Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, VF Corp
Believe X Altra | Conversation w/ Brian Beckstead, Altra Co-Founder
Thomas sits down and talks with Brian Beckstead, Altra Running Co-Founder and all-around cool dude. Brian talks about the past, present, and future of Altra, and answers a ton of viewer questions about what we can expect from the company known for its adherence to zero-drop shoes. At one time a peculiarity, his vision is now a standard in the running shoe industry.
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About Brian Beckstead
Brian Beckstead, co-founder of Altra, discussed the brand's history and direction in two interviews. In a 2023 interview, he described the company's founding in Orem, Utah, with Golden Harper and Jeremy Howe, and noted that he began working in a running store at age 16. He stated that the company's purpose after being acquired by VF Corporation was "unleashing human potential and inspiring the world to move naturally." Beckstead addressed the introduction of the 4 mm drop AltraFWD Experience, saying the brand had received consumer requests for a drop shoe for ten years and that the new line was a response to that demand. He said the company remained committed to its foot-shaped toe box and zero drop design, and that the 4 mm drop line would be a small, complementary addition. In a 2020 interview, Beckstead said that VF acquired Altra "because we're awesome, not because we suck" and that the partnership would improve operational aspects like factories, quality, and fulfillment. He noted that the company coined the term "zero drop" and was beginning to use "balanced cushioning" as an alternative descriptor. Beckstead described the founding process as a "toaster-oven, bandsaw, hack-the-heel kind of experiment" and said the brand's shoes were designed with biomechanics and health in mind. He stated that most Altra shoes were made to last three to five hundred miles.
Transcript (81 segments)
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Host0:12
There some of our regulars are hopping on, that's awesome. Always love to see you. I've been sending out lots of packages, a lot of people ordering shirts and hats, thank you. And what's up bro? Let's grow. I run with mine, so hashtag run with mod. That stuff is just ridiculous, I don't even want to get into the sadness right now. We're about to talk to somebody and have a good time, so let's hit it off there.
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Brian Beckstead0:50
Oh, nothing much.
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Host0:54
Hey, great to have you. Before we even... a hook in their mouth while you do this, not Instagram live. I'm telling you, I'm missing out on some serious fishing for this phone call, so you know the sacrifice is great.
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Brian Beckstead1:23
Well hey, we're from Maryland here, so maybe we'll send you some crabs or something to make up. He's been here plenty, stone's throw from him.
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Host1:36
So you're in Utah too? Yep, yep, I'm in Heber.
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Brian Beckstead1:39
All right, all right, cool. So you guys seem out on the trails, I'm sure. Oh yeah, we ran together the other day, a couple days ago. I thought you must be pretty fast if you can keep up with Brian. It was a struggle.
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Host1:51
Yeah, all right. So I'm guessing his... from there. Okay, yeah, so I'm in the first day of high school actually, so we started running cross-country practice and we both ended up just loving running. His dad ran a running store, I started working there when I was 16. So despite the beard, I look a little bit older, but I am 38, so I got 22 years experience now in the running shoe industry. So I'm pretty fun and we just loved it. We were shooters, loved running cross-country, track, etc., and we're based here in Utah, so it's a beautiful place. We live up in the mountains, and currently I live in Heber, which is about 30 miles up into the mountains from where we started.
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Brian Beckstead3:10
Runners, we love to run. We'd been selling shoes for years. We both ended up with degrees in college, in Exercise Science. It was more fitness and wellness based, mine was more experiential education and outdoor recreation. But we were shoe dorks, we were shoe nerds. So yeah, people started coming to you guys and coming to the store, and they were having issues with their footwear. And this is where I think the real start to this is, I've been kind of fascinated because you were taking and modifying regular shoes on the market, cutting wedges in them and gluing it back together, right?
Absolutely, yes. That's kind of where the aha moment... almost every speed workout that us or our running club would do, we would finish running doing strides barefoot in the grass. So we're always practicing biomechanics. Back in 2007-2008, biomechanics was just becoming a thing, minimalism hadn't really taken off, and yet it was right around the Born to Run time. So here we are, looking at some of our research and saying there's got to be a better way for footwear. And Golden had this idea of putting his shoe in a toaster oven, heating it up, and hacking off the heel. That was kind of that aha moment of taking out that elevated shoe. We talked about drop as if it's been around forever.
