Happy Birthday! Not mine.

8 Years Anniversary of Willpower Running

Last Wednesday, exactly 8 years ago, I launched the onlinestore of my running clothing company Willpower. We celebrated this epic day with great hoo-ha and a special Jubilee T-Shirt that looks like this:

(Never mind, it’s sold out, already)

Foundation

Starting a business (sounds much less pompous than ‘founding a company’) is a rollercoaster of emotions. Even though I’ve been through this a couple of times already*, it was a big thing for me to start Willpower Running in 2015. Mostly, because it was an entirely new field. All of my previous businesses had been related to music. Over decades, I had piled up all the know-how and contacts I needed to launch another music industry venture whenever I felt like. That was very different with Willpower.

Except for my previous experience with printing band shirts, I had no idea what I was doing. I neither knew much about running clothing (I had just started running 2 years before, myself), nor did I know how to reach my potential target audience. My main motive was to create running gear for myself. And to be honest, originally I believed that I would, in fact, be the only person wearing Willpower stuff.

Two items

When the Willpower Onlinestore went live on September 20th, 2015, it featured exactly 2 items:

1. “Classics” Racing Shirt (‘racing’ stands for functional sports textiles at Willpower)

2. “Running With Attitude” Athleisure Shirt (‘athleisure’ is a hybrid shirt made for both, sports and leisure activities)

I had made 50 each and doubted that I would sell more than 10. The rest would be unrequested Christmas gifts for my (non-running) loved ones.

(First-ever Willpower photo shooting by Martin Liebl. Björn, on the left, was my only running friend in 2015. He also became the first Willpower Athlete)

At that time, I didn’t know that these two shirts would be the foundation of everything Willpower stands for: Simple running clothing with a bold message.

The Willpower Athletes

But the real magic started to happen, when, in 2016, the Willpower Athletes gathered. When I started running, my friend Björn Esser was the only runner I knew from the music scene. He used to play in a band called Black Friday 29 which was signed to my record label Let it Burn Records.

In 2016, Björn invited me to a race called Bleilochlauf near Schleiz, Germany. He told me that numerous people from the hardcore-scene would be there and that there’s vegan cake. It sounded tempting and so I went there.

At the Bleilochlauf, I got introduced to my future running peer group, which still exists today. Most of these lovely people not only became my friends, but also the Willpower Athletes.

(The original Willpower Athletes, plus Stephan Wieser, who took the photo, minus two other running friends, who sneaked on the photo. And yes, there’s been also female runners joining the Willpower Athletes)

Many things changed with the foundation of the Willpower Athletes in 2016. First, the word about this new running brand spread immensely fast. Second, the overall image of Willpower was from then on shaped by a whole group of people, and not only one person anymore. Third, I met some of my best friends, which I still run and hang out with, today.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip down the Willpower memory lane. It’s been particularly these first 2 years I am thankful for. Many things fell into place and paved the way for Willpower to become what it is today.

*Other Das Z Business Ventures

I founded two record labels, a button-manufactory, a merchandise printing business, an artist management agency, two fanzines, a jigsaw-puzzle business and countless bands, which can also be considered ‘businesses’ to a certain degree. If you want to hear more about any of this, let me know.

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Everything not running

A few weeks ago, I announced a feature about me in a magazine called “Vegan Für Mich”. Well, it’s out now. Probably at a newsstand near you, or on the internet.

Although I find it kind of weird to be featured in a magazine because of my eating habits, I still enjoyed telling my life story. Or at least some parts of it. Music, running, veganism, writing, Straight Edge, Willpower… it all makes up who I am today. We only have this one life, but so far, I am happy with the paths I followed and curious about the ones ahead.