Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Taylor.
Matt, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been running my entire life – I found early success in the sport and gravitated towards it as a result. But it wasn’t until college that I truly found my passion for racing.
I ran varsity cross country and track at Yale and while I was there I found that I loved its delayed gratification and intensity — all important traits for a future entrepreneur. After graduating, I started my career in the sports industry at IMG with a focus on marketing in the running industry. I ultimately ended up at PUMA where I served as the Global Head of Marketing for the Running, Training and Fitness categories. Over the course of my career, I grew increasingly frustrated with the way the industry was marginalizing achievement in favor of watered-down fitness messaging. That’s what inspired me to start Tracksmith. I wanted to celebrate the sport I love and its sub-culture.
Has it been a smooth road?
Creating a physical product rather than a service is a challenge no matter what, but when you’re a small company like us, it can be even more difficult. We have to pay surcharges for raw materials and for not hitting minimum order quantities at our factories. Despite this, we do have one key advantage: we’re not reliant on the wholesale model. Bigger brands need to lean heavily on squeezing extra money out of their products by cutting corners – I.E. using cheaper fabrics or eliminating features that cut into their profit margins. Their supply chains operate around high volume, acceptable quality, and low cost products. The end result of this is that the majority of products on the market are built to the same standards and look homogenous. Since we’re a direct to consumer brand we don’t have to operate like that – we can focus on designing the best products with the best materials for our customer’s unique running needs.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
What sets us apart from other running and lifestyle sportswear brands is our inspiration – we draw from the rich culture of racing as well as classic Americana and collegiate activewear. Those pieces are elegant and meaningful in their simplicity and function.
Another important element of the Tracksmith identity is our New England heritage and the competitive running culture of the region – the iconic races, amateur ideals, and the rich history of athletics in the area. We combine these influences to create a classic and refined approach to sportswear, and that’s what helped us establish ourselves and grow as a brand. We’re unique in our ability to celebrate the culture and history of running and not churn out a watered-down product.
Our Bislett pants are a great example of what we’re all about. In the 1980’s there was a company in Wellesley called Bislett Sports International. They made 300 sets of the original Bislett pants before they closed their doors. The pants were an instant classic, so we gave them a new lease on life and redesigned them for the modern runner, taking their durability and fit and adding performance details like our moisture wicking four-way stretch fabric, perfectly positioned pockets and extended calf zips. They’re hands down the best running pants on the market.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The running culture in Boston is unparalleled. Where else do you combine some of the best running routes in the country, with an incredible racing circuit plus club, college and pro teams? The city has an incredible history with the sport and works to honor and protect that legacy. There’s nowhere else like it. The only thing we’re missing is that one gathering place to bring all the disparate running groups together – that used to be the Eliot Lounge. And that’s certainly one reason why I wanted to open our Trackhouse on Newbury Street, to give the city’s running class a hub at which to come together and celebrate the sport we love.
Contact Info:
- Address: 285 Newbury Street, Boston
- Website: www.tracksmith.com
- Phone: (781) 235-0027
- Email: trackhouse@tracksmith.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracksmithrunning/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracksmithrunning/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tracksmith
Image Credit:
Tracksmith
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