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Host5:12
Magic time, I think. Although a lot of the stuff from Born to Run kind of faded out, the conversation that McDougall started brought in lighter shoes, brought in a variance of drops, brought in a whole bunch of different thoughts to how footwear... and I think that's why it resonated so much, because not only did you start... I really feel like that's when people started running long, and then footwear was important to that conversation. And then you guys were right in there. I remember actually your gray and red first shoe, the Instinct. Yeah, the Instinct. I remember when it first came out.
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Brian Beckstead6:10
2008, and then by 2009, his cousin Jeremy Howlett was like, 'You know, you should start a shoe company on this.' And Jeremy's the first person I talked to. At the time, when Jeremy made that suggestion, we had been hacking up our shoes. We moved off the toaster oven and went to a bandsaw. There was a shoemaker across the street who did resoling, with 30 years experience in the boot industry. So we talked to him, and he would do a professional job where he would bandsaw the shoe, belt the heel down, and just glue it back together. So we started recommending that to all our customers.
It took to build shoes. By the time we started getting our first samples and really trying to figure out how to do it, that's when Born to Run just took off. The whole time we're like, 'Oh, we've got the solution, man. We just need funding. Come on, this is killing us.'
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Host7:27
Yeah, I mean it was like a perfect storm for your concept and what was going on, what people wanted. So yeah, and you're right, nobody was talking about drop, and then all of a sudden you are. And that was why we coined the term zero drop. Since we were taking out the drop, that was our flagship story. I think the other feature that we really hated with the industry...
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Brian Beckstead8:12
Things that are communicated from Altra have also spread out into other brands. So they may not make a zero drop foot shape shoe, but some are saying, 'Okay, yes, there's a market for people who want more room in their toe box, there's a market for people who want lower drop.' So versions of it have come out, where in the beginning there was one place to go. I think Saucony dabbled in it a little bit, the Virrata and stuff like that, but that was like a real minimal shoe. New Balance came with the Minimus and built so... people tried it. You guys have really believed and this is what we're sticking with.
Well, I think it's something that we always talk about, what else is out there. Although we pioneered zero drop and foot shape, I think what we also did was just question the norm. So we're always a real questioning brand, we always like to think outside the box. But right now, we're committed. It's our DNA. I would say that zero drop, we've kind of started using a new term for that. We think that zero drop has a real association with minimalism. Balanced cushioning. So we're using a lot more balanced cushioning in our terminology. We pioneered that, we coined the term, we believe in it. But we also think that balanced cushioning might actually define it a little bit better, so we're starting to use that a lot more.
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Host10:11
Almost as like a trigger for people. And it shouldn't, because I really believe if you find zero drop to work for you, that's great. If you can run in ten millimeter and that feels good to you, great. There's no one shoe that's better than the other just because of its drop. It's the comfort and how it feels going through your stride. So if somebody can do that, that's great. But I do feel like we get a lot of people when we're reviewing shoes, they get so hung up on the drop. I'm like, 'Do you understand what you're getting angry about?'
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Brian Beckstead10:46
Yeah, yeah. And it's interesting how people have some visceral reactions. Ultimately, when we started, like you said, no one was doing anything like it. And then brands have kind of dabbled... we were changing and fixing runners that had injuries and techniques, and also the industry itself. So the fact that now there's just more options is awesome. The fact that other brands are widening their toe boxes is awesome. I love it. People are going to be healthier because of that. For me, that's kind of my belief. But again, if it works for you, it works for you, and everyone has their own preference. Now you just have options that you didn't have ten, twelve years ago.
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Host11:37
Well, it's interesting because you guys have gone through a few changes and a few different partners over time. You were with... was it Lifetime? It was actually called Icon Health. Icon... and they're pretty strong in this sector. I'm wondering, you now have this new entity with you that's a powerhouse, and they have strong marketing and strong retail presence in their brands. Is that where you start talking about these different shifts on how you're going to talk about the shoe, and what's going to be the different spin that this partnership brings to the shoe?
