Updated:2024-11-09 02:58 Views:174
This summer, Ashley Ellefson, a 39-year-old operations executive, was running along Manhattan’s East River Promenade when she spotted a group of mennuebe gaming, many of them clad in Bandit Running gear, coming toward her. They ran her off the road.
“I had to very quickly get out of their way, otherwise I was going to be trampled,” she said.
Ms. Ellefson, a Bandit fan and member of its subscription program, was training for the Chicago Marathon at the time. Despite her experience on that run, she still tried to buy Bandit’s Chicago-themed racing crop when it became available. It was sold out, so she wore a different Bandit top in the race.
“It has this cachet,” she said. “And they do a really good job with pockets.”
Started in Brooklyn in 2020, Bandit Running is part of the changing face of running apparel, which had never previously had the street fashion cool factor often bestowed upon gear for skateboarding, surfing, basketball and tennis.
Tracksmith, a Boston-based company known for preppy and expensive gear, led the way among cult running brands. But Bandit, alongside other niche brands like Satisfy Running, Saysky and Miler Running, has quickly become respected for its quality and has created a visual shibboleth among more serious runners.
Helping Bandit set itself apart is its New York identity, which has allowed it to leverage the city’s own mythology and its wealth of run clubs. Those clubs, for many New Yorkers, have taken running from a solitary pursuit to a scene.
While most of Bandit’s sales happen online, where it boasts 18,000 people in its virtual training program, the company has opened two retail locations: one in Greenpoint and one in the West Village. The brand’s gear is also carried in 46 stores around the world, with sales having nearly quadrupled this year, according to the company. New product drops sell out in minutes and the company has been bolstered by venture capital funding from, among others, Drive by DraftKings.
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