry. These companies run on mass production scales, which require long lead times, inflexibility and risk aversion. We are catering to a niche, not the masses, which means we can be incredibly flexible and can actually act on the changing demands of the industry and our consumers.