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Brian Beckstead12:39
Well, it's a great question. VF bought us because we're awesome, not because we suck. So that's pretty awesome. They came in saying, 'You guys, what you're doing is amazing. How can we enhance it?' I think that there's always going to be... they came in and said, 'Based on the research we had, there's a negative visceral reaction from a lot of different people when they hear the word drop. Is there a better way that we can phrase it and approach it?' It was an open conversation. It was hard. We actually locked ourselves in a room for a couple days to review the Altra DNA and the core values of who Altra is and what we stand for. When we came out of it, nothing really changed. The one major change that we came out of being in a room for two days was maybe we should try to find a slightly better way to phrase zero drop. And we came out of it with balanced cushioning. That was the extent of these big overarching changes and this huge brand coming in and taking over.
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Host14:10
I understand why they would change that, it makes good sense. Now the other thing is that you have a partner like VF. When you're working on your own, you're bootstrapping and putting things together the best you can. Obviously an influx of cash and partnership helps product development, helps quality, helps all those things. What are the things that you think VF brings to the table for you guys? Obviously they said you have a great thing already, but they want to keep growing that great thing. What's the next level? What are the things that we should be looking to Altra for in the future? What does that partnership do for you?
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Brian Beckstead15:12
These are massive brands, and so being able to tap into some of that operational excellence, I think that's where you're really already seeing the benefits for Altra. I think we've already upgraded some of our factories. I think our quality is improving. Some of our ability to hire and bring in talent, we're able to hire more people. We have a larger budget. Shipping, fulfilling, warehousing, I think that's where the biggest difference lies. I think where people are going to see it moving forward is we now have more designers, we have a colorist. Five years ago, like a colorist? Jeremy... like, wow. So I think our colors have made huge leaps and bounds. I think you're going to see even more of that in the next couple years.
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Host16:10
I thought the Provision was beautiful, as far as that white with the dark bottom. It looked really, really good. Also a fan of the Torin, and then I thought the New York model that you guys did for the New York City Marathon, I really liked that one. That's interesting. I got a chance to go on a tour at The North Face one time, so I got to see when you have those design teams and the boards...
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Brian Beckstead17:12
We feel like we haven't made it yet. We are hungry. We are not satisfied. We are going to grind. We feel like we have a lot of big strides to make. Some of the products we're working on over the next couple years are really exciting because of getting those resources. But I think Altra's got to work. I'm excited. I think we're scratching the surface.
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Host17:39
That's awesome. I know that we're probably going to get this question later on in one of the question tiles, but I'm going to ask it anyway now because I'm impatient. I kind of feel like it's weird because Altra goes to... everybody has to have a plated shoe, and I'm guessing even you guys are dabbling around and playing with something out there for people who love Altra but want a speed shoe, or not just a speed shoe but a race shoe, something that can go up and compete with the big boys.
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Brian Beckstead18:32
Yeah, I think it's a great question. I get asked all the time. Part of my response is, why wouldn't we be interested in plates? We've been using a stone guard rock plate in our trail shoes since day one. So what's a performance advantage and what's not a performance advantage? We've been using stone guards in our trail shoes literally since day one, since the very first Lone Peak. We are actively looking at all sorts of things, whether it's midsole foam compounds or carbon or Pebax, all those things. That's absolutely stuff we're looking at. Frankly, we also want to look at what's next beyond that too.
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Host19:30
Yeah, with people with different foot shapes... my foot is very narrow and high arch, so sometimes the toe box of an Altra can be... I can swim in it a little bit. Will there be any adjustments for narrow, regular, and wide shoes for most people? Would there be any adjustments made for people who want maybe less...
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Brian Beckstead20:12
We have our performance last, the PFS. The PFS is the one that's going to have a little bit of a sleeker, a little more curved shape. That's what's on the Escalante Racer. This has probably been my favorite Altra today, the Torin. The Torin is also in the performance last. Maybe that's what it is. This has been my favorite to date. I tried this in the Torin Plush and I love this one over the two. I thought this was the perfect amount of cushion and flexibility and just feel for what I prefer in a shoe. So this one did really well. It's interesting that this one is on the performance last.
