Are plumbers the new doctors? (Part One)

In America, it used to be that "doctors and lawyers" were at the pinnacle of professions. Their positions meant high education, prestige, and excellent earning potential. 

Today, however, the lowly plumber is increasingly becoming a highly sought-after, high-income, and critically important professional in society. Perhaps these professionals haven't replaced the traditional white-collar status of doctors and lawyers, but plumbers are quickly becoming the “new tech workers" as a highly valuable skilled trade facing massive demand, limited supply, and comfortable earnings.

If we look at the financial aspect to these jobs, becoming a plumber often costs less than $20,000 for trade school or apprenticeship, and within 4-5 years, a person makes very good money ($150,000 to over $300,000 annually if they own their business, thus competing with the average lawyer. It costs more (often over $200,000) and takes much longer (7 to 10 years) to become a doctor or lawyer. 

Sure, their salaries can be even higher, often starting well above $250,000 and are a direct reflection of their longer training. As for their future employment prospects, plumbers have a pretty much recession-proof career as pipes will leak and get clogged for a very long time as aging infrastructure will take good care of that. 

On the other hand, doctors will still have plenty of good days ahead and shouldn’t worry too much, but lawyers are not as lucky as their profession is more sensitive to economic cycles (i.e. corporate lawyers) and relentless technological change (like today’s Artificial Intelligence in law). 

Tomorrow, we’ll discover how much you should expect to spend if you ever needed a new kitchen faucet...

What about Sketchers?

When I presented the Hoka story a few days ago, I forgot to mention Sketcher, another footwear company founded in 1992 by Robert Greenberg, shortly after his departure from L.A. Gear, a company he also founded. 

Initially intended as a distributor for Dr. Martens, Skechers quickly shifted focus to developing its own brand of casual, stylish street shoes. It also became widely discussed in the running community and by legal analysts, because Skechers kept on producing shoes considered to be copycats of Hoka, specifically in the Max Cushioning category.

That’s right, Skechers has been a "fast-follower" in the industry, which led to many lawsuits with other brands, including Nike and Adidas. No doubt that copying successful designs enabled Sketcher to be a better value than the design’s originator and just like Android phones are outselling iPhones worldwide. 

As a result, Sketcher is twice the size of Hoka in terms of sales. Now, how does the copy compare to the original? Both are in fact very close. Experts say that Hoka shoes might be better for longer distances and offer better stability, while Skechers are often perceived as having better padding or softer cushioning. 

Hoka are said to be better for activities requiring more support, whereas Skechers might be the right choice for a more comfortable, casual, everyday wear. I just got a pair of Sketchers and will soon tell you how well they address my metarsalagia!

Time to be grateful!

One week ago Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving, an American holiday rooted in gratitude. For me, it was a chance to reflect on the treasures of my life — beginning with my very existence, an accident of fate that became the greatest gift of all, especially because I was, just like my wife, an accident, so I was lucky that in those days there were no birth-control pills, no widely available devices or procedures that could have canceled our existence! 

Then, despite my big luck linked to my inadvertent existence, my parents lovingly took care of me and did the very best they could with their limited means to raise me. 

Like a cat with nine lives, I escaped countless accidents as a free‑range kid — each one having the potential to end my story early. More importantly, though had a headmaster at school, Monsieur Losserand, who spotted my talents, got me out of my hometown and hooked on travel. 

There was also a pair of skis my Dad carved out for me that also got me hooked on skiing. In a strange set of circumstances I got into the Cluses boarding school that straightened me out when I needed it most. Getting into the Avoriaz ski school was another big break that took me to Australia and shifted me almost seamlessly into the ski industry. 

In between, a few girls did their utmost to trade love and heartaches with me in the name of sentimental education while all the solid friends I made gave me the self-confidence I wasn’t born with. Then followed a steady streak of perfectly fitting pieces in a jigsaw puzzle that rounded up my career. All this went on until I fell for my wife and how we slid into America to create our own family with two wonderful kids. 

Sure, there were plenty of bumps and pot-holes along the way, but they were largely outnumbered by the great times we experienced. This, also is a measure of how lucky I am and I must be grateful for that, including the fact that my parents made me robust like a 4x4 and aside for seven broken ribs, I only had ligaments and torn muscles to worry about. 

That continuous stream of serendipity kept on coming and brought us were we are today, able to reminisce and be grateful for a fantastic journey, plus the ability to still keeping on doing more interesting stuff every day...

Hoka shoes (part three)

The way that initial skepticism turned into adoption happened in late 2010, near Madagascar, on the island of Reunion, during an ultra-trail race called “Diagonale des Fous.” As he was in the 70th kilometer of that race, Ludovic Pommeret a top-ranking French racer was having severe problems with his cheap Decathlon-made shoes that he had to switch to a pair of Hoka’s made Mafate shoes at one of the pit stops, and now with them on, found his second wind and ended up second in the race, a spectacular turnaround that brought the limelight on the strange looking product. 

From that unlikely victory came the Pommeret model that immediately was successful and became the talk in every trail racing circles, ushering a marketing strategy focused on trail running. On the eve of influence marketing, trail fans, promoters and bloggers became the mouthpiece used by Hoka to reach practitioners at all sporting events, especially local races that could hugely leverage the company’s very limited resources. 

This also led Nicolas Mermoud to focus immediately on the American market, a full 40% piece of the world’s business, by working closely with athletes, retailers and the press. Very soon, this international strategy allowed Hoka to reach the kind of critical mass and the image needed to convince the other world markets. 

