A journey of innovation born from a garden hose, like walking on clouds:
2010 | ZURICH, SWITZERLAND | Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann, Caspar Coppetti

For athletes, injuries can sometimes be a brutal ordeal that threatens their careers. However, the unhealing pain can also be the driving force behind groundbreaking inventions that change the way we walk our feet around the world—a fascinating aspect of the world. Swiss-born brand On is precisely one such brand born from adversity. With its distinctive hollow sole design, it has become an immensely popular staple sneaker for walking around town, but the origin of this beautifully functional shoe is not found in a glamorous design room, but rather in the tenacity of a professional athlete battling pain and a garden hose readily available at a hardware store.

Olivier Bernhard, one of the founders, was a top athlete who had won the world championship three times in duathlon, a race consisting of running, cycling, and running in sequence, and also achieved numerous victories in Ironman races, which involve swimming, cycling, and running consecutively without rest, covering a total distance of 226 km within a time limit. However, his demanding athletic career came at the cost of chronic inflammation in his Achilles tendons. Seeking shoes that would alleviate his leg pain and provide an ideal running experience, he had a fateful encounter with an engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology after his retirement. They abandoned existing concepts and embarked on developing a cushioning system with a completely new approach. What resulted was an unconventional attempt: gluing slices of garden hose to the sole.

This unusual prototype absorbed the impact of landing while simultaneously generating a rebound force that caused the compressed hose to spring back to its original shape during push-off. This was the prototype for the unique "CloudTec" technology, which would later be patented. Friends David Allemann and Casper Coppetti were captivated by this magical wearing experience. In January 2010, the three men hit it off in Zurich, Switzerland, and officially established the brand. Its innovativeness quickly swept the industry, and just one month after its founding, it achieved the remarkable feat of winning the "Brand New Award" at ISPO, one of the world's largest sporting goods trade fairs.

Soft upon landing and firm upon push-off, these shoes, which combine seemingly contradictory elements, offer a "running experience on clouds" that quickly spread worldwide, from top athletes to recreational runners struggling with injuries. Furthermore, the aesthetic beauty of its distinctive hollow sole and its sophisticated, minimalist design have extended beyond the realm of sports to the fashion scene. Today, On footwear has established itself as both gear for enduring grueling races and an item that enhances urban life in a comfortable and stylish way.

Furthermore, in 2019, Roger Federer, a world-renowned tennis player also from Switzerland, joined the brand as a senior investor and co-entrepreneur. He is also involved in product development, further accelerating the brand's evolution. Starting from one top athlete overcoming pain, and born from a garden hose, these shoes continue to support the feet of people all over the world and are moving forward to the next level.