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Host21:10
The Torin was on the performance last, and now that the Escalante has stepped up as well, and the Escalante is also on the performance last. Our road shoes are a little bit heavier on that last, and it's done really well. What I like about both these is that you still get a pretty good hold in the heel and midfoot area, and then you have it a little bit open up here, but it's not egregious. So I really like that in this shoe. I didn't know that there were three different lasts.
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Brian Beckstead21:44
Yeah, our trail shoes showcase that really well. The Lone Peak, for example, and the Olympus are on that standard last, a little bit of a straighter last. Where the Superior and the Timp are on the performance last, so it's a little more...
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Host22:12
Interesting take. You guys did an interesting take on stability, because it's not what I would call... I hate as much as drop gets people triggered, I think stability gets people triggered. The Provision, I would say... what's another word for stability? Just providing extra security for the foot.
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Brian Beckstead22:33
Yeah, we call it guidance. Kind of guiding the foot. It's not a passive static stability feature, it's just more of a guide rail, a guidance system that's really helping to align and support and structure the foot in a very dynamic, customizable way.
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Host22:53
For people who don't know what it is, it's basically a lacing system on one side that kind of holds up and has a little bit of posting on the inside. I thought it was a really interesting take on a guidance shoe. How much of that... I mean, you knew Kara was coming on board. Was this stability shoe in the works before Kara got there?
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Brian Beckstead23:33
Yes, this took forever. It got a little delayed because of the acquisition, but it's something we'd been working on for a long time. It was a really fun combination of our medical team that had been working with the medical community and outreach versus...
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Host24:11
It's really cool because the wrap doesn't just pull up against the side wall on the upper, it actually wraps all the way underneath the foot. So you can feel it wrap fully underneath your arch, not just against the side. It was a really fun project. It just launched, of course right when the virus hit, so we're kind of missing the full launch of it. But I'm telling you, it is absolutely awesome, it's fantastic. That's a good thing to bring up because we are in the middle of Corona days, but people are running. I think more people are running with gyms closed, and they just want to be outside and have a reason to be outside. People are getting out there running, so hopefully people are taking advantage. If you need the guidance...
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Brian Beckstead25:13
It was an innovative way to look at the issue of holding a foot a certain way in a shoe. So I was getting cool.
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Host25:23
Yeah, so what do you think? Should we pop up some questions and see what people are asking? I'm happy. I know we got hit up by a bunch of questions yesterday when we posted on our story too. We got tons of questions. I'm going to pop up left and right. Let's go, let's go. All right, let me see what we got here. Oh, this is a good question because this was kind of an interesting feature. This is from one of our reviewers who loved this feature in the Provision. It's a textured insole in the Provision. Describe the thought process behind that.
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Brian Beckstead26:11
We wanted to make the shoe successful. One of the things we look at is, a lot of those dimples that you get on that type of insole, essentially what we're trying to do is stimulate the proprioceptive response of the foot. If your foot is a little more sensitive and relaxed and there's movement in there, it's going to be more sensitive to that arch trap system. So when your foot is a little more sensitive, it's able to pull up against it and activate better. It's one of those things where I think it works. People seem to really like it, but it is very exclusive right now to the Provision. It's there to activate the foot senses so that it responds better to the guidance system. So Jarrett, you're not going to see that...
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Host27:12
Yep, all right. There we go. I just want to, for Laban here, let's see here. All right, this might be a layup, but I'll give it to you. Would you recommend the Provision as a summer cross daily trainer?
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Brian Beckstead27:30
Yes, I would say it's a great daily trainer. If you mean like a cross trainer, like a gym shoe, I think it will work okay for that. But in terms of a high mileage marathon style training program for someone who needs mild to moderate guidance and a little bit of arch support, I think it's absolutely fantastic for that.
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Host27:49
Yeah, and what's interesting is that brings up the gym thing for cross-training. With a wide footprint, it's a pretty stable shoe. Before you throw in some of the support and stability, I think that being balanced like that and having those big toes engaged, it's going to be stable whether using CrossFit or running. We believe our foundation to our shoes are inherently stable by nature.
