The Feet in DeFeet: Custom Sock Customer Randall Braun
Our customers hail from all over the world and are full of unique and inspiring stories. These cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts are passionate, innovative, and fun-loving, just like us! We love it when we get to hear their stories and help support their initiatives by providing high-quality custom cycling socks that will last for years.
One such customer is the multi-talented Randall Braun, a California-based cyclist, event organizer, and inventor/small business owner. He’s a member of the Western Wheelers Bicycle Club, a non-profit, recreational bicycling club with rides in the South Bay, from Burlingame to Los Gatos. Each year, Randall helps the Western Wheelers produce The Sequoia Century, a much-anticipated cycling experience that raises funds for local cycling-centric entities and three coastside organizations.
In addition to being a passionate community cyclist, Randall is the inventor and owner of RouteArrows.com, a small business that produces eco-friendly and economical route markers for athletic events of all kinds. We recently caught up with him to hear how he’s using DeFeet socks in his pursuits!
Tell us about you and your business/event.
I’ve ordered from DeFeet in different capacities for two events! The first is my company, RouteArrows.com, and the second is the Western Wheelers Bicycle Club for their event The Sequoia Century. We've been getting custom socks from DeFeet since before the pandemic.
How do you use your custom socks?
For The Sequoia, we use them for our fundraising. We sell them to participants and club members and give them to club volunteers as a thank you for their time. For my RouteArrows business, we gave DeFeet custom socks out as a bonus for an order and now I wear them with a very cool RouteArrows jersey, when I go to cycling events!
Tell us about the meaning behind your sock design.
Our Sequoia event has lots of hills, (the 100-mile route has over 10,300 feet of climbing) and it's in a truly beautiful area, so our slogan is "Challengingly Beautiful.” We put that slogan on one of the socks in the pair. The other sock in the pair has "THE SEQUOIA" written up one side and down the other. (Do you get what he’s going for there?)
In recent years, we’ve changed sock colors annually to match the jersey color for that year. This year's main color is neon green! The RouteArrows socks have our Rainbow Star Logo on a black sock, so it's unique and eye catching.
Why did you order custom socks?
Custom socks are a fun way to accomplish a lot of goals. They work to brand the event, market future events, generate word of mouth impressions, and help us stand out from other events. We’ve recently begun ordering only brightly colored socks so we can stand out to other cyclist and (more importantly), to the traffic. Bright color that's moving is an excellent attention grabber/dose of rider safety.
Why did you choose DeFeet?
I think I met or heard about Kerri and the DeFeet company many years ago at a cycling event and convention I attended for my RouteArrows business. I've never had a reason to look elsewhere for custom socks!
Which sock silhouette did you choose?
We went with the Levitator Lite. We live in a warm climate here in the Silicon Valley of CA, so these socks are light and comfortable, just right for this area. They would be too light for colder areas, like Wisconsin, etc.
What has the response been from people who have gotten pairs of your custom socks?
Everyone loves them and they really appreciate the "Hi-Viz" factor when they ride. There were two cyclists killed here in this area in the last week, so we are aware of the dangers we face.
Would you order custom socks again? Why?
Yes, we love the personal service and the quality of the product. The affordability/price point is a good thing too!
Contact DeFeet
At DeFeet, we’re cyclists. We know firsthand how socks and make or break a ride. That’s why we design, engineer, and test our socks to meet the needs and lifestyle of roadies, MTBers, and gravel road adventurers. In other words, the needs of the customer are reflected in the thoughtful construction, quality fibers, and custom sock designs.
Want to know more? Start designing your own custom sock and become part of the DeFeet family today.
