In conversation with Ben Massey, founder of R.A.D

Nick Roberts:?Let’s get into this. Ben, if you could introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about R.A.D.

Ben Massey: My name is Ben, and I am the founder of R.A.D.

And R.A.D is a performance footwear company in its simplest terms. But what we're trying to do is highlight the cultural relevance of training within society and build a brand that resonates with people beyond the gym. Tapping into counterculture and subcultures. That was the thinking and how the overarching aesthetic of the brand evolved.

We wanted to make the best performance products on the market. But we wanted to do it through a lens that would resonate further. Right now, training and running are occupying people's spare time more than ever before. And I think with that you then get a new type of person training. I often reference them as the ‘retired ravers’. You know, a group of people.

(Nick puts his hands up)

Yeah, there you go Nick, I see you. This group of people has been fully immersed in culture, music, fashion, and are now starting to train.

There’s been an evolution in these people; they don't want to get fucked up all the time. Whilst that's fun on occasion, it's not the be-all and end-all. And I think people are looking for more meaningful connections. For their minds as much as their bodies. And the thing that is enabling that is some form of physical activity.

"What we're trying to do is highlight the cultural relevance of training within society and build a brand that resonates with people beyond the gym. Tapping into counterculture and subcultures." - Ben Massey

NR:?Recently we did a New Balance running concept in China. That was all about this different way of looking at training and it being more inclusive, more welcoming, more human; less about winning, more holistic in its benefits. So, therefore the store is designed with natural and warm materials and focuses on offering a human experience. It’s less go-faster stripes and performance, and [instead] more zen.

This project really made me think about how and when I exercise and what my goal is; the reality is my body doesn’t change much. I used to have apps for this and apps for that, and now I just take myself, be that swimming or running or whatever. I don't even take my phone with me, and I don't measure it. So, I’ve sort of removed any of that judgement from the equation. I don’t want to speak for everyone and I’m sure some will read this and think, “Ha! He’s doing it all wrong”, but nonetheless I have found it liberating.

BM: There's that old phrase, isn't there? ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’. Whilst you, or ‘one’, is potentially getting into an athletic endeavour, to constantly be measuring yourself and seeing whether you've improved, or comparing yourself to where you were is the fastest way to the bottom. You may well be putting loads of effort in but not seeing the results you want, but there are so many external factors. You may be flat out at work, or raising a family, these will naturally affect your ‘performance’. The app doesn’t know that you’ve been up all night with a toddler, or you’ve got a massive presentation in a few hours. It doesn’t account for your life.

So, as you said, just going out and “doing”, with no other outcome expected other than to do it, is powerful. And I think people are discovering that.?

NR: So, starting your own brand is notoriously tough. We know that, but entering the world of sneakers and shoe design is nigh-on impossible. Tell us Ben, how did you do it!?

BM: (Laughter…)?You know, I've had a few jobs. At 15, I got a job at Bathing Ape,?[the cult Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo in 1993]. And this was just before its peak.?Back then it was everything. When Nigo was still in charge, and he was really shaping the fashion world at that time. I was still at school. And I started as a Saturday boy, which then led to Thursday and Friday too. And then the other thing I did was get into the film industry as a camera trainee. And that sort of started to take over. I worked my way up pretty quickly in the camera department and was earning mad money for my age.

These two worlds taught me a lot about what I wanted. On the one hand, there was Bathing Ape; interacting with people and really cool product but not earning much. On the other hand, the film industry, earning shitloads of money but working with nasty people and always [being] away from home.?

I was still searching for my thing and, around this time, I discovered CrossFit. I went headlong into it and ended up setting up one of the first CrossFit gyms in London. That was my first taste of being an entrepreneur. At the time, a lot of people said, you're never going to be able to compete with the big gyms like Fitness First and Virgin or whatever.

I was training and competing a lot during this time but by the end of the 2017 season, I was feeling old and my body was failing me a bit. I was only 28 at that time but the competing takes its toll. So, I started to think okay, well, what's the next thing I'm going to do?

I realised there was space for a brand that had a positive impact and leveraged the amazing community that I’d found in CrossFit. I started to think about what different types of products that this brand would make and that was where I landed on shoes. The barrier to entry for footwear is really high and comparatively there aren't that many footwear brands. I thought to myself, yeah, I could do T-shirts but there’s fucking thousands of those brands already. So, actually, in a way, I felt like starting an apparel brand was harder, even though to make a product was easier. So, I decided on shoes.

There were four factors. One: the shoe is probably the most important piece of performance equipment an athlete could need.

