Tracksmith CEO Matt Taylor: “We want Tracksmith to be around for 100 years. That requires delayed gratification, true human connection with consumers, and thinking beyond just Facebook ads.”

BOSTON — As attention grows and the heat surrounding the modern brand space continues to rise, we’re finding that some founders do stand out above the fray by relying on consistent execution, rather than PR-driven hype.

In an ongoing Lean Luxe interview series, Colin Nagy will be peeling back the layers on these very brands and founders that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. The idea here is to get to the core of what’s interesting for each brand––and the people behind them––discussing ethos, execution, vision, and a great deal more.

We begin first with Tracksmith, a longtime Lean Luxe favorite, and a brand that stands out as being one of the more developed, cohesive DNVBs on the market today. Matt Taylor, CEO, shares some of his vision.

Tracksmith feels like a serious brand for serious runners. Was this a conscious decision to eschew the casual?

Yes. The seeds for Tracksmith came from a frustration with the way established running brands ignored the core runner, watering down their messaging to appeal to a broader fitness/athleisure base. So in establishing the framework for Tracksmith, it was important to speak to that runner who’d been left behind.

These are “serious” athletes, in that they’re committed to a lifestyle of training and racing, and everything that goes with it. At the same time, these are not professional runners; they fit their training alongside full time jobs, families and other personal commitments. Running has an incredible history of amateurism and our aim is to treat running with the respect it deserves and offer runners products and experiences that support their commitment to getting faster.

How have you thought about developing the brand?

It’s interesting because we live in a world where instant gratification reigns supreme. Tweets, headlines, soundbites — we’ve lost our ability to go deeper and wider. But I’m a runner and running requires building a strong foundation or base. You don’t win the race on the first day. You have to accept delayed gratification. This mentality is what underscores my approach to developing a brand: Establish a strong and broad base on top of which success can eventually be realized.

From the beginning we’ve invested in building differentiated products that are rooted in running culture and supporting them with rich storytelling, photography and experiences. We made a lot of deliberate choices to ensure that the brand feels like it’s been around for a long time — from the logo, to the name, to our tone of voice. We’ve also tried to stay really disciplined and clear-eyed about what Tracksmith stands for and making choices we believe are best for the long-term, rather than chasing quick gains.

What role have your New England roots played in the vibe and aesthetic?

I’m actually from Pittsburgh and only came to New England for college. But the region appeals to me because of its rich running history. Boston, for example, not only has the oldest marathon but also an incredible legacy of collegiate teams and amateur clubs that have set the tone for our sport, not only in terms of performance but also with a classic aesthetic.

Having lived here for twenty years, I’ve come to find that New Englanders are incredibly hard working, straightforward and pragmatic. As a brand we embrace these qualities as part of our core values and in our approach to product.

How have you scoured the heritage of professional running in regard to your product design?

I’ve spent a lot of time digging through people’s closets for inspiration from our sport’s amateur past. Our signature sash was inspired in part by the racing singlet my father-in-law had from his years at North Attleboro High School. And I’ve collected far too many Champion, Hanes, and Russell t-shirts from Ebay in order to find the perfect cotton blend for our Grayboy.

Really, our biggest design inspiration are runners themselves. What are the problems they face trying to train over a hot summer for fall marathon season? How can we build a short or a singlet that enhances that experience? If there’s a way to incorporate some functionality or detail from the sport’s past, we will. But it’s really about trying to solve problems and elevate the offering.

Our Bislett Pants are a great example of this. The inspiration came from a pair of running pants from the ‘80’s, made by Bislett Sports International in Massachusetts. I had a pair of the originals and they were great for winter running, despite being 30 years old. So, we took that silhouette and updated the fabric to a very technical Dryskin from Switzerland and refined the fit and detailing in order to elevate the performance for a long run in the dead of winter.

You feel like a brand concerned with the long game, and not hyper scale at all costs. How do you think about growth?

