In our previous post, we shared some (probably mind-numbing) detail on how we go out of our way to create the absolute best women’s triathlon, cycling, run, and swim gear. We have an absolute disdain for self-promotion (our Southern upbringing says that it's not "Propah" to brag), but we really wanted to shed some light on the product development process, our obsession with performance, and our quest to create the best gear in the market at any price.
Testing the Aerodynamics of our Zele Line with ERO Sports
Now for something we love talking about! We’re sharing (well...actually re-sharing) our thoughts on community. We know we’ve said it before, but we’ll never pass up an opportunity to talk about the life-changing nature of endurance sports. We know from first-hand experience that if someone who is just dipping her toe in the endurance sports water comes into contact with encouraging women, then there’s a very high likelihood that she’ll come back for that second, run, ride, and/or swim. Eventually, working out becomes a habit and she’ll likely enter an incredibly virtuous cycle. There’s frequently a new focus on diet (as in healthy and balanced, not “Lose 10 pounds in 10 minutes ”) and recovery in addition to scheduling (and making it to) more workouts.
Once those habits have taken root, then it can really be “Game On”! Our “Newbie” becomes a regular attendee at master’s swimming, the local shop ride, or run and eventually begins encouraging her friends to come along. Next thing you know, we've got a whole group of encouraging women who work out, have fun, and live lifestyles of health and fitness.
Our question has always been “How do we get that first domino to fall?” That’s where our ambassadors come in. When they signed up to join the Coeur team, they knew up-front that their primary mission was to be ambassadors for endurance sports. While we love it when they give shout outs about our new gear, we tried to make it clear that we wanted them to be the person at an event who walks up to the people near her and says “Hello" and "I hope you have a great day out there!” In our welcome letter, we also asked everyone to cheer for others on the course even if her race unicorn didn't show up on that particular day.
The Coeur Ambassadors represent a certain set of values
To that point, we have been absolutely thrilled by the team’s willingness to be beacons of kindness. Time and again, we’ve received emails from customers saying that they received shout outs from ambassadors during their event.
So now, we’re going to try to take it to another level and we’ll share our crazy little dream. In our heart of hearts, we’d love to see everyone wearing Coeur serving as an ambassador for health and fitness. Actually, we’d love to see everyone everywhere doing this, but we realize we’d be over stepping our bounds by even making that request. That’s why we’ll start with the group that is (hopefully) aware of our set of values. Namely our customers.
Our sincere hope is that when you see someone else wearing any garment from Coeur, you’ll notice their tendency to:
- Say Hello
- Compete to the best of their ability on that day
- Give encouraging shout outs on the course
- Be willing to answer questions
In other words, they just tend to be nice people. Nothing way over the top...they're just nice. In a world where politeness and civility seemed to have taken a back seat to behaviors that are...well...the opposite of polite and civil, we really think this might be a refreshing change whose time has come.