Introduced in 2011, the Bondi shoe encountered a fast and huge acceptance, further polishing Hoka’s image as the product to race on. Initially embraced by ultra-marathon runners for their enhanced cushioning and inherent stability, the shoes quickly gained popularity among other active runners for that maximum cushion and minimal weight. It’s heart-warming to remember that the founders began that venture on a shoestring budget.

It’s on April 1st 2013 that the Deckers Brands, the parent company for UGG, Teva and other footwear products, took full control of Hoka One One for $1.1 million. For 2024 total Hoka sales reached a record $4.2 billion! Both original founders stayed with the brand, as Diard now oversees international distribution and pursues his innovative product development, while Mermoud continues to run the company’s racing program. 

What made that story even more interesting to me, in my current case of metatarsalgia that’s not quite over. It would appear shoes like Hoka could help address it due to their features like thick, cushioned mid-soles, wide toe boxes, and a rocker sole design that reduces pressure on the forefoot. The cushioning absorbs impact, the wider fit decreases compression, and the rocker geometry helps facilitate a smoother, more efficient stride, all of which can alleviate the pain associated with this condition. A compelling reason to step into a pair of Hoka. I’ll keep you posted ! 

Hoka shoes (part two)

So here we are in 2008 as Jean-Luc Diard gets together with Nicolas Mermoud, himself former marketing manager at Salomon who later worked at Rossignol. Both decided to start a joint venture. They believe that innovation has limitless potential in the outdoor sporting goods industry and they fit this opening. 

Working on running shoes is their goal and this domain is ripe for significant innovations, especially in view of the fact that minimalist shoes in trail footwear is the rage, but is too much performance-oriented and ignore masses chiefly looking for fun and comfort. They also believe that it’s not the runners’ responsibility to adapt to the terrain, but it’s their shoes that should, quite a paradigm shift! 

Still, starting a new shoe brand remains a risky endeavor as the world is just entering one of its worst financial crises. Still both men see a path to spearheading innovation and think that some “over-sized” design evolution as an attention-getter trend. From golf club drivers, to tennis rackets, wide skis or fat bike tires, over-sizing can generate a lot of consumers’ attraction. 

As a practicing trail runner, Mermoud knows full well that just like uphill sections, downhill segments on a race can be fraught with danger and injuries of all kinds and no manufacturer appears to address this. This triggers a search for a trail shoe design that could literally fly on the uphill as well as in the downhill part of a course. 

Another Salomon alumni, Christophe Aubonnet and Sébastien Mazars designed a shoestring and in just a few months a totally new sole that will be the foundation of the Hoka One One, which means “flying on earth” in Maori. This time the sole is the opposite of minimalism as its bulky look goes in the opposite direction. At the start-up company, all the principals are sure the shoe will be seen as revolutionary and be loved at first sight. 

Reality however will be drastically different when the shoe is officially unveiled before the industry and the press. Some quickly say that it looks like podiatrist footwear for older folks, a far cry from the youth and trendy image hoped for the product. Even racers who’re seen on the shoe get mocked, hearing they look like astronauts walking on the moon! In the next blog, we’ll discover how that view will soon be turned around...

What makes Hoka shoes so popular? (part one)

It’s only this year, through and quite randomly, that I became fully aware of Hoka shoes. I had seen them before but without much interest. It’s when I saw a septuagenarian, neighbor of mine wearing a pair and after I talked to him about his experience with that footwear that my interest sparked up. 

After some quick research, I learned that Hoka was founded in 2009 by Nicolas Mermoud and Jean-Luc Diard, both former Salomon employees. This goes a long way in recognizing the reservoir of talent that Salomon truly was. 

Diard began with Salomon in 1981 and was promoted to marketing director in 1989, was put in charge of brand development in 1997, just when the ski company got sold to Adidas and began to lose its soul. In 1998, Diard became the company’s president and successfully developed its trail running division. 

Through 2005 Diard kept going in the complicated marriage with Adidas and finally the German based brand through the towel and sold Salomon to the Finnish group Amer that already owned Atomic skis, Wilson tennis and Suunto among other sport related brands. In 2008, the book “Born to Run” sparked running with "barefoot" or minimalist shoe designs and increasing interest in ultra-running and trail running, though some of its claims about shoes immediately created debate. 

The book popularized the idea that modern, highly cushioned shoes can cause injuries and that a more natural, forefoot-strike running style (as seen in the Tarahumara people) was healthier. This led to a boom in minimalist footwear, ultra-running events, and a broader interest in running naturally and for its own sake, rather than just for competition. 

In spite of athletic success with that kind of product, Jean-Louis Diard wasn’t so sure and at the same time, his relationship with Amer Sports deteriorating, he parted way with Salomon. Tomorrow, we’ll see how this would trigger the birth of Hoka.

On stopping a bully…

Stopping a bully early is everything. It ought to be done and someone should. 

This is the first thing I did when I moved to our new house in 2014 and was confronted by an irascible next door neighbor who had the audacity to “test me”, as all good bullies generally do, I responded forcefully and that was (almost) the end of his aggression (there was another incident that was repressed the same way). 

Had I not responded swiftly, the man would still be after me either because he disliked my face or my country of origin. At about the same time, in 2016, we had the Republican Primary debates, pitting Trump against a group of lackluster candidates. Two of them come to mind (Bush and Rubio) as they were copiously insulted by Trump.

Had either Jebb Bush or Marco Rubio grabbed Donald Trump by his lapels, shook him hard and told him to vacate the debate stage sine die, the US and the world would never have been terrorized by Trump and would be in a much better place than where we all are today. 

Just like Biden for running a second time against Trump, these two men bear an enormous, historical responsibility. Always stand to a bully when you experience one!