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How Runly Was Started
Many of you will already know my story. Perhaps you know just a little bit of it.
Either way, I wanted to share a bit more about how Runly came to be, and perhaps more importantly, why.
In the last few months we've added several thousand new members to the Runly family (hey there!), so I think it's important to share.
I started running when I was 8 years old at the local little athletics. Was I the best? No. But heck, I was competitive.
It was really the foundation that has got me through many challenging aspects of my life - most of which I don't need to share.
But we've all had our unique personal challenges, right?
That's not new or interesting.
But what is interesting is how we let those challenges shape us.
One of my football coaches used to say that the best skill you can teach yourself is 'how to deal with adversity'.
I still believe that.
Nothing worthwhile ever came easy.
Anyway, back to little athletics.
I was the kid who had unparalleled determination. I clearly wasn't the fastest but I'd grit my teeth, head swaying side to side and a strong forward lean to try to get to the finish line.
It was ugly, but also very beautiful.
I thrived on the long distance events. The longer the better. I knew I could outlast the other kids. I preyed on their tiredness.
Over the next 10 years I developed a fierce competitive edge. Whether it be school, business or sport.
I often tell people my competitiveness is both my best and worst trait.
Some of you might be able to relate to this, but if I'm having a muck around with some mates playing basketball or a bit of beach soccer, I can't help but try to turn it into a competitive game with winners and losers.
My goal as a kid was always to be a footballer. After missing out on getting drafted at 18, I played for quite a few years at a lower level but eventually stopped after one too many concussions.
This is when I turned to running.
Not to be an elite athlete. But to test myself. To keep fit. To scratch my competitive edge.
Earlier I mentioned that I had some challenges, one of those was a medical condition.
My Dad used to joke that we had our own VIP parking at the Children's Hospital.
Back then, and now, I have to carry medication with me at all times - including when running.
So once I started getting back into running I really wanted to create a better solution for myself, so that I could carry everything that I needed on my runs.
If you're here and reading this, you'll know how annoying it is having your phone in your pocket smashing against your leg every stride.
After wearing it myself for a few weeks, I had multiple requests from others. People would stop me out on runs asking about it.
I find it funny now, because I often get messages from Runly members telling me that they now get stopped out on runs!
So I went ahead and got about 100 vests made. I thought, well, if worst comes to worst I can give them to family and friends.
Little did I know...
They sold out in just a couple of weeks.
But then it happened again. And again. And again.
It was clear that runners needed a better solution to carry their stuff, and that's how Runly was born.
Ultimately, I built Runly for me. But it turns out that there were thousands more people out there who needed the same solution.
My goal now for Runly is to improve the running experience. That goes for any new products that we release, and continually improving the products that we do have.
Not only that, but it's about building community.
I'm so proud of the community that we have now.
This year I want to host some group meetups & runs, we'll be attending a bunch of events and ultimately bring the Runly family closer together.
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter - something a little different from my previous writeups.
As always,
Run well.
Run well.
Robbie.
