223. Building a Community-Driven Running Brand with Nick West, Co-founder & CEO of Bandit

Today, I’m joined by Nick West, co-founder & CEO of Bandit. Born in NYC, Bandit is an apparel brand founded for runners, by runners. The company’s community vibes and state-of-the-art gear catapulted it to cultish success — but its physical products are just the beginning. In this episode, we discuss Bandit’s mission to evolve the sport of running. Plus, Nick shares the secrets to building a loyal following. We also cover: • What Nick and his co-founder brother learned from working in ecommerce • How Bandit leveraged pop-ups, run clubs, and content to build community • Bandit’s vision for building a timeless brand with global reach Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider Bandit’s Website: https://banditrunning.com/ Bandit’s IG:   / banditrunning   - The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart workout solutions for fitness and health facilities. Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/ Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/ Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/ Chapters: ​​(00:00) Introduction (00:40) Nick’s background (01:54) Founding Bandit Running (07:08) Building a brand and community (12:30) Executing a community-first strategy (15:33) Expanding the community and global reach (20:10) Differentiating in a crowded market (24:39) Fundraising and creating a vision (28:53) Building a timeless brand (32:37) Product offerings and plans for the brand (36:52) Future roadmap (39:26) Conclusion