You probably don’t know who Tony Post is, but chances are you have very strong feelings – love or hate – about the geeky status symbol and much-mocked Vibram FiveFinger shoes he used to sell. Now he’s leaving those barefoot, man-ape shoes behind for a new footwear venture called ToPo Athletic (Tony Post, get it?). The company launches Wednesday with a still-secret product line and $5 million in the bank from Norwest Venture Partners.
But don’t get your fashion knickers in a twist. “This is not another toe shoe,” says Post, a 30-year footwear veteran of Rockport and Vibram USA (the American outfit of the Italian shoe sole company). “This is completely different.”
Though exactly what it is is hard to put your finger (or toe) on. Post’s hook for his new line of shoes is something he calls “innate amplification” — a mysterious concept that enhances your natural body movements. “Innate amplification takes the body’s own natural biomechanics and tries to amplify and support them,” says Post. “We don’t try to correct or change the way you run or train, but we try to work with what nature gave you.”
The catch is that we have no idea what these shoes will look like – yet. ToPo Athletic won’t launch its first footwear products until January 2013 at the Outdoor Retailer trade show They’ll go on sale by next May. However, Post has given us a few clues of what we can expect.
First, we know the new shoes will “amplify your natural movements,” so we can assume these won’t be like the Skechers Shape Up toning shoes, which destabilize you with every step in an effort to workout your legs and butt. According to Post, the shoes will also most definitely be lightweight and possibly minimalist – similar to Nike’s Free line.
Lastly, ToPo Athletic is going after the geeky, early-adopter fitness consumer – some of the same people who jumped on the FiveFingers bandwagon. “Our narrowest consumer focus is really the early adopter, someone who isn’t scared to take a risk,” says ToPo marketing director Georgia Shaw.
So if you’re a footwear nerd, fitness geek, or one of the few FiveFinger evangelists, keep an eye out in January to see what ToPo Athletic pulls out from behind its curtain. If Post can do as well with ToPo as he did with Vibram, literally a company stuck in the mud that he moved to the top of the shoe food chain, he’ll have another hit on his hands.
Just remember, “It’s not Tony Post coming out with another minimalist line of footwear,” says Post referring to himself in the third-person like the shoe celebrity he is. No doubt we’ll love it, and hate it.
The Guy to Blame for Those FiveFinger Shoes Is Back With More
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The Guy to Blame for Those FiveFinger Shoes Is Back With More
