Alan Parvis is 13 years removed from his military service – the lingo learned during that phase of his life, however, still carries on.
In boot camp, he learned quickly that a pen is not a pen. It’s an ink stick. A flashlight isn’t a flashlight. It’s a moonbeam.
And running shoes? Those are go-fasters.
GoFaster, too, is the name of the new Cincinnati-based premium running shoe brand he’s launching. The company – currently a side hustle for the nearly life-long entrepreneur – is weeks away from product launch. Its first shoe, the GO.A.T. (the go anywhere trainer) fills a void, he said. It offers all the creature comforts needed for a run on the road but with the durability to go off it.
Parvis said current hybrid shoes on the market don’t do either particularly well. But that’s just one part of his approach.
“There's certainly an opportunity from a product perspective,” Parvis told me. “It’s also about creating a brand that’s different than what’s out there today."
Parvis, a Marine Corps veteran and Annapolis, Md., native, is using his military background and connections to make inroads in an extremely crowded market – the running shoe category is a multibillion-dollar industry. The branding, the shoes themselves, even GoFaster’s tagline, “We Run In,” are all heavily military themed.
As such, he's targeting fellow veterans and responders, but those expressions and phrases loop in the broader running community, too.
“Often times when I say the tagline, people give me a bit of a blank look. Then there’s this 'aha' moment, and it becomes much more powerful,” he said. “When everyone else is running out, we run in. We’re ready to go when we're called. But we also run in hot. We run in cold. We run in rain, in snow … Most brands are all about going for the glory or the podium. It's about winning. There's nothing speaking to an audience that is training to be ready. I think that's really going to be important to driving success.”
Parvis landed in Cincinnati initially through a gig with GE Aviation, now GE Aerospace. He’s currently an engineer at medical device maker Ethicon, and is working to build out GoFaster on nights, weekends and during his vacation time.
He started running shortly after exiting the military in 2011 – quickly jumping into the marathon and triathlon circuit. It was something he swore he would never do. “But I enjoyed the aspect of pushing yourself to this new distance,” he said. “I fell in love with the race environment.”
GoFaster combines his passion for endurance racing, military service and good design.
It typically takes two years of development to launch a new shoe. In terms of technology, GoFaster’s shoes have a plate to protect against rocks and debris. It adds a little bit of propulsion action, too, Parvis said, which improves speed.
He ran the recent Marine Corps 50K in the GO.A.T. While a road race, his typical runs often involve mixed terrain. The goal is to offer a product that’s both durable and comfortable.
“I wanted something that protected my feet from rocks and debris but had the comfort of a road shoe,” he said. “Current road shoes are less durable; they don’t protect your foot, and a trail shoe’s not really comfortable to run with on the road.”
There are plenty of extra touches. They are the kind of details he hopes will serve as GoFaster’s biggest differentiator: GoFaster added the phrase “Front Toward Enemy” on the toe of the shoe, another military term. “Every time you lace up your shoes, it's about facing the enemy in front of you,” Parvis said.
He’s also dubbed the foam used in the shoe as quick response foam, or QRF. QRF, in military terms, stands for quick response force, a team that responds and offers support in an emergency situation.
“There's a sea of shoes out there,” Parvis said. “It's a very big, very competitive market. The best way for us to be successful is making sure we're targeting a very specific community so we can get penetration and then grow from there.
“The technology in a product is really important, but the brand and the name, the tag line is what initially compels people to look at something,” he added.
GoFaster to launch DTC
GoFaster sneakers will initially retail for $160. Both a men’s and women’s line will be available. The second shoe to launch will be a mid-top option. After that, GoFaster has several ideas on paper.
The goal to start is to sell exclusively direct-to-consumer. That choice is strategic – Parvis sees it as another way to narrow in on his consumer.
To date, GoFaster has been largely self-funded. The company has raised a small friends and family round of funding and has been awarded some non-dilutive capital. It was a Main Street Ventures Launch grant recipient in 2023. The funding is designed for emerging, pre-revenue businesses at the prototype or product stage, to help increase their odds of reaching market entry.
And the company took first place in last year’s DAV Patriot Boot Camp pitch competition, a win that came with a $1,500 check. The three-day boot camp, held at the DAV’s national headquarters in Erlanger, is designed specifically for entrepreneurs in the military community.
Parvis said he’ll continue to look for other funding opportunities as the brand grows.
The longer-term goal is to bring production stateside. GoFaster needs scale in order to do so. There’s also an opportunity to tap into the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. The company has already worked with a pair of its graduates on a freelance basis.
Currently, we’re exporting that talent to the northeast to Oregon, home of Nike, Parvis said.
“We should (build a company) like this here, to keep the talent and the dollars in Ohio,” he said. “It's another great opportunity we have.”
