Source: Men’s Tree Flyer 2 – Blizzard, Bloom Coral (Blizzard Sole)
When an athlete does the same type of training for an extended period it can lead to injury and plateauing. In fitness and sports a shock to the system delivers results, but it takes time for the changes to show. When is the perfect time for an athlete to make an adjustment to their routine? How long does it take to knock a second off of a 100m dash or add another inch to a high jump? It can take months, and, in some instances, it can take years. In other cases, a few weeks will show improvement. Especially in a novice athlete. Looking at Allbirds is akin to watching both a novice athlete and a seasoned pro heading towards year ten.
The brand has cruised along for nine years, comfortable in the uniform of tech bro and Silicon Valley darling. After an IPO revealed the issues with the valuation and since the stock has hovered at the dollar mark, the company is recognizing that a sportswear business is an athlete. Allbirds can see clearly that a shock to the system is needed, but it takes time. Using the professional athlete heading into year ten as an example can Allbirds finally see a path towards a championship? Michael Jordan took 7 years to land ring number one. Kevin Durant took ten years to win his first. It took Shaq almost ten years to get his first one and LeBron was at nine years. What does a championship look like for the brand?
It looks like the Allbirds Tree Flyer 2. Actually, the ATF2 (I am not going to make an allusion to a government agency fighting drugs a thing, but hey…) is a shock to the system. Allbirds has consistently played it safe in sneaker design. They’ve hung their hat on sustainability which is a non-starter for most consumers and only appeals to a small demographic. As admirable as being more thoughtful about the environment is, Allbirds avoided doing anything to upset their loyal fans. There was a Staple collab which attempted to purchase cool and a collab with adidas which should have worked, but because Allbirds had run in the back of the pack in fitness without building the foundation to at least move to the middle of the pack, the sneaker fell flat.
The Tree Flyer 2 is a shock. Many of the design elements of Allbirds are there with the large eyelets and of course the name up the tongue of the socklike fit, but the brand has added upgrades to better take on the duty of being a daily runner. The bio-TPU overlays at the toe and media/lateral sides of the shoes add more stability and redesigned weave adds more strength. The outsole is more rugged and aggressive, and the heel counter is inverted giving the shoe more movement. While it isn’t the most eye-catching trainer on the market, it is clearly a more carefully considered design than any Allbirds sneaker made (I haven’t discussed the Risers here yet). The first Tree Flyer was more generic and without a logo on the site or the tongue, there was absolutely nothing to distinguish this shoe from the countless trainers launched in the last few years.
The adjustment to the workout routine is a good thing, but how the brand trains over the next six months will establish if they are Kevin Durant heading into their tenth year. The Tree Flyer 2 looks the part, but will it perform well enough on the street and in the gym. Will new fans look to the model when Brooks, On and Hoka are all fueling running clubs and professional athletes. When those brands are considered “serious” performance models. How will Allbirds offset startups like Tracksmith who sponsors the men’s 100m national champion in Cravont Charleston? One adjustment is a start, but to go from six feet to six feet one in a high jump takes the addition of several training aspects. The Tree Flyer 2 can be KD heading into year 10 if done correctly. Let’s see if it’s done correctly.