Thoughts While Running #36

don't be a dick.

i’d considered using screenshots of the actual instagram stories but i’d prefer not to have that energy living on my substack grid. instead enjoy this graphic i made in 30 seconds that now i think should maybe be a t-shirt?

I woke up this morning to a bit of niche drama circling the small corner of the internet in which I live. Satisfy founder Brice Partouche posted screenshots¹ of his DMs to Currently Running founder Nash Howe to his Instagram stories. In these posts, he proceeds to go off, unprovoked about the brand Nash has created, accusing him of blatantly copying what he’s spent years building. If you’re not new to my substack, you know my thoughts on Satisfy.

I’ve been in the industry for over twenty² years, sixteen³ of them spent focusing on the active industry. I remember when Satisfy launched - I was working on the concept and trend team at Old Navy. I used a lot of Satisfy imagery for many mood boards because it was one of the first running brands to feel cool, and the imagery was less product lookbook and more fashion/lifestyle driven, indicative of Brice’s background in the industry as well.

Moth Tech at that time didn’t feel cliché, it felt fresh. When Satisfy disrupted the market, we were in our peak Nike, Underarmour, yoga/train/run era⁴. Active lifestyle was wearing your yoga pants on the weekends⁵. Running in a beat up cotton tee was suddenly novel, but not unique⁶. Tracksmith, another new + disruptive brand at the time, was also championing natural fibers like cotton + wool in a way that was inherent to their brand through the lens of running heritage. Tracksmith was also using beautiful lookbook imagery to tell their brand’s story, a story rooted in the heritage of New England running.

I want to highlight Tracksmith alongside Satisfy to emphasize what Satisfy was doing at the time might have been new but not completely unique, there was just a lot less competition. Tracksmith and Satisfy walked so Bandit, SOAR, Currently and a whole host of others could run.

In fashion, trends trickle up (from the streets, instagram influencers, cultural moments) or they trickle down (from the runways, luxury brands), but what makes a trend a trend is the momentum behind the moment. It’s not a coincidence you suddenly see earthy neutrals across a variety of sportswear brands. One might have brought it to market sooner, but the momentum behind the moment was already building. It’s unfair to accuse one brand of knocking off another when there are many, many others in the wings doing the same exact thing.

How fragile the male ego is.

I worked at lululemon from 2009-2015, a wild time of growth for the brand⁷. When I joined the common response was ‘lulu-who?’ as I believe there were only four stores in the US and a handful of showrooms. When I left they were global. I distinctly remember when Gap bought Athleta because suddenly there was a brand in the US doing the same exact thing that we were creating at lululemon. The difference was we were creating it from scratch and they were copying it.

To this day I still struggle to bring certain brands in store because I know exactly what blocks were used for the basis of their designs; I know the lulu pieces that ‘inspired’ their core line up. As annoying as it is, imitation is the finest form of flattery. We ignored it at lululemon simply because we knew we’d always be one step ahead⁸. We were creating something truly original⁹. Most brands have shopping budgets + will send their design team to different cities, countries etc¹⁰ to shop the trends that they see. The team then brings back these items and proceeds to use them as the basis for upcoming designs. At lululemon we didn’t have a shopping budget because we simply didn’t buy samples¹¹.

All this to say, I understand the annoyance when someone perceives another brand as ‘knocking them off’, no matter how debatable the inspiration + interpretation might be. What I have no tolerance for, is being an absolute dick about it; being completely unhinged and unprovoked in someone’s DMs, then laughing when you’ve been blocked. If you’re pissed about the overlap, dig in deeper to your brand. Patent your fabrics if you feel they are so unique no one else should have access because if they did it would be brand damaging for you.¹²

I hate that I’m in a position where I’m always pulling the patriarchy card but it’s impossible to watch this all unfold without wondering what would happen if it were a female founder making these unhinged accusations. Most likely she would be deemed crazy, forced to step down from her company and cancelled. Instead of sharing screenshots to prove one founder right + the other wrong, screenshots would be shared to prove how crazy + unhinged she is. She would be absolutely eviscerated.

When I first started writing my thoughts down in my notes app¹³ I wasn’t sure if it would actually make its way to a real substack post. As previously mentioned, it’s a very niche corner of the internet in a very niche industry.

What’s struck a chord for me is the way in which the DMs were shared. It wasn’t Nash sharing them via stories to gain sympathy or promote ire against another brand. They were shared by Brice himself, heralded in a way it seemed he was, dare I say, proud of himself. Using his unprovoked harassment of someone else to somehow prove a point, even doubling down with delight that he’d been blocked.

I’ve dealt with a lot of shitty behavior in my many years on this planet, and if Chrissy Tiegen has shown us nothing else, it’s that bullying isn’t acceptable¹⁴ and we cannot continue to reward bad behavior. The conversation shouldn’t be around what brand is in the right, or whether Currently is ‘knocking off’ Satisfy¹⁵ but rather why Brice Partouche feels so incredibly privileged and untouchable he thinks this behavior is something that is not only ok, but one to be touted publicly. I’m not saying Satisfy or Brice need to be cancelled, but perhaps it’s time to inquire as to what level his voice still needs to be heard.

1. Raz from Running Sucks broke the news first. don’t accuse me of not crediting my sources! also raz - should this graphic be our next tee collab?

2. jeezus

3. my knees just cracked as i typed this

4. i remember the drama because old navy had just set up their entire active section based on end use and lululemon flipped the industry on its head by suddenly marketing pants based on sensation i/o sport. this is also the difference between following trend + creating trend.

5. the origin story for ‘coffee run’ marketing

6. we’ve been running in cotton far longer than we’ve been running in synthetics

7. unfortunately i joined after they went public and the stock split.

8. we also patented a shit load of our designs - i have several for accessories i designed at the time.

9. at the time. vuori didn’t exist yet - anyone like to wager a guess as the inspo for the brand?

10. one of the perks that kept me at old navy for so many years.

11. given that they have hired more industry veterans i’m assuming this has probably changed.

12. i would argue perforated nylon is not that.

13. always, because it’s less scary that way

14. in case you missed it.

15. he isn’t.