Turning Sustainability into Performance: Inside Hylo Athletics Next Phase
An interview with cofounder Micahel Doughty about new products coming from Hylo and the changes that inspired them.
By Bach Pham, Content Manager
Editor's Note
This discussion was not a sponsored piece with Hylo. We appreciate Michael and his team at Hylo for their time and willingness to talk about their plans with us. This interview was edited for content and clarity.
Interview with Michael Doughty, Co-Founder of Hylo Athletics
Thanks for sitting down with me again, Michael. I wanted to start with seeing what the past two years have been like for you as Hylo as quickly evolved. What has changed for you, and for the company?
Michael Doughty: I'm now an American resident, so that's, that is wild. I had the opportunity to be in Los Angeles in 2024. It's been, I think, you know probably one of the most fun, expansive parts of my life, living in a different country and traveling around America in many respects, working with some of our wholesale partners.
So a big part of what we did when we launched Impact was we started to sell to specialty running stores globally. In the US, we got a bit of traction. That's really been my work stream for the past couple of years, just trying to build out some of that distribution for the Impact model.
So a big part of what we did when we launched Impact was we started to sell to specialty running stores globally. In the US, we got a bit of traction. That's really been my work stream for the past couple of years, just trying to build out some of that distribution for the Impact model.
"So we had a very honest conversation as a team and said, hey, I think we need to go back to the drawing board, take all of our learnings to date, and build something that embodies “run like the world depends on it” fully—from the materials we've worked with, from the suppliers we've partnered with, and ultimately from an engineering and design perspective."
I did want to talk a little bit about Impact before we talked about the new product. I actually ran a 5K in October and saw two pairs around me, and I was like, oh, that's fun. It was kind of cool to see it. It's always a win for the smaller company to see it in a 5K. It seemed like you jumped 10 years in making that. Do you want to talk a little bit about what happened with that model in general?
It really is a physical manifestation of our learnings. I think early on when we started Hylo, the ambition of the brand has always been the same, which is to make the cleanest shoes that we possibly can with the highest level of performance. But I think we didn't really understand performance, and we didn't understand the context of how those materials interact with performance.
So there was a lot of trial and error. And I think fundamentally, outside of the materiality of the product, running shoes and running footwear—the geometry, the way the shoe is built architecturally—is so fundamental, right? So no matter how exciting the material might be, if the chassis of the shoe is not economical or built for purpose for the use case you're looking for, it can be irrelevant. And I think when you look at some of our early products materially, they were really interesting and unique, but from a runner's perspective, the engineering and the design were not at the level they needed to be.
But in 2023, we had a pretty honest discussion as a group and said, hey, this existing business is actually growing to some degree. We had these original shoes—there was a customer for them, people were buying them. That's what kind of kept us alive. But it wasn't the representation of who we wanted to be and our brand spirit or brand energy of run like the world depends on it (Hylo's motto) because, as you can attest to, they weren't the most runnable. So we had a very honest conversation as a team and said, hey, I think we need to go back to the drawing board, take all of our learnings to date, and build something that embodies “run like the world depends on it” fully—from the materials we've worked with, from the suppliers we've partnered with, and ultimately from an engineering and design perspective.
So Jorma Seabourne, who joined us in 2021–2022 and is one of my co-founders, had never really built his own shoe with us. He inherited the work we had already done, and this was his first opportunity to take a project from the ground up and run with it. So I think what you're seeing is his expertise as a footwear developer, plus the learnings and education we've had along the journey so far. And I think what's exciting today is that Impact is in market. You're seeing it out in races—it's a verified running shoe. But equally, the materials and products we're now seeing come through the pipeline are having an elevated impact on performance.
I thought the model was kind of important for Hylo because I
think it bridged something that was a big criticism and you, you've
lightly spoke on it just now, but I, I think there was kind of a
weariness about sustainability and performance in issue. A lot of
companies had been kind of sort of doing a few things in the, like the
years prior to the impact.
I think there was kind of a connotation where it was just not, not quite as good as, you know, as the normal trainers a lot of brands were selling. I thought Impact just kind of jumped quite a few steps up and kind of helped identify this is real and this works.
And this is definitely a, a shoe that, you know, you can take out. You can do your daily training, you can do your long runs. And, and for some folks, this, this could be, you know, a trainer to, to do it all, which was kind of cool. So it, it was really exciting stuff for y'all. At least I, I think, I think on that as well, I think, you know, with, with innovation and especially with obviously younger companies, the jumps tend to be exponential, not sort of incremental.
