The History of SAYSKY: Year Four

This is the fourth blog post in a series of five about the history of SAYSKY. We're celebrating our 5-year anniversary on July 1 and we'll be looking back upon each of the five years with pictures and stories. Read below for the history of SAYSKY: Year Four.

 

Hit the Ground Running

Year four was all about hitting the ground running and keeping up the good pace from the previous years. This was another year packed with expos, including everything from triathlon expos in Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Hamburg to marathon expos in Munich, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Copenhagen.

Busy times indeed. But, we love to be present at these types of events, as it really allows us to get inspiration and first-hand impressions from the community that we serve.

 

A SAYSKY star navigating through the crowds at IRONMAN Frankfurt. This was just one out the many races and expos we attended during our fourth year.

 

Keeping Pace with SAYSKY COP RUN

SAYSKY COP RUN was another cornerstone activity that also kept its impressive pace from its debut season. With seven races throughout the season, an increasing level of participants and overall growing interest, it was time to shake things up a little bit.

So, we decided to team up with the absolut best trail race organiser in Denmark and create the very first trail and interval based relay race: SAYSKY COP RUN x Trailman. The event was both fun, brutally tough and definitely a unique race experience.

 

Ready, set, go! SAYSKY COP RUN x Trailman takes off on the unforgiven hills of a Copenhagen motorcross course.

 

Working with Passionate People

With the popularity of SAYSKY soaring in and outside of Denmark, it was time to staff up. Milla, the female house model from day one, was hired to take care of sales and customer service. She'd already been part of the journey and knew a lot about SAYSKY, so she was the perfect addition to the team.

We also teamed up with our first international representative, Nick, who's now handling sales in Germany. We first met Nick on a triathlon expo in Frankfurt and quickly realized that his sporty and urban attitude was a good match for SAYSKY. So, we didn't hesitate in bringing him aboard.

 

Milla's a super sporty girl who trains daily and as such, she fitted right in with SAYSKY. While overseeing sales and customer service, she's also still the female house model.

 

Nick is a very passionate runner and triathlete. This epic high-five scene is from the SAYSKY cheer zone at the 2017 Copenhagen Marathon.

 

From the Hamburg Harbour to the Spartan Roads

The AW16 and SS17 lookbooks were both internationally oriented. First up was AW16, where we explored the docks of Hamburg together with the social running crews Tide Runners Hamburg and Berlin Run Pack. The local runners showed us all the good spots and how to make the most of the industrial city.

 

The AW16 lookbook was shot by the founder of the social running crew, Tide Runners Hamburg. He's a passionate runner and a very skilled photographer.

 

For SS17 we decided to travel a bit further south. We flew to Athens in Greece, which holds a very special place in the history of running. After all, this is where the marathon distance came to be. Athens and the surrounding area is a beautiful and very running-inspired blend of historical monuments and stunning nature.

 

Behind the scenes footage of Nicklas and Lars from the SS17 lookbook shoot in Athens, Greece.

 

 A High-Five Kind of Year

Year four had many highs and memorable moments. One of them being the very first SAYSKY shop-in-shop experience. We'd been given the opportunity to create a designated SAYSKY universe and physical retail space in Marathon Sport - emphasising our already strong relationship.

 

All smiles and good vibes after opening our first SAYSKY shop-in-shop in Marathon Sport.

 

We were also awarded as the brand of the year at the inaugural Danish Running Awards.

 

However, the ultimate highlight of the year, took place when we were visiting our Japanese distributor in Tokyo. We were on a social run with the local running crew, when we spotted a guy running towards us. He was wearing a SAYSKY tee. Needless to say, but so were we. As he closed in, we could see that he was raising his hand in a very familiar gesture. High-five ! No words needed. Just a high-five and then continue in our separate directions. 

This totally made our day and it's still one of our favourite stories to tell.

 

That awesome feeling when you just high-fived a random SAYSKY athlete running towards you on the streets of Tokyo in Japan.

 

Previous: SAYSKY Year Three

Next: SAYSKY Year Five