Naked Sports Innovations’ line of products has evolved a lot from the popular Running Band that started it all, and this month they announced plans for their first trail running shoe, the Naked T/r. So we sat down with Naked’s President and Co-founder, Lindsay Dakota, to break down their debut model, from (laceless!) upper to outsole; the challenges of growing a small brand sustainably; the future of footwear; how the notion of “simplexity” drives Naked’s design process; and a whole lot more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- Starting with the Naked Running Band (5:40)
- “Was the Naked Band’s popularity a surprise?” (6:50)
- Exopower mesh & “simplexity” (8:52)
- Naked products on non-affiliated elites (12:49)
- How Lindsay thinks about fit (15:04)
- The importance of supporting athletes (16:11)
- Striving for sustainability (17:20)
- Expanding Naked’s line of products (21:18)
- What is a “cooling face fabric?” (22:43)
- Working with Vibram (25:26)
- The Naked T/r Trail Racing Shoe (26:57)
- Small brands & the state of trail running (46:20)