How Olivier Bernhard Started On Running And Made It The Fastest-Growing Athletic Shoe Brand In America

“All they threw at me was ‘impossible, impossible, impossible.’ I said, ‘OK. I accept but how are you going to do it?’ They said, ‘You don’t get it. It’s impossible.’ I said, ‘No, you don’t get it. How are you going to make it happen anyway?’ Probably from being a coach and an athlete, I can set that spark in people so that they trust me and if I really believed so much in this idea that they joined the team to make it happen.” Olivier Bernhard is one of the founders of On Running. He’s been a runner and athlete his entire life but in 2010, he was looking to pitch several major sportswear companies on selling runners and athletes a new experience and feel while running as opposed to just another product. When he was turned away several times, he took it upon himself to create a prototype and pursue the project independently. He showed off the first Frankenstein shoe to his friends David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti and they decided to partner on starting On. The brand has since partnered with tennis legend Roger Federer and IPO’ed in September 2022 with a $6 billion valuation. I had the chance to sit down with Olivier last month and got a bit of the story of how this company came together and why they’re going to continue pushing innovation and high performance with their athletes and a major investment in running. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS TRACKSMITH : Running in cold weather requires thoughtful layers and Tracksmith’s Fells Collection is a Citius favorite. During the month of December, visit tracksmith.com/citius and use code “ CITIUSMAG ” at checkout for free shipping and to support Achilles International – Their mission break down barriers to race start lines and empower the disability community to cross the finish line. VELOUS is an active recovery footwear brand designed to help you restore, revive & re-energize before and after you train. Two years in development, this team has created the world’s most comfortable, supportive and lightweight active recovery shoe in the world. Get 20% off using code CitiusMag20 GARMIN : Music. Training. Data. The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is my favorite running partner. You do the running. This GPS running smartwatch does the thinking. It even gets to know you and your body better, mile after mile and song after song. Get one for yourself here >> https://bit.ly/3Pcu0qo FINAL SURGE: If you are a coach, Final Surge makes planning and analyzing workouts simple and helps streamline communication with your athletes. Final Surge is also here to offer up some world-class training programs. Check out their offerings today: FINALSURGE.COM – USE CODE CITIUS FOR 10% OFF. HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts . 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel