DISPATCH 3

Brad Martinez lives and breathes footwear, from athletic performance to street style, from heritage to high-tech. He’s also no stranger to serious mileage, having recently completed the 139km Ridgeway Challenge, a point-to-point race along Britain’s oldest trail. I caught up with Brad after the race to get his thoughts on the norda 005, the shoe he wore for the ultra and one that has received universal praise from trail runners for its blend of minimalist design and maximum performance. Here’s what Brad had to say.

"norda is a brand I hold in very high regard. The Canadian perfectionists are a refreshing addition to a highly competitive running market - and I struggle to poke holes in their product, branding or overall ethos. Earlier in the year, norda launched their much anticipated 005, a high performance shoe that's dubbed to be the lightest, fastest, strongest and most stable trail shoe on the market.

The upper on the 005 utilises Bio-Dyneema, a unique feature used across all norda performance shoes that ensures breathability and effective water drainage, but the upper design has been tweaked from earlier models to reduce the overall weight of the shoe. A men's size 9 weighs 214g. As for its midsole, the 005 features a 100% Arnitel TPEE foam, a highly responsive, soft, comfortable platform that gives the runner a more enjoyable feeling underfoot. When it comes to the sole, the 005 features Vibram's lastest outsole design, Megagrip Elite, and is finished with norda's Canadian shield motif."

"I've held off on reviewing the latest release from norda. I wanted to give them a proper wear-test to get a true feel for the updated design before passing judgement. Following the completion of the Ridgeway Challenge, it's safe to say I was beyond impressed. Seamless transitions from tarmac to trail (something that can often be overlooked in trail shoes, but which norda's design team have clearly given serious consideration), great energy return and comfort, unbelievably light - and to top it off, zero need to use a changeover shoe throughout the race, which to me says it all. Yet again, I am beyond impressed with yet another footwear masterclass from norda."

Around the same time Charlie Francis was developing the High-Low System (see last month's Dispatch), Dr. Phil Maffetone was shaping what became known as the Maffetone Method. Though there is no evidence the two ever crossed paths, their methods share three key principles: 1) Avoid moderate-intensity training that causes fatigue without clear physiological benefit; 2) Respect the body's stress-recovery rhythm, recognising that adaptations occur during recovery, not constant exertion; 3) Focus on long-term development over short-term gains. Maffetone challenged the prevailing endurance dogma of the time. His advice? Train slower to get faster. Focus on building a robust aerobic base, rather than chasing speed through intensity alone. At the core of the Maffetone Method is the simple idea of training at a low heart rate to increase endurance and avoid overstressing the body. His "180 Formula" (subtracting your age from 180), gives you your maximum aerobic heart rate. Stay under it during your easy runs. Over time, as aerobic efficiency improves, your pace at the same heart rate will increase — a true measure of functional fitness and sustainable progress.

CLOBBER first began to take form in September 2022, centred around a simple idea: to create elevated training essentials for the cross-functional athlete. I had zero experience in fashion. I was sketching designs (fortunately, I've always been able to translate the images in my mind onto paper) without a clue how to bring them to life. I scoured blogs, forums and socials until I found a freelance designer who was able to help me translate my ideas into factory-ready language. The designer introduced me to a developer, who unlocked access to specialist European factories. MOQs, DTM, 3mm twin-needle stitch, one term at a time, I was beginning to understand the language of garment design. I took an activewear design course at Central Saint Martins to understand the process end-to-end, learned Adobe Illustrator so that I could build my own tech packs, studied fabrics at trade shows and visited factories to learn directly from seasoned seamstresses. The journey was anything but linear. It was messy, uncertain, and often overwhelming - but every misstep was a lesson, and every small win moved the needle. As we take our first steps into the world with the Cicada Track Jacket and Cicada Training Cap, I think about the people who gave up their time to teach me - mentors, makers and strangers alike - each playing a part in turning an idea into something real. Without them, none of it would have been possible.

Every now and again, you stumble upon a book that marks you. You remember where you were when you read it - and the way it made you feel. The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer is one of those books. It recounts the history of attempts to scale the North Face of the Eiger, a near-vertical wall of ice and rock in the Swiss Alps, ominously known as the "Mordward" (Murder Wall). Named after a web-shaped ice field perched high on the face of the Eiger, the book is a tale of courage, failure, tragedy and triumph. It's as much about character as it is about climbing. It's about the human yearning to touch something higher. Harrer, who was part of the team that made the first successful ascent in 1938, writes with the insight of a man who has faced death and come back changed. 

In 1993, Oakley appointed their first formally trained industrial designer, Peter Yee. Yee's design philosophy merges avant-garde aesthetics and athletic functionality, drawing inspiration from diverse sources to inform his creations. One year into his 25-year tenure at Oakley, Yee revealed the iconic Eye Jacket, which set a new standard in performance eyewear. The Eye Jacket was the first pair of sunglasses fully designed using computer-aided design (CAD), marking a radical shift from manual prototyping and opening the door to more ergonomic, futuristic designs. The organic, flowing curve, wraparound silhouette and space-age look made the Eye Jacket feel like wearable tech or armour, rather than just a fashion accessory. It wasn't just for show, it was built for performance. Embraced by the likes of Dennis Rodman, the Eye Jacket became a cultural icon and has retained its notoriety to this day. Again, Yee pushed the boundaries of conventional eyewear with the "Over The Top" eyewear, worn by Trinidadian sprinter, Ato Boldon, during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Yee's contribution to Oakley's identity stretched beyond product design. He was responsible for designing the company's unmistakable logo that visually distils the brand's ethos of performance, innovation and edge. Without Peter Yee, Oakley would have been just another performance brand. With him, it became a symbol of futuristic rebellion and engineered excellence.