I want Tracksmith to be around for 100 years. And unfortunately — or, actually, fortunately — you can’t buy authenticity or credibility. Instead, they’re earned over a long period of time with consistent, sustained efforts. So although we do spend some money on tactics that have an immediate return, we’re more committed to the little things that don’t, but that do pay dividends establishing a connection with our customers and instilling our brand values in a way that will continue to resonate. You can’t do that with a Facebook ad.

What stories do you feel like you have the right to tell? What does Champion for the Running Class mean for you and how does it manifest?

We’re focused on stories that reflect the lifestyle of amateur runners and/or celebrate and elevate the sport itself. For example, we recently shot Mick Iacofano in Boulder, Colorado for our Spring campaign. He’s a 2:13 marathoner who works a full-time job at a brewery. We met him at his house before sunrise and drove to Magnolia Road for a hard 13-mile run, followed by breakfast before he dashed off to work. Later that day we met Emma Kertesz (an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon) at the nursery school where she works. After seeing all the kids off for the day, she changed and headed to some dirt roads for an interval session.

Not every runner can hit the paces that Mick and Emma did for those runs, but they can connect with the idea of waking up at 6am to squeeze in a run before work or changing in the bathroom at the office to workout before heading home. These are universal experiences that transcend pace and PRs, and really speak to a committed lifestyle. Those are the stories we look for and seek to champion.

Running can be an individual pursuit, but there’s also a strong collective community. How do you make this work for the brand and why is it important?

In high school and college, running cross country or track can have a very strong team component where success as a team depends on a collection of individual performances. But as we graduate into the real world, we often lose that team connection and instead view running as an individual pursuit: the loneliness of the long distance runner.

It’s important to remind people about those shared experiences that make the sport so much richer. We do that through our community, Hare A.C., but also with the workouts and events we offer at the Trackhouse in Boston. It’s also something we bring to our pop-ups at the major marathons – whether that’s hosting a group shakeout run or hand-stamping finisher’s posters after the race. There’s an incredible sense of camaraderie that comes from having a shared goal of running faster. As a brand, we understand that these human connections are what keep people coming back.

Why does print feel right for the brand? How do people engage with it differently?

First, long-form stories are hard to consume digitally. The devices themselves are fine, but our digital environment is completely overloaded with myriad stimuli, and therefore our attention is short and frequently distracted. But a print piece can be read whenever and wherever.

Second, physical artifacts hang around. An issue of Meter or one latest catalog might sit on your coffee table for weeks or months, or even years. As a brand, that’s a pretty powerful tool. Yes, the number of people who will flip through a print piece is smaller than the number of eyeballs you can put a digital ad in front of, but there’s a trade-off in there that feels right for us.

The way people engage with print also goes a bit hand-in-hand with a runner’s lifestyle. There can be downtime when you’re training and racing, when you might want to put your legs up on the wall after a hard training session or distract yourself on the bus to the starting line before an important race. In those moments, we’ll take print over an iPhone.

What brands or companies (new or old) do you look up to?

I always look to Patagonia as a model for what we’re trying to build. And I love brands that manage to thrive for a really long time, like Jack Daniels, Snyder’s of Hanover, or Burberry. I’m also really curious to see what happens with today’s DNVBs. We like to quickly pronounce them successes or failures, but as a category we’re still in our infancy. Bonobos is, what, 12 years old? Warby hasn’t even had it’s 10th birthday. I think it’ll be really interesting to see where things are in thirty years. Who survived and how did they do it?

You’ve mentioned you’re an Outlier fan. What about their work inspires you?

What feels like (at least from my vantage point) a maniacal focus with no regard for what the outside world thinks or says, combined with a dash of crazy.

What mistakes have you made, or what have you learned in the journey of building the brand?

Sometimes I work too hard. And maybe I care too much about being perfect. Just kidding…

I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Too many to list here. But I think that’s part of the process of building a brand. Because I’m a parent I liken it to having kids: despite all the books and blogs on parenting, you sort of just have to figure it out on your own. No two situations are alike. Children are living, breathing things that adapt and grow, requiring you to adapt and grow alongside them. They learn more from making mistakes or following a belief than from being told what to do. A brand is similar. Have a strong vision of what you want to build but be prepared to adapt and learn from your mistakes.