The Korean Running Shoe Brand That Didn't Sell Shoes: DARIMATI's First-Year Note

Why did a shoe brand bring out a rowing machine?

DARIMATI started in November 2025 and has just turned one. Looking back at what we did this year, it's a little odd for a shoe brand.

We put a rowing machine, which we don't sell, in the middle of a department store pop-up. We held a pop-up not in a sneaker store but in a whisky bar with no sign. And we showed our first shoe on Kickstarter in the US before we showed it in Korea.

For a shoe brand, we talked about things other than shoes more than we talked about shoes. In this first note of our first year, we'll explain why.

What does ‘Dari’ in DARIMATI mean?

▲ Legs that run, and bridges that connect

‘Dari’ in DARIMATI has two meanings in Korean. One is the legs of our body that plant on the ground and run. The other is the bridges of Seoul that connect one side of the river to the other.

Of course, we make and sell shoes. But what we really want to hand you is not a single pair of shoes, but the bridge those shoes build between things that used to be apart. We built four bridges this year.

What kind of bridge is there between running and weights?

▲ Hybrid training: run, lift, push and pull

People who work out these days don't do just one thing. They run, lift, push and pull. Hybrid training, like HYROX, which alternates running and strength exercises, is growing fast.

Several brands already make shoes for hybrid training, but the starting points differ. Some shoes start from weightlifting and training shoes, adding running capability to a shoe that plants firmly. DARIMATI does the opposite: we started with a running shoe that stays comfortable over long distances and added the stability and grip to hold up through lifting, pushing and pulling.

HYROX is a workout with 8km of running. In between, you push a sled, carry a sandbag and throw a wall ball. In the end, the movement you do for the longest is running, so we made the running shoe the base and built a bridge toward weights.

▲ DARIMATI BR-001

That first shoe is the BR-001. Just as a bridge spreads weight across its whole structure, this running shoe is designed so the whole shoe supports the force on your foot evenly.

The VT-001 is the shoe that takes one more step toward hybrid training. It's a Super-Grip training shoe for HYROX and hybrid training, where running, jumping, pushing and pulling follow one another without a break. We're running a funding campaign on Kickstarter right now (~11/23).

What kind of bridge is there between everyday life and exercise?

▲ Pop-up at Hyundai Department Store Pangyo

This year, from September 7 to 20, we held a pop-up at Hyundai Department Store Pangyo. We put a rowing machine in the middle of the store, but not to sell it.

Nobody goes to a department store to work out. People go to shop, to eat, or for a weekend outing with family. We wanted them to put on DARIMATI shoes and pull a rowing machine for 30 seconds, trying one HYROX event in miniature. We wanted to build a bridge between an ordinary weekend afternoon and the kind of exercise you'd normally only see at a competition venue.

Over two weeks, more than 1,000 people visited the pop-up, and more than 300 of them joined in the rowing and fitness race themselves. We think the number of 300 people sitting down at a rowing machine we don't even sell explains DARIMATI better than any shoe sales figure.

What kind of bridge is there between fashion and exercise?

Last week, from October 23 to 25, we held a pop-up at a whisky bar next to Ttukdo Market in Seongsu. It hadn't officially opened yet, so the space didn't even have a sign. We've put why a sneaker brand went to a whisky bar in the video and article below.

Among people who love fashion, plenty work out hard, and among people who work out hard, plenty dress well. Yet very few shoes cover both. You wear sneakers only to work out, and good-looking shoes only when you're not working out.

A shoe you can wear to a HYROX session in the morning and then straight to a bar in Seongsu in the evening without feeling out of place. We want to build a bridge there. So we're preparing a lookbook showing how people who work out and people who love fashion wear the same shoe, and we plan to release it in February 2027.

What kind of bridge is there between Seoul and the world?

DARIMATI started in Seoul, but our first shoe was introduced overseas first. From January 27 to February 27 this year, we ran BR-001 funding on Kickstarter, the US crowdfunding platform. We raised $21,850, 218% of our $10,000 goal, and 91 backers chose the shoes before launch.

Afterward, three US running media outlets, RunRepeat, Road Trail Run and Doctors of Running, reviewed the BR-001. For a brand that started from a running shoe, being evaluated first by running specialists meant a great deal.

Next week we'll attend ISPO 2026 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It's a sporting goods trade fair where sports brands and buyers from around the world gather. This year, for the first time, it's held at Amsterdam RAI instead of Munich, and the exhibition runs for two days, November 4 and 5. A shoe that started from a bridge in Seoul is now crossing over to Europe.

Wrapping up our first-year note

‘A shoe brand that doesn't sell shoes’ is half a joke and half serious. We do sell shoes. But what we put the most effort into this year was the gaps between shoes: between running and weights, between shopping and exercise, between fashion and exercise, and between Seoul and the world.

All of those bridges start, in the end, from the legs that run. In the next note, we'll lay out how US running media rated the BR-001, both the good points and the shortcomings, just as they were.

VT-001 Kickstarter (~11/23): View the Kickstarter project
Instagram: @darimati.official
Buyer and collaboration inquiries: company@darimati.us

Shop BR-001