Mache Talks Entrepreneurship, Designing a Second Sneaker With His Loyal Customers in Mind — and Teases a Third Shoe Release
Two years after revealing his debut sneaker, Dan “Mache” Gamache — who earned a reputation as the go-to customizer for athletes and celebrities alike — has returned with his second original design.
Arriving June 23 via Machecustoms.com is the Mache Runner v2. The sneaker will be available via preorder for 72 hours.
Speaking with FN, Gamache described the new Mache Runner v2 as an evolution of its predecessor — although aesthetically it offers his most loyal fans characteristics they are familiar with. The differences, however, are notable. For instance, Mache described the uppers as “streamlined,” and they sit atop original tooling created by Gamache (which features built-in Easter eggs). What’s more, it will retail for $290, down from the $300 price tag for the Mache Runner v1, and the turnaround time is faster, shipping to the buyer in eight weeks as opposed to 12.
Speaking with FN, Gamache revealed insights into what it takes to be a successful sneaker entrepreneur, dove deep into the Mache Runner v2 design and even teased a third sneaker release.
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What was the biggest lesson you learned from the launch of your first shoe, the Mache Runner v1?
“There are people who are still very much influenced on [low] quantity and hype, but there is also a huge community that is supportive of the little guy. Those are the people that rally around and have built this brand to where it is. When I launched, I was focusing on the regular talking heads to get the word out, but I realized collectors were the biggest supporters and the most loyal, so I focused my energy on them. Focus on the ones supporting as opposed to the ones that aren’t.”
Did the launch of the Mache Runner v1 exceed your expectations?
“When I launched the first ‘Centralia’ colorway, I didn’t know if I was going to sell 10 pairs or 10,000 pairs. You have no idea because when you build up your reputation for doing customs for so long, obviously people know you and support you, but it’s not easy to throw down $300 on a pair of shoes — and then continuously do that. That was where I didn’t know how far that support was going to go. But they bought the first shoe and were already excited for the next release, they were enjoying the storytelling and the ‘Where are we going to next?’ narrative that we were going with. It was it was very encouraging for me to keep going.”
What has your venture into sneaker design taught you about entrepreneurship and your own entrepreneurial spirit?
“The story of this being a 24/7 job definitely isn’t a lie. Even when you’re not working, you are working. Whether it’s thinking of colorways in your head, inspiration, marketing, all these aspects of the business that just doing customs you don’t think about. And the way you think, you design more for the people as opposed to for yourself because at the end of the day I enjoy what I’m doing, but you’re making a living off it. You want to have enough of you in what you make, but you also have to have the consumer in mind. When I was doing customs, it was for one specific client as opposed to a wider range. With these releases, you can put out some wild shoes but they don’t do as well as ones that may be more easily digestible, like a Staple Pigeon colorway.”
You used a preorder model for most of your Mach Runner v1 releases. What feedback have you received on this release method from consumers?
“Aside from a couple releases where I’ve done limited runs and offer preorder after the fact — because I want to keep my integrity of a man of the people and want everyone to have the opportunity to get the shoe — the preorder model has become one of the things I’m known for. For the most part, it’s been positive. We’re in the sneaker world where people are teasing a Jordan release two years outside of when it comes out and people are planning their attack months in advance. The difference here is you know that you’re going to guarantee yourself a pair of shoes. People that actually want the shoe for the reasons of having the shoe and not reselling it, those are the people I’m targeting. When people know there’s a limited amount, they’re going to go fast. The ‘Freddie’ Runners sold out in less than five minutes because they knew there was limited supply. But the caveat of knowing that they’re going to get the shoes next week as opposed to waiting three months is enticing, too.”
When designing your second shoe, the Mache Runner v2, what did you hope to accomplish?
“I wanted to make it an evolution of what worked on the first one. That shoe had a soul. It had a shape that was different. I took some feedback from customers to figure out how to keep the soul of the Mache Runner but not totally go off the deep end and make it unrecognizable so there’s no continuity between models. The v2, I made it a little sleeker, more streamlined and the tooling is new. The upper, you can still see lines and curves that will be familiar from the first one. I keep saying evolving because that was my mindset going into it. I did dozens of sketches to try and find something and I was trying too hard to be different as opposed to just letting it flow, let it be a little more organic. I was making it a difficult task, but then I just let it rip.”
What are the key differences between the new Mache Runner v2 and the Mache Runner v1?
“The big difference is the tooling. Everyone is familiar with the Vibram sole of the v1. It was thick, very cushiony, very bouncy, very soft. Doing my own tooling, I wanted to keep the same EVA compound and density of the Vibram. I took notes from that because one of the biggest compliments was how comfortable the shoe was. And the toe, it has more of a slope. It is built on the same last as the first one, so it still is wide foot friendly. It’s always going to be a cozy shoe. The floating lace stay in the v1, we locked that part down because some people didn’t like that. In the front, it would bow up if you tied them tight. I listened to some feedback, I took their feedback into account when I was putting pen to paper, but I did not let people totally dictate the design of the new shoe. And the outsole, I wanted to have my signature on there. I go back to the ‘Godzilla’ [Nike] Barkleys with the Charles Barkley ‘Sir Charles’ on the bottom. We did different iterations of my name or ‘Outdone by None,’ which is my little slogan, but that was tougher to read. I went back to the artist part [of my career]. When I do a painting or a drawing, I put my signature on the bottom, so I wanted to put my signature on the bottom of this.”
How much of a challenge was it to create your own tooling?
“It was a challenge. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like. Usually you do the tooling first and work up, but we had the upper done first and I was just scribbling lines and making things flow. There are hidden little things, design details that might look like it’s there for color blocking but it has some kind of meaning. The profile of it, there is a little zig on the heel. That’s actually an ‘M’ for Mache. Also, the toe box, a sticking point on the v1 was there was an area susceptible to coming up or having an adhesion problem, so we alleviated that issue and redesigned it so it’s a little more sleek and it doesn’t point out the way it did. There was a lot of testing, a lot of 3D-printed outsoles trying to figure out wear spots, how to flex when your heel strikes. I’ve been wear-testing these for the last couple of months in different iterations just to make sure it feels the same, and I’m totally confident in them.”
What is the story behind the introductory v2 colorway?
“It’s the ‘What the Mache.’ This is going to be the closing chapter of the v1, it combines the 12 colorways from 2022 on the v1. It’s like that’s the outro, but I’m turning the outro into the intro for a new shoe. It’s going into the next chapter seamlessly as opposed to making an abrupt stop.”
What are your rollout plans for the v2?
“We’re going to be doing a monthly drop. We have stories to tell going into next year. I also have another silhouette that’s coming out, too. It’s more of a casual shoe, it’s a cupsole. I developed the tooling for that one, too. Not only am I doing one shoe, I’m doing two shoes.”
Will you repeat any of the stories from the v1 release for the v2?
“There’s one. Remember the ‘Le Père’ colorway, the dad shoe? We’re going to do the stepdad. It’s going to be the same colorway but it will translate a little bit differently with different materials. That’s the only one that’s going to be repeated.”
When will your third shoe come out?
“It’s called the Promenade. It’s a cupsole, it’s a casual wear. It’s one you’re going to wear with a suit, you can wear in the summer with linen pants. It’s an easier wear than a running shoe. It’s more casual, a lot more simplistic in the design. The initial colorway is going to be clean with a gum bottom, it’s white and gray — simple.”