Two: the barrier to entry was really high, yet the width from an options perspective was limited. So, I was like, if I can make good shoes, I'm only up against Nike, Adidas and Reebok or whatever.

Three: people love challengers, right? People love the underdog.

And then the fourth thing was a little bit of ego…this is really fucking hard, so let's see if we can do it. Well, actually, let's see if?I?can do it.

"People love challengers, right? People love the underdog."

NR: And then wallop, you met a global pandemic, in your first year? Yet you’re still here!

BM: I was very straight with myself. I was like, I have no right to design the shoe. Like, ‘Absolutely No Right’. Because I don't have any technical skills. I know what I like, but I couldn't make the thing. So, I realised early on, we're going to need to get an industry veteran interested in this.

And I felt the best way to do that was start with a brand proposition. So, that’s what I focused on. I started thinking about brands that resonate with people by emotionally engaging them.

And that was the starting point for R.A.D, how do we get people to be intrigued by what we do? How do we stimulate their minds emotionally? Do we make them laugh? Do we make them cry?

Whatever it is, do we take them to another world, to another dimension? And I basically looked at all the feelings you get from participating in sport. And started to think about how we could visually convey that.

Working with Tim Smith of Flouro (Brand Design agency), we spent seven or eight months just fleshing out what the brand stood for and what it meant.

Then, armed with our deck, Tim and I, flew to Portland to get Tom! Tom Berend is a leading footwear designer with a ridiculous CV, ex Nike, Adi, etc etc. I’d been emailing him for months and getting nowhere, so I just knew I had to get in front of him. We just rang on his door.

"This of course resonates with our world and what we do at Brinkworth. How does the space perform? Does it deliver for the brand and give them the infrastructure to perform at their best? Does it facilitate activation, invite participation and ultimately build deeper relationships?" - Nick Roberts

NR: It’s interesting hearing the origin story of the brand and how you developed this very unique shoe for your market. Having worn the?R.A.D.One?and looked at the architecture of the shoe with you and your team, I can now see the story embedded in the product.?

BM: Yeah, I think what people forget, or sometimes don’t think about, is that when you’re designing a performance product, it’s essentially a tool. Something with a specific purpose. Not to discredit our aesthetic, as I think we have a beautiful product, but first and foremost, this thing needs to perform. And throughout the process, to a degree, the aesthetic is guided by this.

NR: Form follows function.. This of course resonates with our world and what we do at Brinkworth. How does the space perform? Does it deliver for the brand and give them the infrastructure to perform at their best? Does it facilitate activation, invite participation and ultimately build deeper relationships? Whilst also looking great!

BM: Totally.

NR: On that, I wondered if you could talk about the importance of physical retail and meeting your customer IRL.?We know you guys have done lots of events and activations. And of course we are working on some exciting retail furniture for you.

BM: I think there are so many reasons that being ‘in-person’ is everything. Especially since the pandemic to be honest. During that time, we made do and made it work with the technology that we had, and the rhetoric was like, ‘This is the new way the world is’. But fundamentally we are social beings; we want to be in contact with each other. And so, the importance of being around people and enabling them to connect physically with us, takes me right back to what I set out to do, which was create an emotional connection.

We want to create spaces that snap our community out of this digital haze. That is why we’re going after brick-and-mortar stores. Because it enables our community to touch, feel, hold our product, engage with us on a deeper level and better understand what it’s all about. When you see or read something online, there is so much room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation, but when we’re in the room together things are clearer. There is incredible power in a ‘word of mouth’ approach, and we believe that if we connect with people IRL, we can better amplify our message and double down on the ‘word of mouth’ strategy.

"Authentic real experience that resonate rather than dissipates into the slush of online content"

NR: Authentic real experience that resonate rather than dissipates into the slush of online content that we’re all swimming in?

BM: Yeah, and that’s why people like going to gyms and working out together or alone. Like you said; you put your phone down, distraction-free. And I think it's kind of meditative as well to a degree. And we need that. We need to disconnect and unplug. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to sit in a room with nothing, you can kind of do it on a run, in a group training experience, a run club, or whatever it is. It's just that human connection. It’s everything. That's why we're here right? Otherwise, what else have we got?

NR: Absolutely. That's a good place to conclude this chat. Thank you, Ben, so interesting. We feel very inspired by working with you, and just chatting with you has been great.

BM: I'm so excited by what we’re building together. It’s giving us a tangibility and helping team members who haven’t been here since day one understand what we’re all about.

NR: I think that tangibility is really key. That’s what we sell, right? Something real that makes sense and, in a world of digital overload, it’s important to hold onto, as we've been discussing.

?BM: Completely. ?