endurance Junkie

Prototype #2 feedback

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:28:40 +0000

Despite a very dark and wet month of February, we’ve had the second prototype of the one-piece race suit tested by a bunch of local athletes, in addition to the original Australian and New-Zealand team. Reading the team’s invaluable comments, there is still room for improvement, but it is clear that we’re on the right track!

Extracts include:
“The fabric feels very comfortable on my skin”.
“Moisture evacuation and temperature control are excellent.”
“The pad is very comfy and despite it’s thickness, does not bother on the run.”

Thanks to everybody involved (you know who you are), your feedback has been priceless once again!

The birth of a passion

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:23:45 +0000

I’m a sports fan. Always have been and always will be. When I read the newspaper, the sports section is the first thing I devour. I try to watch as much as possible on TV: entire stages of the Tour de France, tennis Grand Slams, Formula 1, the Olympics and just about every other major championship out there. I can spend 4 night in a row, glued to the BBC, to see Tiger Woods win another Green Jacket. Give me 5 days to see a cricket test match and I’m the happiest man alive.

As a kid, I played football (soccer) and tennis. I gave field hockey a try. Judo too, but I was too small and got thrown all the time, which sucked. Eventually I settled on volleyball. I was still the shortest kid on the team, but setters don’t need to be tall; they need good hands and a feeling for the game. I had those. Well… sort of.

When I turned 11, a family friend gave me a sports encyclopedia as a birthday present. It had chapters on every major sport, explaining its history, rules and records.

One such chapter – a very short one – was devoted to triathlon. It pictured some guy named Dave Scott in the middle of the Hawaiian lava fields during some race that was called Ironman. The distances were insane, it was halfway around the globe and all very surreal.

During a job interview a couple years back, the HR manager asked me what my first ever decision was that has influenced my life up till today. I told her it was the decision I made on my 11th birthday to one day race Ironman.

A passion was born.

Did you get your fix today?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:53:48 +0000

Ironman is the ultimate endurance event.

3,8km of swimming, 180km of cycling and 42,2km of running. It is without a doubt the toughest one-day event in the world; the road to the finishline is brutal, both physically and mentally. And that’s just on race day! Training for an Ironman is an endeavor that will consume many months of your life.

So to be able to perform on race day, triathletes need clothing that is as well designed as the carbon bikes they ride on.

endurance Junkie will strive to bring new standards of design to multisport apparel. All products will be conceived by triathletes for triathletes. Every material used will have been chosen because it is the best in the world at its job. Every detail will count. Only the best will do.

Check back soon, read the weekly dispatches on Tuesday or sign up to our Bulletin newsletter for the latest developments.

Now go and get your training fix, you endurance Junkie you!

The endurance Junkie philosophy

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:50:46 +0000

Our values are the foundation of our company. They define who we are and set us apart from the competition. They underlie our vision of the future, our business strategies and our decisions, actions and behaviors. We will live by them. They will endure.

Four core values are at the heart of endurance Junkie:

Passion
 Passion for triathlon is at the heart of the company and the main reason why endurance Junkie was founded. We believe triathlon to be the most beautiful sport in the world and want to share that passion with you, our futur customer, partners and employees in whatever possible way.

Performance
 We will constantly strive for the highest quality product possible and will take great pride and pleasure in helping you achieve your goals. endurance Junkie products will be designed and tested by triathletes of all levels for maximum breathability, body temperature control and total freedom of movement.

Design 
Choosing for performance should not mean you have to compromise on style. endurance Junkie aims to provide well-defined, stylish and modern patterns and designs, to those who look for perfection in their apparel. You will look ace on those finish photos!

Integrity
 Integrity is defined by doing the right thing. It’s making decisions which stand the test of time and respect our customers, partners and employees. endurance Junkie is not about maximizing profit or a making a quick buck. It’s about building a long-term brand – growing at a controlled pace – in which everyone reaps the benefits.

We hope they make sense…

Open letter to motorists

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:47:42 +0000

Dear motorist,

I know it may not be the best time of year to go for a run, I’m sorry. It has snowed extensively for a couple of days and we live in a country where people are not used to to that. The local council has done close to nothing to clear our streets and sidewalks, so as you can see, the only trajectory free from snow and ice is the path that cars and buses have created by driving on those same streets.

I know you are under a lot of stress. Road conditions are dangerous, you need to be 100% focused to keep your car from crashing into a parked vehicle. It is close to 5pm, you are on your way home from work, you need to collect the children from school and you still have to do some grocery shopping. You have a hectic lifestyle and I understand that completely. I feel for you.

But is it too much to ask to simply swerve around me or at least slow the hell down when you see me running in your direction? Thank you!

Kind regards.

Prototype #1 feedback

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:12:36 +0000

Metallica’s Master of Puppets is proving to be too much of a distraction as background music for writing a new dispatch, so I’ve momentarily turned it down a couple of notches.

While winter holds a firm grip over Europe, our friends from the Southern hemisphere are enjoying a warm, all be it sometimes wet, summer and are in full swing racing mode. The local 70.3 series have shown some fine racing so far – with great results for Chris and Bevan – and Ironman NZ & Oz are approaching fast.

Nope, still too loud. Hold on…

Allright, where was I? Down Under, summer… OK, what better place to test the first prototype of the one-piece race suit, right? So, we did.

A small bunch of local Test Team members have been testing the suit extensively over the last couple of weeks and feedback is now coming in by the bucket-loads. As is often the case with prototypes, there seem to be some small issues with overall fit and pocket placement, but overall feedback is very positive:
 - the fabrics we’re using are doing the job they are supposed to be doing.
- breathability and temperature control is excellent.
- padding is awesome.
- leg compression worked a treat.

We’re loving it and want to thank everybody involved for their amazing efforts!

Now… onwards with prototype #2.

New website launched

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:11:08 +0000

Where did 2009 go? Answers on a postcard to endurance HQ, please.

A lot of stuff happened last year. I got married and gained a family, lost my job and started developing this brand, raced Ironman Frankfurt, traveled through Mexico for three weeks and lost a grandmother one week after coming back from the trip. It’s clearly been a year with ups and downs, and one I will not forget any time soon.

But the past is the past and we have to keep moving forward and today is the first official day of the age of endurance Junkie! All financing issues have finally been resolved, the necessary paperwork has been filed, we have a tax number and the company has officially been established. How about that! Thank you very much.

But it gets better…

To celebrate all this, I thought we’d offer ourselves a brand spanking new website! It’s taken a bit of work, but I think it’s a major improvement compared to the last site and plenty of pages and features will be added in the next couple of months. The blog will be updated weekly from now on, so keep an eye out for those updates. Subscribing to the RSS feed will help you with that.

Feel free to tell us what you think of the new site, what we have to get rid off, how we can improve it,… you name it. We always love hearing from you!

I am so looking forward to 2010!
Happy New Year, Junkies!

Peter Brees