I think there was kind of a connotation where it was just not, not quite as good as, you know, as the normal trainers a lot of brands were selling. I thought Impact just kind of jumped quite a few steps up and kind of helped identify this is real and this works.
And this is definitely a, a shoe that, you know, you can take out. You can do your daily training, you can do your long runs. And, and for some folks, this, this could be, you know, a trainer to, to do it all, which was kind of cool. So it, it was really exciting stuff for y'all. At least I, I think, I think on that as well, I think, you know, with, with innovation and especially with obviously younger companies, the jumps tend to be exponential, not sort of incremental.
I'd love to jump into the new developments! You guys have a couple things going on from what I've seen.
We've got the Axis coming out early March. It's a
high cushion, kind of support product, but. as you're familiar with this kind of the shoe category, a lot
of the modern day support shoes, you know, are kind of guidance type
products versus, you know, the historical medial post sort products.
So, whilst it provides more structure and, and more support in the key areas for somebody who is, you know, pronating. It's also, you know, super wearable for a neutral runner. The stack height is higher than Impact. So Impact at the moment is at 33 and this will be at 38mm. But I think interestingly for us, and you'll kind of resonate with this, too, it's not quite maximalist in the max cushion era. You know, 38mm in the max category is probably on the, the lower side versus the average at the moment. But we do find that there is a desire for slightly lower stack heights as shoes get taller and taller.
Can you discuss some of the stability pieces that provide support in the Axis?
Axis, in itself, has a lot of cool technological advancements for us. It's a slightly wider product as you'd expect with a support shoe. Kind of a more pronounced rocker than Impact. The technology that you'll see in Impact, which is the kind of pattern of the outsole that, that looks like strips of rubber. That is now running, kind of across the shoe, kind of in a flowing direction like a river, which helps with a bit more torsional rigidity. The rubber strips themselves wrap up onto the medial side of the shoe in the heel, which looks really cool, but also functionally has a little bit more density than the midsole, which aids some of that early stage pronation. And then in the forefoot we've got like a little connective pod in the big toe area, for that sort of late stage pronation as well.
So it's kind of some subtle but really cool bits of technology. Inside the product, attached to the midsole is a like a little clip, basically. It's a very subtle kind of guidance feature that sits inside the shoe that you don't, you don't feel, but just helps that, that guidance through the product.
And how are the bio-based ingredients, a signature of Hylo, integrated here?
We've actually increased the bio-based content from Impact to Axis. So it's now up at 50%. So 50% of the entire midsole is bio-based. With the increased bio-based content, and in the upper itself, is a world first upper that kind of nobody's used before. Kind of the uniqueness of it is, it's say it's a blend of like. And corn. So it's a bio-based upper, with what is known as a monofilament. There's sort of two main sort of yarn structures, a multifilament and a monofilament. A multifilament is where the, the yarn structure is kind of cut. Basically, but a monofilament is where it's permanently extruded, which creates more strength.
So if you think of a support product and the need for the upper to be slightly more structured and secure, this monofilament structure creates just a really nice, comfortable but supportive feel in the upper. So it's just, it's just been like a really fun journey to take, you know, our learnings from a materiality point of view, but also.
So, whilst it provides more structure and, and more support in the key areas for somebody who is, you know, pronating. It's also, you know, super wearable for a neutral runner. The stack height is higher than Impact. So Impact at the moment is at 33 and this will be at 38mm. But I think interestingly for us, and you'll kind of resonate with this, too, it's not quite maximalist in the max cushion era. You know, 38mm in the max category is probably on the, the lower side versus the average at the moment. But we do find that there is a desire for slightly lower stack heights as shoes get taller and taller.
Can you discuss some of the stability pieces that provide support in the Axis?
Axis, in itself, has a lot of cool technological advancements for us. It's a slightly wider product as you'd expect with a support shoe. Kind of a more pronounced rocker than Impact. The technology that you'll see in Impact, which is the kind of pattern of the outsole that, that looks like strips of rubber. That is now running, kind of across the shoe, kind of in a flowing direction like a river, which helps with a bit more torsional rigidity. The rubber strips themselves wrap up onto the medial side of the shoe in the heel, which looks really cool, but also functionally has a little bit more density than the midsole, which aids some of that early stage pronation. And then in the forefoot we've got like a little connective pod in the big toe area, for that sort of late stage pronation as well.
So it's kind of some subtle but really cool bits of technology. Inside the product, attached to the midsole is a like a little clip, basically. It's a very subtle kind of guidance feature that sits inside the shoe that you don't, you don't feel, but just helps that, that guidance through the product.
