History of the Inov-8 brand
The Inov-8 brand was founded in 2003 by Wayne Edy born in Zimbabwe. He noticed a lack of trail running shoes in the UK market. From an early age, he worked in the shoe industry, where he gained experience in the development and production of shoes. In Zimbabwe, he successfully applied operations similar to those used by Tomáš Baťa at the time. With this style, he helped build a network of sports shops that triple the size of the company thanks to honest and well-done work. At the age of 26, he wins a number of major business awards for his work and leaves Zimbabwe.
For the next 14 successful years, he is in the Berghaus group, where he is involved in the development and production of footwear. Then came the crucial decision that it was time to start his own company, and so Inov-8 was born in northern England with the words: "I have a sports and outdoor history behind me, I have worked in the footwear segment all my life. I perfectly understand production, business, I know the market and the environment, so why not start a brand that deals with the real needs of mountain runners? It was a pure financial gamble. I invested 30,000 pounds in the preparation of molds and other equipment for a single model (the Mudroc 290). I was so convinced of the quality product that I had a container of 2,500 pairs produced without a single order." This was written in July 2003.
The first model in which he put all his strength and hope – the Mudroc 290 – was awarded by Runner World "Product of the Year 2003". This model is still produced today.
One of the first successes for Inov-8 was the story of the athlete from New Zealand, Melissa Moon, who participated in the World Mountain Running Trophy in Alaska in 2003. Her racing shoes weren't grippy enough on the muddy, snow-covered track. She then borrowed a pair of MUDROC 290s from another runner and ended up winning the women's race. As she crossed the finish line, she held her shoes up and told everyone that the shoes helped her win. It was the first podium of hundreds more with Inov-8 shoes.
Inov-8 quickly expanded and entered other markets, such as the USA, where sales began to skyrocket in 2009 thanks to mountain running shoes. Since then, the company has continued to grow globally, with the business now trading in over 60 countries. Their shoes are placed on hundreds of podiums every year. They focus on trail equipment, their footwear has gained a significant spectrum of users, to whom they gradually offer other assortments such as clothing, high-end running backpacks, waistbags, vests and other accessories.
In collaboration with the University of Manchester, they developed a graphene-enhanced shoe that was launched in the summer of 2018 and generated a number of awards worldwide, with some media bringing comparisons to the Nike Air or the Reebok Pump. Since then, they have expanded the range to include shoes with Graphene-Grip across categories for trail running, cross-training and fast-hike. And that's really just the beginning. Graphene has unlimited potential, which they are constantly exploring to push the boundaries of its use in sports shoes, clothing and sports equipment.
