MY WHY FOR ‘PONNEK’
I am a Cornwall based trail and ultra-runner. A lot of my friends and the community that I most closely associate myself with are trail and ultra-runners also. Upon moving to Cornwall in 2019, I soon noticed that the trail-running ‘scene’ here would collectively back certain brands – one of these brands in particular, I just assumed was Cornish because of the following they seemed to have. I was wrong, they weren’t local to the South West at all.
My mind began to tick around the idea of having a brand of our own. We had the terrain, we had the races, we had the people. Therefore, why couldn’t we have the apparel?
Our aim here hasn’t shifted much from the first day we pushed the button and launched. We are founded on community and are wholly non-elitist. We strive to ensure our fabrics are sustainably sourced and our clothing manufactured in an earth-friendly manner. For those little compromises that we have to make – we aim to offset by working with Ecologi to plant trees and reduce our carbon footprint.
To look at our clothes, we don’t fit in with most other performance brands. Our products are mostly technical, but they don’t necessarily look it. We believe that there is a gap to be bridged and we’re aiming to do just that. We work with artists and illustrators to produce hybrid clothing that can be worn to, on, and from the trails.
We are growing, it’s an exciting time, and I would personally like to invite you along for the ride.
Oh, and the always burning question….
Ponnek?
‘Dusty’ in Cornish.
By Sam Downing
THE DUST RUNS DEEP
Since the conception of the brand, Ponnek has always had the runner front and center, wanting to create clothing that simply makes your run feel better. This latest collection does that, from the all day comfort of their retro ‘pop’ socks to their vests that go hard while staying soft as butter on your skin.
Ponnek’s new shorts bring the room together with the men’s, vintage inspired, race ready split shorts and the women’s short tights with side pocket storage. For the first time in the brand’s journey, they’ve got you covered from head to toe wherever your run takes you.
Ponnek have always designed products for performance, but this collection does more than that, with style that you can carry through beyond your run. This is run clothing. This is lifestyle clothing. This is great clothing and it’s made 200% cooler by the brain melting illustrations by Hands for Feet. There’s art on this stuff guys. ART…
Ok maybe the shorts are just run clothing.
Aside from making clothes to feel good in, Ponnek have always pushed to build a community by getting out there and doing good stuff. Social runs with free coffee and donuts, film festivals, races, your nan’s bingo night. They are there and they are present. This is not a faceless brand making clothing, it’s people who listen and grow with their community.
What are you waiting for? Pull up your socks, lace up your shoes, summit mountains and run with the sun. Real ones know, the dust runs deep.
Stay dusty out there.
By Will Harper-Penrose
Visit Ponnek
www.ponnekrunning.co.uk