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Brian Beckstead28:30
Awesome. Let's see here. I mean, you probably know more about talking to people, but do these shoes actually promote a healthier body by being foot-shaped and zero drop?
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Host28:51
Well, that's a good question too because there's all these... can we make medical claims? What can we... an elevated heel, why weren't you born that way? We put you in the most natural alignment. So injury prevention and all that stuff, we a lot of times will pin that up. We think it is. We believe we feel like there's some pretty good research out there that we're hoping to be able to talk more about in the future. But we absolutely believe our shoes are... we try to make them as healthy as we possibly can. That's one of our core values, is we make shoes with health-based reasons involved.
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Brian Beckstead29:39
Yeah, and the best thing is if you're out running and you're staying healthy, that's better than how you pitch it. Just get out there and run.
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Host29:47
Absolutely. Let's get out there. Let's see here. Someone's asking a question on the feed that I think we should answer. Is the Altra One never coming back?
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Brian Beckstead29:58
Ooh, nope. I think the shoe that I love... it's like a combination between the original Instinct and the One, and that's the Escalante Racer. The Escalante Racer is honestly my favorite road shoe we've ever made in the history of Altra. I absolutely loved the Escalante Racer. And Robbie, who reviews for us, he's always giving props to the Escalante Racer, so he likes it a lot. And just an FYI for people, I had a couple questions on our feed yesterday about that. It used to be just limited edition with the marathon expos. This fall, it's going into full line, so we're going to have some really fun pop colors. It's not just limited edition anymore. So the Escalante Racer is launching inline full color scheme here in the next couple months.
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Host31:10
Okay, Shannon Walker, it's sweet. Yeah, Shannon Walker, this room was fantastic. Yep. Let's see here. All right, here's the one we already answered. I'll put it up there just so they get credit. We talked about it. Sounds like we're playing with it. We'll see where it goes. We've got some fun stuff in the works, looking at all sorts of cool things. All right. This is a good question because we brought up this guy. The new Torin Plush will be the new standard? So there won't be a regular one after? I just picked this one. Oh boy, now you're going to make me give all sorts of gory details.
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Brian Beckstead32:10
What you're holding up is the regular Torin, that's a 26 millimeter midsole. The reason we made that... the Instinct, we had some production problems with the Instinct, which was our 25 millimeter shoe, and it is gone, unfortunately. So what we did is we split the Torin into two shoes. The Torin, which is what you held up, is that 25-26 millimeter shoe. I love that one. And for those who want a bigger, plusher feel, that's the Torin Plush, that's our 28 millimeter shoe. The Torin Plush is getting updated here in the next couple months, which is awesome. It's getting a lighter weight, more breathable upper. And the Torin is staying as is for the time being, with a pretty big update in spring.
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Host33:10
So the Torin Plush is higher stack, and another shoe is going to come in and kind of fit the preference for these guys?
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Brian Beckstead33:21
Yes, that was our stopgap between the loss of the Instinct and this upcoming shoe. All right, Shanna, I told you I really like this. I see you. It's not too much information. No, no. But yeah, that one's carrying over. So the Torin is carrying over for six months, the Torin Plush is getting updated here in two months.
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Host33:43
Cool. Okay, I don't know why... you got a lot of this guy really wants to know what you would do with your time if you won the lottery. I kind of feel like you're doing what you want to do, and money's not magic. So I'll put that one up just so you can...
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Brian Beckstead34:11
But still, I probably would live right where I'm living. I decided not to move when we got acquired. I decided to stay in Utah for personal reasons and spend more time with my family. I moved where I wanted to, and that's Heber, Utah. So I love it. In California? Nope. They relocated both North Face, Altra, Smartwool, everything to Denver, Colorado. Our offices, we shut them down here in July. I shut them down myself, and everybody moved to Denver, Colorado. I just decided, having started the brand and run the sales organization, operations, become the president for five years, I just decided that I needed a little break, so I stayed in Utah. Now I'm...
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Host35:11
Denver, there in Denver. Oh, so all right. We'll have to go out and visit you guys in Denver too and check it out. All right, I mean we kind of covered this one, but I'll throw it out there again. The scientific research supports the zero drop? Ronnie, she is movement. I believe so, yes. I do. It's kind of like, in some ways, you can say prove me wrong. We have zero drop feet. But I do believe there's some pretty good research out there that the angle at which you impact, if you do in some double-blind studies, is significantly lower of an angle in...
