Family connections run through Episode 10 of Slingin’ Shoes which features interviews with Genie Beaver of West Stride in Atlanta and one of the founders of Altra, Brian Beckstead who remains an ambassador for the brand. Genie has a powerful connection to the running business through her uncle John McDonnell, who coached the University of Arkansas to 40 national titles and shares the story of attending her first TRE with a six-week-old baby. She also name drops the many women who have been supportive of her as she has built her business: Barbara Gubbins, Cathy Puglsey, Lea Gallardo, and Rebecca Hohenstein.

Brian Beckstead discusses the early days of Altra and how the brand is staying true to its specialty roots under the ownership of VF Corp.

Genie and Brian both respond to the question from co-host Chris Farley, who asks “Would you encourage your children to get into the run business?”

Well, would you? Tune into episode 10 for a thought-provoking conversation.

Hear the story of how slinging bottles of Black Velvet in 7-11 led to Harry Chandler joining the run specialty business and ascending to leadership roles at Charlotte Running Company, the Running Industry Association, and the Running Industry Diversity Coalition. Harry also talks about the Charlotte Run Hub and how it serves his store’s community. We’re also joined by Kristy Morris of Sneakers4Good, who shares information on how run stores can work with her business to support its’ efforts in 20+ countries. And Mark and Chris discuss The Rally Shoe in Seattle.

Episode 8 Under is a special golf celebration where we discuss The Skechers World Champions Cup, an international team competition featuring senior golfers from Europe, Asia and the United States. Our guests include PGA Golfer Peter Jacobsen, sports marketing executive Charlie Besser, the founder of Intersport, and Ben Stewart, VP of Performance Footwear at Skechers. Jake Morrow of Golf magazine helps with co-hosting duties.

Jacobsen talks about his career as a golfer, the lead singer of Jake Trout and the Flounders and the role he’ll play at the Skechers World Champions Cup in December. Besser discusses how the idea was developed, and Stewart sheds some light on the role golf footwear plays in Skechers’ growing performance portfolio.

How much bigger can run specialty get?

We entertain two points of view. Industry analyst Matt Powell of Spurwink River caused a ruckus recently with comments on LinkedIn saying the run channel was not growing because it caters only to “elites.” Co-hosts Chris Farley and Mark Sullivan press Powell on what he really meant and discuss why the channel’s growth has slowed after a decade of robust expansion.

Our sponsor guest all the way from is Koichiro Kodama, CEO of ASICS America. Kodoma-san talks about his life traveling between two continents, his love of specialty retailers and how he believes ASICS can help grow the pie for run stores.

On this episode, Christi Beth Adams of Fleet Feet Nashville shares her journey from employee to owner of six stores. She takes us through the tears and triumphs of her 19 years in the business and talks about what could be next for her. We are also joined by Matt Baum of Mizuno, who may manage the biggest sales region in the country. Matt pulls back the curtain on what he’s hearing as he visits stores around the country and offers his insight on what stores should expect from sales reps. And our slinger of the week, Eli Reed of Columbus Running Co. talks about how confidence may be the most important item he sells in his store.

Every run store owner will tell you how crucial their employees are to their success. That begs the question then, how do you attract good employees and retain them? Kris Hartner, owner of Naperville Running helps us attack the thorny issue of employee compensation. In a world where there is no “one size fits all” approach (just like shoes!), Hartner and co-host Chris Farley share what works for them.

On the sponsor side, we sit down with Bill Sternoff of BodyGlide, the man with the smoothest pipes in the business. Bill tells the story of how he got into the run business and dishes on how his former career as a TV anchorman in Los Angeles helped teach him about retail merchandising and service.

The conversations on Slingin’ Shoes Episode 5 run the gamut from the deeply personal to the outer limits of Artificial Intelligence. Co-host Chris Farley shares a story of a random encounter with a shopper that resonated deeply with him. Steve DeMoss of Big Peach Running talks about how his fascination with Artificial Intelligence is being put to use in the store, and Ben Stewart , VP of Tech Performance at Skechers, pulls back the curtain on how the brand is working to become more meaningful in run specialty.

On Episode 4, Mark and Chris analyze the annual Best Stores list: what well known stores didn’t make it, what’s the deal behind one of the Best Stores conspiracy theories and how did the list grow from 50 to 60+ stores.

We also discuss the ASICS resurgence with Kevin McHale and learn how he started his career as a shoe slinger at Potomac River Running.

And we spend time with an up and coming Slinger, Naim Bell of Charlotte Running Co.