R.A.D Founder Ben Massey on What Makes a Great Training Shoe
As training footwear brands go, R.A.D doesn’t take itself too seriously. Opting for a drop model, where limited edition colourways are released alongside streetwear-inspired graphics, hype and desirability are central to its ascent.
However, behind its carefree facade, R.A.D’s team of footwear specialists have created a do-it-all training shoe that not only looks great, but balances its aesthetic with performance and sustainability credentials that rivals bigger brands.
In response, gym-goers have been voting with their feet. Walk into any CrossFit gym, Barry's, F45 or even your local Pure Gym, and you'll find that the R.A.D One now adorns the feet of all manner of fitness types.
With the shoe's popularity still on the rise, we delved into the nitty gritty of shoe design with founder Ben Massey, talking lasts, heel-to-toe drops, toe springs and how he and his team went about creating a performance-first shoe that's as equally as wearable outside the gym.
How do you go about designing a training shoe?
So you have something called a last [a wooden device shaped like a foot that's used by cobblers to create shoes]. The saying is 'the last comes first', because until you've established what this is, you can't then draw and build your shoe around it.
Then, when we design, there's three areas we look at. Performance is always first, then we look at the aesthetic of the shoe, and then we look at how we can reduce our impact using materials or construction techniques. It's like doing this tightrope walk of compromising.
With the R.A.D One, what was your main goal in terms of performance?
It needed to be nice and stable to lift in, but supple and pliable enough for plyometrics, running, jumping, double-unders, etc. And those two things are just constantly butting heads.
How did you work around that?
One of the big things was the toe spring – which is how much the toe raises up. When you're lifting or training, if the forefoot isn't in contact with the ground, you lose that connection and the ability to engage your posterior chain. We wanted to have a balance where it could be used for plyometric work, but lean a little bit more towards lifting weights. That was the first part.
Then there was the heel-to-toe offset. At the time, a lot of shoes were quite flat, like zero, 3mm or 4mm. I wanted to increase it, so we went with 6mm, which is a happy medium. It reduced the toe spring for lifting, but then slightly raised it up. So we got that balance.
Were there any other features that you felt had to be incorporated into the shoe?
One was protection for rope climbs. Not that many people rope climb, but if you do and if your shoe can’t handle it, then they get fucked quickly. Another was a heel clip for handstands and push ups.
Another big focus was the tooling – the bottom part of the shoe. We knew the rope wrap would be our wear zone, but when companies just focus on that area, it often makes the shoe unwearable, because there's just this big thing jutting up on the side. We looked at how we could encase the whole mid sole in a TPU cage – a thin, quite flexible plastic – that effectively wraps around the whole mid sole and provides all of the protection and the durability you would need. That took care of the rope fears, while also providing the hands and push-up clip for sliding up and down the wall.
Then the full rubber outsole is super durable. We used a herring bone tread, as it provides the best traction. For things like sled pushes or when you're lifting, you don't want your foot to slide out, etc. So we went for that as our base.
How did you incorporate all this into an overall look that you were happy with?
One of the things that also overarches our three design circles – performance, aesthetics and environmental impact – is the concept of retro futurism. Which is the idea of bringing old design lines or concepts and adding a modern twist that makes them wearable.
We wanted to create a shoe that you would want to wear outside of the gym. The synthetic suede we used around the R.A.D branding and the toe overlay, for us, was a real strong nod to lifestyle shoes, and instantly took it away from being pure performance.
How did you factor in sustainability?
Midsole composition was where we felt like we could reduce our impact the most, in terms of what that was made of. We settled on a bio compound, which is made from 30% sugar cane, which captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when it grows, and 70% fossil-based material.
The cool thing with blending sugar cane with fossil based materials is that you can recycle them in the same waste streams. You don't have to then separate them.
The result, it's fair to say, is a shoe that has become one of the most popular options for cross training right now. Why do you think that is?
I don't want to bash any existing brands, but I think with the footwear that's positioned as 'training', the aesthetic of it isn’t perhaps something you would wear outside of its intended use. One of the big things we wanted to do is have all of the performance features that are present in other models, but then adorn it in a silhouette that feels wearable outside of the gym. I think that really resonates with people.
Do you think people's tastes are changing when it comes training apparel, in that sense?
People are now building their whole lifestyle around physical activities. They say 'I'm a runner' or 'I'm a hybrid athlete'. So, from an aesthetic perspective, people want to wear stuff that helps identify them to an endeavour, but that can also be worn outside of it – kind of like a badge of honour to say, 'I'm part of that tribe'. I think that's probably the shift.
For more footwear recommendations, read our round-ups on the best gym trainers, the best CrossFit shoes, the best weightlifting shoes, and the best running shoes for men.
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