We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eric Porter. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eric below.
Eric, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
It started as an idea as a 12 year old. Then after playing college basketball, I got connected to a former Nike designer and shared the idea of creating a shoe that focuses on comfort and lightweight. We spent the next 6 months designing the shoe and then the next year 1/2 developing the shoe with a former adidas developer. We launched in 2021 and have been approved by the NBA, had over 75 pro athletes across the world wear and got into retail Recently had athletes wear our shoes in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have been an athlete and sneakerhead my entire life. After finishing my basketball career in college, I didn’t love any of the current shoes and felt they weren’t focusing on lightweight and comfort. I got connected to a former nike designer and adidas developer to design and develop a brand new shoe. Working with my former teammates, we tested the shoe to our liking creating a shoe by athletes, for athletes. We created a performance court shoe in 2021 for Basketball but is also used for Volleyball and Pickleball. And then came out with a second shoe for leisure use in 2023. We were approved by the NBA, have had over 75 pro athletes wear across the world and got into retail in 2023. Recently was worn by multiple athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
We had athletes that were to wear our shoes in the 2024 Paris Olympics for Basketball. But shipping couldn’t guarantee the shoes got through customs and were delivered on time. So I jumped on a plane with 25 shoes a couple of days before the Olympics started and hand delivered the shoes myself to ensure the shoes got to each athlete in time for them to practice and wear in the games. Went to a couple of games and flew back.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
I had a full time job that was in the office every day and did Stria on the side the first couple of years. Once we started to gain momentum and got into retail stores, I went full time with Stria.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Striasport.com
- Instagram: stria sport
- Linkedin: Stria Sport
- Twitter: Stria Sport
