Hi Brice, can you introduce yourself in a few words?
I was born and raised in the Alps, in Meylan, to be exact. At 11, I discovered "Kill 'em All" by Metallica with its bloody cover. At 13, I received my first Santa Cruz skateboard; for my 14th birthday, my parents gave me a drum kit, and at 16, I launched a skate brand. I was a teenager fascinated by science who hated sport, competition, and above all, the atmosphere in the locker room after my handball matches. I just want to skate, snowboard, play heavy metal, and rock with my microscope. At 18 years old, I started medical studies, but I quickly realized my mistake. I didn't want to be a surgeon anymore. I played in a punk band for a few years and launched the April77 jeans brand in 2001. In 2014 I started running, and, of course, I became obsessed with running. A year later, I created Satisfy.
Do you remember your first run? The one who made you switch to running?
Yes, I remember it very well. In June 2014, I went running in the Bois de Vincennes. 8km, not bad for a first run. The next day I went back.
How were you equipped at the time?
Nike 2.5" shorts, my Slayer t-shirt full of holes I slept in, and a pair of Vomeros.
What was the trigger in your approach to creating your running brand?
I loved running but didn't find myself in the community or what the brands' products offered. As a good introvert, I didn't think it cool to run in a club with 20 people I didn't know. I grew up with skateboarding, a culture where the notion of score and performance does not exist. My approach to performance is romantic and solitary. I wanted to inspire other communities to run and disrupt the perception of running. The brand had to be premium and eco-responsible. The world didn't and still doesn't need yet another mass-market performance brand.
Can you define Satisfy's DNA? Explain to us the concept, the style, the price, everything that contrasts with the more conventional running brands.
Satisfy is a brand of technical outdoor clothing designed for running, mainly trail but also the city. The products are designed, developed, and prototyped in our creative studio in Paris in the 11th arrondissement. Production takes place in Portugal and Japan; materials are developed in France, Japan, Italy, and Switzerland.
The products are so light, technical, and pleasant on the skin that they allow the runner to concentrate only on their run. The idea is to remove any distraction during the race to accompany the runner towards a meditative state, commonly called the "runner's high."
Unlike other brands, in addition to being highly technical and efficient, our products support the idea that a runner is not just a runner. We do not bring expected references or design codes and graphics already seen in the outdoor and running universe. We have chosen to add strong cultural references to an ultra-technical and eco-responsible product.
Music and rock seem to hold a special place at Satisfy. What's your favorite song to listen to while running?
Music holds an important place in my life. Therefore, inevitably, at Satisfy, some references linked to my musical culture and my culture of fashion, skateboarding, design...
I don't listen to music all the time while running. Otherwise, Powerslave by Maiden, Kanye West, and Tuareg blues. My Spotify profile is public. I also have to acknowledge my love for Blink 182. Running while listening to Enema Of The State is amazing.
On the contrary, performance and competition seem less important in your universe. Do you agree with this observation? Are there high-level athletes, races, records that still inspire you?
Performance and competition should be part of a community's universe, not a brand like Satisfy. We make products worn by the best ultra-trailers globally, like Michael Versteeg, and by people who will recognize themselves in the brand and who will have been inspired to start running.
The UTMB does not inspire me. Michael Versteeg called us and told us that he wanted to cross Colorado in a month and that he needed a hydration vest with a capacity of 25 liters to develop for him. That's inspiring!
After carbon shoes, what do you see as the next revolution in running equipment? What do you have in store for us with Satisfy?
I hope that the next revolution will be linked to eco-responsibility. This is the heart of our development at Satisfy. In addition to promoting the sourcing of natural, biodegradable, and/or recycled materials, we have an upcycling program called Re-Possessed, where we give a second life to vintage running products.
2022 and 2023 will be crucial years in team building, development and collaborations.
Thanks for your time Brice! Who do you think we should interview for our next portrait?
Always a pleasure to chat with the Distance team! You should interview Tony Hawk, he just invested in Satisfy, so I have his number.