I will NEVER buy another pair of Brooks shoes or apparel EVER AGAIN

GOOBY MCGOOBERSON wrote:

Bobby1 wrote:

I've been wearing Brooks shoes since the company started. They are good shoes. I don't remember who won the last olympic marathon or super bowl. Who cares.

Interesting that right after the Bloomberg story broke and made its way to the message boards, the vast majority of responses were negative towards Brooks. Now we have more and more that sound an awful lot like this one. Almost like an organized PR effort on Brooks' part.

I am an Adidas guy currently, but my brand loyalty switches based upon what shoes work for me. I have never worn brooks.

That being said - I read the entire interview and it was the opposite of offensive. He actually talks about running being a personal choice etc. which for most people who run, is the truth. What percentage of runners do you think are competitive, in terms of actually entering running events and actually wanting to win the race (or even age group)? Running really isn't a sport for 99% of the people who buy shoes. It's fitness, exercise, personal goals to complete a distance, a hobby, etc., it's not a competition other than in some personal way with themselves.

I was so impressed by his interview I went online and listened to other interviews. The CEO is committed to making shoes for runners. He says that they are "product driven, not market driven". Which is what you would hope from a shoe company, a real desire to make good shoes.

Unlike the offended thin skinned idiots commenting here who likely did't even read the article, I can read and do a little bit of independent research. In the future, I will for sure try Brooks shoes. I won't change just because I like the CEO ( I do now), but I like his message and if his product works for me better than my current shoes (fit, price etc.), I will buy them.

Oh come on, this has to be a Brooks employee or a troll. We all read the article.

Exactly.

"Why risk offending half your customers?" That's as stupid as a politician calling half of the country "A basket of deplorables." Or another politician pointing out that nearly half of the country actually pays no income tax. Even if you weren't counting on their business (or votes), that is indeed "rather daft."

"But do we really need to rush to boycott every business just because we don't 100% agree with everyone's opinion who owns the business. . . . ?" That would be as stupid as ignoring a politician's great policies and not voting for him/herjust because you don't like what he/she said or tweeted that hurt your widdle feewings.

As for Brooks, I haven't bought anything from them for at least 25 years. I had a pair of Brooks shoes once after buying them on my Footlocker employee discount, but they haven't made any shoes that appealed to me since. Right now, every shoe company with any sense is looking for a way to copy Adidas' Boost midsole without making it so obvious, with Saucony being the first to just accept reality and do it. Imagine--a midsole that lasts longer and maintains its high quality longer than the rest of the shoe. If Brooks comes out with the same thing at a decent price and a good feel on my feet, I'll buy it, regardless of the CEO saying that running isn't a sport, which is actually true.

The CEO of Brook's is not concerned with running as a sport even if owns and operates a running company. he is concerned with making more money then you ever will. His goal is not to have the fastest runner ever wear his product he can give two $hit$ less. He doesn't even know who any of the runners are guaranteed he pays people to know that for him. His goal is to become a $Billionaire because that is a sub 4:00 mile in his world!!!!

Brooks CEO is sadly correct.

Even the ancient Olympics had no running. They did have golf, CrossFit, curling, and Wii in the ancient Olympics, but no running. Actually surprised no one has brought that up.

(Let those without a sarcasm detector cast the first...)

I think you guys are overreacting.

Brooks has done great stuff and one little misplaced statement is going to cloud your assessment of their worth?

So i did a little checking, and what they've done that get's my praise is:

1) They partner with the Special Olympics and give a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their co-brnaded shoes to the Special Olympics. See the last sentence in the following link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Sports

2) Are sponsoring deserving runners to be compensated as professional athletes, and you may apply:

http://running.competitor.com/2017/06/sponsored/brooks-looking-regular-yet-superstar-athletes_164739

So, brush off your egos. Brooks has been putting their money into people - runners who work hard and want some recognition, as well as some folks out there who could really use some encouragement and assistance. And those are deeds and contributions and realized commitments, not just a string of misplaced words.

Have a little heart. Brooks is the real thing.

Shawn H wrote:

Right now, every shoe company with any sense is looking for a way to copy Adidas' Boost midsole without making it so obvious, with Saucony being the first to just accept reality and do it. Imagine--a midsole that lasts longer and maintains its high quality longer than the rest of the shoe. If Brooks comes out with the same thing at a decent price and a good feel on my feet, I'll buy it, regardless of the CEO saying that running isn't a sport, which is actually true.