And how are the bio-based ingredients, a signature of Hylo, integrated here?
We've actually increased the bio-based content from Impact to Axis. So it's now up at 50%. So 50% of the entire midsole is bio-based. With the increased bio-based content, and in the upper itself, is a world first upper that kind of nobody's used before. Kind of the uniqueness of it is, it's say it's a blend of like. And corn. So it's a bio-based upper, with what is known as a monofilament. There's sort of two main sort of yarn structures, a multifilament and a monofilament. A multifilament is where the, the yarn structure is kind of cut. Basically, but a monofilament is where it's permanently extruded, which creates more strength.
So if you think of a support product and the need for the upper to be slightly more structured and secure, this monofilament structure creates just a really nice, comfortable but supportive feel in the upper. So it's just, it's just been like a really fun journey to take, you know, our learnings from a materiality point of view, but also.
What kind of led you to decide the
access would be kind of the next direction? Was it kind of like, based
on feedback or, yeah, so at the moment, impact, which is in market is a
mid cushion, mid cushion daily trainer for kind of the neutral runner.
It's quite. The uniqueness of the foam is it's, it's quite soft.
We wanted to have something that was quite different to it and not cannibalizing the feeling or the experience. Like we want to create new products that can access new runners, not cannibalizing products that are gonna kind of cannibalize our existing franchises.
So, you know, mid cushion neutral, it seemed quite natural to go kind of max cushion. We wanted to build a support shoe that was, felt a bit more modern, you know, and slightly lighter compared to some of the historical support shoes. We wanted something that a neutral wearer who loves Hylo could also enjoy that maximal kind of cushioning experience from us.
Over the next few years we're gonna build out, you know, a suite of daily trainers, which all provide access points for different runners which we are excited about.
What does the future hold in store for Hylo beyond the Axis, if you can share any hints?
So Impact 2 is out in August, which will be the update obviously to the current franchise. I think the current franchise has been in market since March, 2024. So we'll be kind of close to two and a half years, I think. One thing that I'm quite proud of actually, in this current climate is that the price point of the impact two will actually come down by $10, which is no mean feat in a trade war and kind of an inflationary economy.
We talk about it all the time in a group. It's like, updates are so frequent. It's just kind of the way that the industry is built.
For me, I'm not wedded to any kind of timeline, but I do think there's a process that you need to go through in order to validate and make a shoe that you feel confident is going to elevate from the previous shoe, and I think it's very hard to do that in, you know, in a 12 month cycle, based on a third party supply chain that all of the brands use and the checks and balances of robust testing that you need in order to do that.
One thing I've learned on this journey is like, irrespective of how you make the product the biggest sustainability lever is inventory because we're all making shoes that have some kind of impact on the planet, right? They're not, you know, carbon negative or net zero.
These shoes have an energy consumption cost and a lifecycle cost. So, you know, if you go and make a ton of shoes that nobody wants, you know what, in itself, it can undo great work on the innovation side. And I think that managing those levers is very hard in the footwear industry because of all the sizes of all the correct colors sometimes.
What do you feel like has changed for you in the last couple years about how you look at this industry and how you've been approaching it and kind of evolving and is there anything kind of coming up that showcases that?
Yeah, so this sounds a bit soppy. I don't know if Americans know the term soppy. You know, I think the key thing from a personal perspective point of view is, I've fallen more and more in love with what I do. And how, you know, how I get to spend my time. I think, you know, all of us as humans are looking for.
Things that excite us, that give us purpose and value and meaning in the world. And I didn't start off as a footwear developer. And at times it's been really hard, as you can attest to having been part of our journey a bit together. But I think I've kind of come to a place in my experience with that.
I just feel so excited every day by all the complexity and problem solving. And I've got a bit more of a refreshed perspective on it all. I think at the beginning you're just kind of so in it and unable to kind of zoom out slightly. So I think for me, I just almost think in a way of how do I continue to do this?
As a company, we've established a really important reason to exist, which is to inspire people to find that next route, that next run, get out there and feel pumped about running in the world and therefore want to protect it. And I think that is super exciting because I think it's a universal energy. As runners, we can all feel right, everyone who has run irrespective of your views on anything, can feel excited by that new run that you haven't yet discovered and or you just discovered. And I think as a brand, if we can engage with people at that level.
Conclusion
We would like to thank Michael for taking the
time to speak with us about Hylo Athletics. Hylo just recently had a big update, which you can find today here. We're excited to be testing the Hylo Axis now and will have a full review in the next week or two.
Next: Hylo Impact
