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 delayed gratification of the darker side…

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