Just want to buy a pair of Brooks right now? Brooks.
Ever since the jogging craze hit America in the 1970s, Brooks has been synonymous with running. The only company purely fixed on running, it has made developments in the running world that other athletic shoe companies only dream of. The first company ever to develop the EVA midsole in the 1970s, Brooks created waves around the industry.
Brooks doesn’t just focus on their shoes. Wanting to give its consumers the best run of their
lives, the apparel that they designed take care of every need a runner might have. From moisture-wicking light material used for the clothing, to an extra pocket for money or an MP3 player, or light reflecting materials for night runs, Brooks has what you need even before you think of it. The high-tech HVAC fabrics also adjust to the ambient temperatures, keeping you warm or cool as you need it.
Founded as a manufacturer of ice skates and cleated sports shoes in 1914, Brooks didn’t actually take off until the 1970s, when they invented the Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) midsoles that made them a front-runner in the athletic footwear department. Their proprietary platforms, the Linear, Universal, and Curved platforms were all biomechanically designed to fit runner’s needs.
But the aerobics craze of the 80s proved to be not so kind to Brooks and the company floundered a bit. It was first acquired by Wolverine World Wide in 1982 and then sold to Norwegian-based Rokke Group (later Aker RGI) in 1993. Aker installed Helen Rockey as President (with Brooks again making history as having the first female President of an athletic shoe company) and after refocusing market strategy in the 1990s toward the serious runners who knew what Brooks had stood for (the 35-54 year-old age bracket), the company was able to recover and further diversify into the running apparel market in 1997. This move proved to be so successful that in 1999, Brooks acquired its own subsidiary – Total Quality Apparel Resource Inc., a National City, California, company that had previously served as an independent apparel contractor for Brooks.
2009 Ford Ironman Women's' World Champion Chrissie Wellington takes the pace easily in her Brooks T6 Racers.
Their choice of choosing to promote members of the worldwide running community that are respected but not so well known further cemented their image as a shoe for serious runners.
Brooks now sells 7 types of shoes for men: for neutral runners, pronators and overpronators, guidance shoes with cushioning and stability, trail running shoes, competition, and walking shoes. Women’s shoes are also subject to the same care with the same range of shoes engineered specifically for a woman’s size and weight, and neutral shoes for toddlers and children 8 years old and above plus shoes with mild support for overpronators aged 8 and above.
The dynamic apparel range provide for running in all kinds of weather and conditions: from baselayers, short and long sleeved tops, shorts, tights, pants, outerwear like jackets and vests, and accessories like caps, socks, gloves, bags, and, specially for women, skorts, tank tops and sports bras. Standing out from the everyday range of running apparel is the NightLife retroreflective running gear and the HVAC system to give you the most comfortable run you’ve ever had.
The Brooks’ management team today includes President and CEO James M. (Jim) Weber, EVP and COO David Bohan, Vice President of Sales, Specialty Retail Accounts Rick Wilhelm, Vice President of Footwear Design Trip Allen, Vice President of Footwear Marketing Craig Heisner, Vice President of Sales Luke Rowe, and Vice President of Merchandising and Business Planning Hamish Stewart. This powerhouse aims to bring Brooks back to its status in the 1970s.
To start, Brooks has partnered with Asahi Corporation of Fukuoka for over ten years for the technical performance running and walking footwear categories and has since extended the life of this partnership. This successful collaboration has seen, aside from some of the technology mentioned above, the development of the advanced polymer MoGo midsole that “provides runners with more cushioning (33%), more rebound or energy return (22%) and a decrease in fatigue (33%)” in 2006 and the BioMoGo, the world’s first biodegradable running shoe midsole that biodegrades 50 times faster than the EVA they themselves pioneered in 2007.They then developed the the HydroFlow system with viscous silicon-oil compound liquid sole inserts for advanced cushioning and shock absorption for the feet, the Progressive Diagonal Rollbar, a high-tech feature for overpronators; and HPR Green, a durable, long-wearing outsole made of dispersed silicon compound resulting in premium wet-dry traction with an environmentally-friendlier composition. On the apparel side, the HVAC technology vents away heat for a drier run and includes embedded silver to kill 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria.
Brooks' DNA pushes the latest Glycerin 8 to the Editor's Choice Awards
2010’s latest development is the Brooks DNA, individual molecules connected in strands and chains and act as smart cushioning system that reacts to the amount of force placed on the foot and instantaneously and constantly adapts to a runner’s unique biomechanics, weight, pace, gait, and running surface.
Winning the Runner’s World 2009 Editor’s Choice Award for the off-trail Cascadia and the Best Update for fit and flexibility with the Ghost 2, Brooks looks like it’s a shoe-in for that comeback.
Brooks is owned by Russel Corporation and is now a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., with headquarters in Bothell, Washington. Brooks running shoes can be purchased online and also through sporting goods retailers and athletic footwear stores in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Brooks Sports can be contacted at:
Brooks Sports, Inc.
19910 North Creek Parkway, Suite 200
Bothell, WA 98011-8223 USA
Phone: 1-800-2-BROOKS
Fax: 425-489-1975
www.brooksrunning.com
Purchase your own pair of Brooks right now!
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