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Brian Beckstead36:11
I hit the up bar on my phone instead of the questions there. I'm back. All right, just because I'll give Tolbert... there it is. You see, he actually did ask a question. There we go, that's the size. All right, this one's a good one. Favorite trail to run in Utah?
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Host36:37
Oh, that's so hard. My go-to, it's probably been my favorite for, I'm not joking, 20 years. I've moved away, but I'm still not too far from it right now, about 30 minutes away. By living up in Logan for the last five years, I wasn't able to run it. I went back and I've been running it a couple...
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Brian Beckstead37:11
I love it. But the top section, which is just opening up right now, the one that circumnavigates Timp, is my absolute favorite. From Timpanogos trailhead all the way down to the mouth of Provo Canyon, it's a 20-something mile one-way trail that any section you run is just perfect.
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Host37:28
So I'll follow this up with a question. Obviously you're running, you ran in high school, we got that part. What's your distance these days? What's your ideal? You're going to sign up for a distance or do something?
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Brian Beckstead37:38
Yeah, so I'm an ultra runner. I've done 140-mile races, I've done Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, I've done Wasatch 100 five times. I'm a big ultra marathon guy. I'm not really good at 100 milers, in fact I kind of suck at them. But a mountainous 50 mile, that's my absolute favorite distance. 50 miles in the mountains.
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Host38:20
I'm going to answer this guy. 50 miles is his answer. But the answer for this guy: where can I purchase Altra gear? Sure, it's on our website. With the acquisition, we kind of put a hold on our apparel and accessories. So we do have some available, but it's pretty minimal and most of it's older. The hat I'm wearing, I think we have this on our website right now, but it's all been closed out. So if you find it, it's probably on a good deal. Sounds like collector's items at this point.
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Brian Beckstead38:52
Yes, yeah. All right. Superior 4.5 and the Torin 4.5 Plush would love an update. Yes, July and August. That's pretty clear, coming up. Everything got pushed back about 30 days with the situation and what's going on, but they are coming, guys. So you said July and August? July and August, okay. There we go.
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Host39:40
What was your first running shoe and what made you hooked on the shoes?
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Brian Beckstead39:44
Oh boy. Okay, so my first true running shoe that I went and got fitted for when I joined the cross-country team in high school... I fell in love with running at that point. I ran a little bit track in junior high, but we just kind of showed up and raced every once in a while. That Saucony Swerve got me through a lot of miles in cross country as a sophomore year of high school, and I just fell in love with running.
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Host40:26
That's awesome. This guy is saying that Running Warehouse has some stock in the Altra stuff. Do you want to check it out there? It's probably a good place. You said you had questions too?
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Brian Beckstead40:37
Yeah, there were a couple questions that we got. One person here just asked a question on why do the Altras have a point five in them. So I'll answer that real quick. If you ever see an Altra with a point five, it means the upper got updated and the outsole and midsole did not. That's actually going to be going away. You're only going to see whole numbers going forward.
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Host41:11
It makes more sense to the layman. But there are other brands right now that I'm seeing, you have off years. It's like this year the midsole is a completely new shoe, next year it's an upper update and the midsole and outsole stay the same. It can be confusing when it jumps to a seventh, but I can understand how the 0.5 can be confusing. If it makes sense from that standpoint, but from a layman's terms it just got confusing, so we will be going away in the future.
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Brian Beckstead41:46
Yeah. Before we get to your questions again, I'm going to give you one more because I think this is a personal thing, but you probably have numbers where you're trying to get it to... I think most of our shoes are made to last three to five... it depends on how a person runs, their weight, and things like that. But 400 to 500 miles is where that shoe should last.
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Host42:20
Yeah. All right, so let's take another one of your questions that you got on your feed. I had a couple people ask about... we just gave you an update on the Superior 4.5 and the Torin, but also our biggest road shoe, our number one seller, is the Escalante. I've had a lot of people ask about when the 2.5 is getting updated and what changes are being made. Vanessa Sutton and Sir Veal both asked about this. The Escalante 2.5 is going to be coming out here July 1st as well, and it is a 2.5. The big update to that is...
