The delayed gratification of the darker side of running
Acid Running creative director Oliver Powe explains how his luxury running apparel brand connects to endurance sports by leaning into gallows humor.
We just marked the four-year anniversary of a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that forced us to temporarily lock our lives down in a way that those of us privileged enough to have never lived in a warzone hadn’t experienced. It was a big deal.
Eventually, we were allowed to leave our homes for a government-mandated hour of outdoor exercise, but no further than a mile from your house, so as not to spread the mysterious plague that had befallen us. Freedoms that we had previously taken for granted were removed for a few days. People were impacted differently. People reacted differently.
In London, Oliver Powe was inspired to make a new running apparel company - Acid Running. Citing Carl Jung, stoicism, and jarring collection titles of ‘Voluntary Discomfort’ and ‘The Pursuit of Suffering,’ it’s a brand inspired by the darker side of life.
“Running was a way for people to escape from the monotony and the prison of their own homes, and even their own minds. There was something powerful going on that - as a runner and and someone in an urban environment - I think there’s something in the darkness of the brand that captures that moment in time.”
The true language of running
For me, it goes even deeper than that. The crux of the message of Running Sucks is wantonly accepting the difficulties of running with a view of improving, and making those moments suck less. I actively court the difficulty of running, because whatever sensation is on the other side of the pain will be that bit more delicious.
It isn’t a unique perspective, of course. It’s normal - necessary, in my opinion - for runners to grit their teeth, embrace the suck, and search for a way through those moments, but that’s not the shiny message we usually see from athletic brands in their marketing.
Oliver talks about business consultants telling him to tone down the messaging, about how the tagline was too much, about how orthodox marketing dictates that you must hit people with a positive emotion first, selling them an immediate benefit with your product. Acid Running is doing the opposite.
“We have a darker edge, but we do it with an element of humor. That gallows humor is something that's so present in running culture, but a lot of the time isn't reflected - people think humor will take something away. We believe the richer the honesty, the more you elevate the culture.”
“I think we're telling the true story of running to a certain extent. Telling that full truth of the darker side, the discomforts, the suffering, the resilience required, the self-discipline.”
Oliver on running
Powe’s origin story as a runner started at his English countryside boarding school. The headmaster’s wife would lead a willing group of cross-country runners in the mornings, and Oliver eventually joined them because he “couldn't bear that other people were doing something that [he] wasn't invited along to.”
“Reflecting on that buzz of waking up early as the sun's coming up, and that immediate resistance to it, but then going through with it. and that first kilometer, where you're still half asleep, but then finishing and the reward for that has probably - without me realizing - been affecting me ever since.”
“The crazy thing is that I forget how good it is every time. I'm a reluctant runner. I can always think of many reasons why I don't need to run, and then I do it, and after you run, you have an extraordinary clarity. I'm not one of those people who gets ecstatic joy, but I always forget how important that run is until I'm doing it.”
Oliver talks about solving problems now on his runs through London’s city streets, or at least working through a problem to accept “the defeat that’s coming.” It’s a healthy mindset. The opposite of acceptance, after all, is denial.
A descendent of one of the oldest tailoring firms in London (Hector Powe), Oliver worked within the family firm before he found his place working with clothing brands in the running space.
While on a run one day, however, he felt that there was something missing. He says he was “wearing an unnamed multinational sportswear brand by default,” but didn’t feel like his personality, values, or aesthetic were being reflected. Enter Acid Running.
Post-pandemic purchases
There’s been a paradigm shift in the post-pandemic makeup of the running community and everybody’s rushing to keep up with the new demand. Here are some numbers to help you contextualize what’s happening:
29% of runners ran for the first time during the pandemic
72% of new runners run for their health - an 18% increase
50% of Gen Z runners say running is a key part of their identity
20% of runners run more frequently now than pre-Covid
The global sportswear industry will grow 7% by 2027
Even though 40% of participants of last weekend’s Los Angeles Marathon were first-time marathoners, new runners are actually 20% less likely to run an organized event, and are less likely to come from a track team background. This new gang of runners prefers to run for and by themselves, at their own pace, in their own neighborhoods, or with their new run club friends.
I place Acid Running among the new group of high-end running apparel brands that are booming by selling top-class goods to these runners who are keen to display their unique personalities through their clothing.
You’re out there running, and you want to choose your tribe. Collegiate track meets Abercrombie & Fitch preppiness? Get yourself to Tracksmith. Prefer the urban chic of a minimalist silhouette pounding the pavement? Bandit Running, perhaps. Are you an ultra-cool punk rocker with John Varvatos vibes? Satisfy has a carefully prepared retro t-shirt for you.
Acid Running might be for those who celebrate the journey, warts and all, more than the destination.
“I think there's an enormous conversation emerging at the moment in society about instant gratification and delayed gratification - between resilience and putting your head in the sand. I think running really sits in the middle of that, because you can't run without going through discomfort.”
“I think we're a touchpoint for people to connect with that truth about the human experience - that there is suffering - and that actually embracing suffering in a microcosm like running can help your resilience when you face difficulties in real life.”
While dark slogans are enough to set Acid apart from its peers, Powe’s experience in the world of haute couture meant that he could elevate the material as well as the messaging.
“For a lot of our runners, their preference for our t-shirts in particular is the small integration of natural fiber, so they have that soft texture that you would associate with luxury garments, but it’s built for running.”
Sustainability through luxury
Sustainability is important - both economic and environmental. Consumers have been proven to happily meet a higher price point when the products are ethical and well-made, and that allows Acid to not compromise on fabric quality even at this early stage.
“We saw enormous brands out there not being sustainable, and we realized that the trade-off was literally a trade-off in margins. Our main factory and our fabric supplies are amongst the best in the world, so they're able to help us and facilitate us with our sustainability goals.”
Having just celebrated two years in operation, Oliver fully acknowledges that Acid Running is “just trying to survive.” That’s more difficult when choices are made to ensure the quality of your product, but building a company honestly and properly is a choice.
“The average lifetime of a new apparel brand is about two years, so you’re destined to die, which seems like a very Acid Running message. Unless there’s something special about you.”
Acid Running is certainly unique, and while finding a boutique running brand that speaks to me like this takes a little more time and a little more effort, the pay-off is worthwhile.
There’s always going to be a large place in the market for milquetoast sporting apparel from companies that only pay lip service to bettering the world we live in, but isn’t this all just a little bit more fun?
Something worth suffering for, anyway.
Ways to make running suck less covered today
Run for your health
Run with your friends
Celebrate the hardest parts of running
Find and wear the boutique brand that speaks your language
Running Sucks Haiku of the Week
It’s been a tough week
Neither running nor writing
It’ll be better soon
Yeah, this week’s post has been a struggle to get done, but here we are. My back is taking its time to heal, but I’m pleased to be off the meds - they made my head very fuzzy. Onwards! (Here lie my excuses for any above passages that make no sense.)
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hi Raz, I'm curious where your stats in the bulleted list come from, and are they global or U.S. or U.K. or from where? I question the figure that nearly one-third of runners started running during the pandemic; that sounds high. Hope you feel better soon.