As a passionate and ambitious runner, the young start-up entrepreneur Nico Russ approached BUSSE Design+Engineering with the product idea of a sole for running shoes with interchangeable elements.
A product idea that, on the one hand, ventures into the territory of major well-known brands and, on the other, has a jungle of patent applications against it. The basic conditions were therefore not very promising at the beginning and involved a certain amount of risk.
Undeterred by all this resistance, the product idea was tackled and detailed step by step. The main challenge during development was the compactness of the system itself. The requirements of the fastening mechanism, high damping properties, a low structure so as not to be perceived as pressure points when walking and high flexibility of all components to ensure continued smooth rolling were partly in competition with and influenced each other. On the other hand, it quickly became clear that the initial project goals had many other possible applications and advantages, which represent promising USPs for the product. For example, the use of different cushioning elements made it possible to generate an individual running shoe for every surface and every runner. Furthermore, the easy removal of the elements allows the customer to quickly adapt them to new surfaces and partially replace them after wear and tear, which also contributes to sustainability by reducing waste. This also results in lower costs for the customer, as a new sports shoe does not have to be purchased every time.