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Brian Beckstead43:10
Someone asked me if I'm a Coke or a Pepsi person. I'm 100% a Coke person. Love it or hate it, it is Coke or nothing. And that could be a bad soundbite.
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Host43:32
The questions are out there for us. We have... I know you're willing to answer Coke or Pepsi questions, personal questions. Yeah, we go. My best. All right, I will tell you that I'm going to put this one up because this is probably a pet peeve of mine that we get a lot of our reviewers give us trouble for when it comes to some of the Altras. But are you working on any alternative lacing systems?
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Brian Beckstead44:11
We actually had a shoe called the Threesome, it was a triathlon shoe that we made for a short period of time back in the early days. But as of right now, we are not going to be launching anything with alternative laces. We have samples from BOA and from other lacing systems that we prototyped and worked on, and we just never felt that it was something that we were going to be launching.
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Host44:33
Is it that you like... they are always looking at it, but no, we don't have anything coming in right now. Is it more to the point where the consumer isn't demanding it and it's an extra expense to put in a shoe that you don't feel like you're getting the value back from the demand at this point?
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Brian Beckstead44:52
Yeah, we haven't felt that at this point. Again, we're always looking at it. We almost... personally, I feel it's a good product, but it's tough. When we are even reviewing, a lot of people aren't comfortable with it. It's something new, something to learn, something they don't trust, even though you could slice through your foot before I break usually. But the desire for it... I'm finding that it fixes a problem where there's a big problem. But let's just meet my two senses now. One thing we always get on all our reviews is these laces are always too long.
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Host45:49
Yeah, we have one of our female reviewers, Erin, she says it's the bane of our existence. How do you get different length laces for every shoe? You gotta find a middle ground. It's just one of those tough things that the factories, for whatever reason, do their best, and sometimes things just don't go perfect.
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Brian Beckstead46:27
Hey, if there's something that we got to complain about, laces are a good thing. If that's your biggest complaint, you know, there you go.
H
Host46:38
All right, well we are heading into 46 minutes here, and usually they cut you off at an hour. But I think we've covered pretty much everything unless there's something you want to talk about.
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Brian Beckstead46:52
No, I just want to throw out a big thank you to people. It's just really humbling, it's just awesome. I really want to thank people because part of the reason that those alternative lacing systems we were a little hesitant is because we're already a little different. We already have a bit of an uphill battle with Altra because of the look, the foot-shaped toe box, and zero drop. So some of those words, it's like let's not put some gas on the fire. But for those who have tried it, I just want to say thank you. For the fans and for the people who've loved it, because for me, Altra is a way of life. I believe in it from my soul. It's something that has helped my running, and I've watched it help others. I just love the fact that the industry has changed and evolved and we've been a part of it. I just want to say thank you to the people who've tried it. It's been pretty cool watching the support from...
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Host48:10
There and run who maybe were having a tougher time and not enjoying the experience as much in the narrow shoe or in a shoe that didn't fit their foot correctly. So I'm sure you have as many fans out there as love as you have for them. We will take this and it'll be great because you won't have as many words on your face. We record it and then we put it side-by-side, we post it to YouTube, and you can still see the questions on the side. But it's a better viewing experience of your face.
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Brian Beckstead48:43
No, I don't mind. I try to hide it everywhere. You put a bit of letters, let's hide this thing.
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Host48:49
Yeah, so we'll put it up there. Shanna, if you want any links or anything that we talked about that you'd like us to have links from the YouTube video, just let us know. I feel like I was there when it started, and I get to see it go. Jeremy originally... I started the website in 2009, and I think Jeremy and I were back and forth on Twitter. So I feel like I've seen you guys go from three guys in the basement to something pretty special. I think so far VF is a great partner for you guys. We're excited to see how that takes you into the future, so we'll be along for the ride.
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Brian Beckstead49:46
Hey, I'll be here as well. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.
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Host49:48
All right, cool. Thank you. Okay, cheers.
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Brian Beckstead49:50
Cheers.