Agreed. Boost is still the best option for everyday trainers. ZoomX or whatever is in the vaporfly better for races, but in my experience it doesn't last leng. Please no replies about the ZoomFly. It's a hard hard foam, not good.

That's how you be a brand ambassador. Positivity.

Way better than this guy:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&thread=8614342&id=8614972#8614972

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&thread=8614342&id=8614884#8614884

moistoillette wrote:

LoneStarXC wrote:

Fake news. I’ll be running d1 next year.

pics?

Not of me, but I’ll show you some pics of llamas.

You’re welcome.

seattle prattle wrote:

2) Are sponsoring deserving runners to be compensated as professional athletes, and you may apply:

http://running.competitor.com/2017/06/sponsored/brooks-looking-regular-yet-superstar-athletes_164739

So, brush off your egos. Brooks has been putting their money into people - runners who work hard and want some recognition, as well as some folks out there who could really use some encouragement and assistance. And those are deeds and contributions and realized commitments, not just a string of misplaced words.

Have a little heart. Brooks is the real thing.

Ahahaha this is good trolling. Yes, they replaced the Brooks ID elite (and soon the Beasts and Hansons) with $1 "sponsorships." The BIG ENDORSEMENT doesn't even include trainers??? Oh, but I have the chance to be on the cover of Competitor magazine. Woohoo. Screw the elite/sub-elites, I get my pic on a mag for doing nothing.

LoneStarXC wrote:

Not of me, but I’ll show you some pics of llamas.

https://a-z-animals.com/media/animals/images/original/llama5.jpghttp://www.llamaadventures.com/images/llama-trekking-llama.jpg

You’re welcome.

i care, a lot wrote:

fdfsdfasdfasdfasdf wrote:

The difference is nobody else cares about my Kohls experience (though Kohls is full of dirty, rotten, scumbags). The CEO's dumb comments were plastered across the front page of the largest running website in the world. That's not good any way you cut it. I won't shop Brooks anymore, and I'm glad to know a number of others feel the same way. If you don't care, that's fine.

That's not true - I am interested. What did Kohl's do to you 10 years ago which has kept you this bitter for 10 years! That's impressive, I really want to know. I have a hard time staying angry for 10 hours, I mean, 10 years, that's cray, this has to be a good story?

You don't care, but I'll tell you anyway. It's honestly not something I think about regularly. Not like I wake up in the morning and look at a DOWN WITH KOHLS sign plastered to my mirror after I do some angry pushups.

In college I bought my wife some inexpensive jewelry from Kohls one Christmas. They offered me 20% off if I signed up for their store credit card, so I agreed figuring I'd just cancel the card after I paid the balance. $50 out the door.

3 months later I got my first bill in the mail. It said I was more than 60 days overdue and they'd added $90 in late fees to my bill. Additionally I discovered that they'd reported my overdue account to the credit bureaus. I called the billing number sure that this would be a quick fix. The rep was disrespectful from the start of the call. She called me a liar and said I was only trying to fix things so I could get a loan. It was outrageous. I spoke with a supervisor who took the same approach. I told her if they forced me to pay the fees and refused to remove the credit bureau reports I would never set foot in their stores again. She didn't budge, and I've held true to what I said.

It's taken me literally no effort to keep that promise. There's a lot of stores that compete with Kohls, after all. The worst part is I did eventually apply for a home loan, and the Kohls report was the only negative mark on my credit report. From what I can tell that's costing me about $700 annually in additional interest. So yeah, f*** Kohls.

Honest question:

Did the rep literally call you a liar? As in, did they say the words "You are a liar" - in some iteration or another involving the noun 'liar'?

Or did the rep question your version of events based on the information they had in front of them?

I don't know why but it seems like a 99+% chance that you interpreted them calling you a liar based on the conversation and that those words never actually left their mouth.

Bump

Anyone ordering any Brooks stuff today?

Nope. Desi rocks. Brooks still blows.

Take my business elsewhere wrote:

Solely based on CEO's statement.

That, combined with the fact that Brooks makes low quality products, is why I too will never buy anything from the company.