OTO's Lucy Bale Connects With ON

Our very own Lucy Bale attended Outdoor Oniversity a couple weeks ago, a 3 day event in Colorado geared towards educating and engaging with On’s retailers. If it sounds awesome, that’s because it was—3 days in Estes Park talking about shoes, what could be better? Our On rep, Will, was kind enough to choose our store for the event, and with 8 pairs of Ons to her name, Lucy was the perfect choice to represent us! Her passion for the brand and excitement to share it are a couple of the many reasons we’re lucky to have her, and If you can believe it, she returned with immediate plans to buy another pair. Lucy was already all in for On, but the enthusiasm at the event was infectious, and she came back ready to share her experience with all of us.

Flying out to Colorado, a place she’d never been before, Lucy was excited to see a place she’d helped so many of our customers gear up for! On wanted to cater the event towards outdoor retailers, so Colorado was an easy choice with gorgeous sights and tons of trails nearby. They spent a decent amount of the 3 days in presentations learning about every detail of On’s creative and scientific process of designing and making shoes, but the folks at On wanted to provide the chance to let loose and do some adventuring too.

For those of us into paranormal activity, Lucy and the group took a ghost tour of the hotel that inspired The Shining! In search of a ghost coincidentally named Lucy, our Lucy had an encounter of her own, capturing what looks like a ghostly fox in one of her photos from the day. I think we can all agree that a ghost fox sounds equal parts cute and spooky.

Everyone at Oniversity got together for snowshoeing as well, a trek through gorgeous woods and over precarious ledges. They finished their walk standing in the middle of a frozen lake, one thing Lucy had previously sworn she’d never do. At the end of the day, faced with the sparkling expanse around her and sipping hot chocolate, what she most felt was a sense of satisfaction for having done it, for pushing her boundaries.

It reflected the atmosphere of the trip and the ethos of On, who are dedicated to pushing forward and doing the work to make something for everyone. At their headquarters, each employee has the opportunity to pitch their own shoe. It’s a practice that reflects their priorities, and one that they brought to Oniversity as well. Everyone got into teams and brainstormed new ideas for what kind of shoes they’d like to see from On. Lucy and her team made the winning pitch, a wide water shoe cleverly named Cloudcurrant - Tide To Town!

The highlight of the trip came on the last day, when they returned to a lake where they’d gone for a run on the first day. After spending several days learning about On and all their shoes, everyone was given the opportunity to repeat the run with four different pairs of On running shoes. Getting to wear each pair back to back was an awesome opportunity to really feel the differences, and returning to the same spot was a fun way to bookend the experience. Lucy told us she was torn between the Cloudsurfer and the Cloudrunner, but ultimately excited to find that there were several options that gave her the support she needed to feel comfortable and excited about running. They really do have something for everyone.


So if you, like me, are now itching to buy your own pair, head On over! (Get it?)

 

Author: Out There's very own Sam Sontag

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