Hello Friends,
Today I write to inform you of big news for our little operation. We are officially rebranding our company – Pyllars is now Freetrail.
There are many reasons for this change, but fundamentally the purpose is to bring our brand identity more in line with our mission and our market. As we’ve grown as a company, I’ve learned a lot about how I want our brand to show up in our community and in the world in general. Quite simply, when people find our podcast, our app, or our YouTube channel, I want them to know what the hell we do.
At the beginning, the idea was to be equal parts running, yoga, and meditation with the focus being on cultivating physical and emotional fitness. Addressing the wholistic experience of the athlete remains a core feature of our mission, but shortly after we launched, we realized that we aren’t a running, yoga, and meditation brand. We are a proud trail running brand that happens to incorporate yoga and meditation. This seems obvious in retrospect, but it was a revelation in early 2021. As a result, “Pyllars” hasn’t felt right, and we’ve spent the last several months working to bring our brand more in line with the people and the community that we want to serve.
I recorded a whole “State of the Union” podcast to explain this change in more detail, including how we settled on Freetrail. I hope you’ll listen to it. If you have questions or feedback on this new path forward, please respond to this email to connect with me directly.
Listen to the rebrand podcast here.
Begin Again | The 2021 Grand Raid
As part of our rebrand, we’re excited to release our first feature-length film this coming Sunday December 5th on the Freetrail YouTube channel. The film is entitled Begin Again and it documents my recent running at the Grand Raid de la Réunion. The premiere will be at 9am PST and will be immediately followed by a Q&A with myself and 2021 co-champion Lodovic Pommeret – a French ultrarunning icon.
Register for the premiere here. Watch the trailer here. I hope you’ll join us Sunday morning!
Trail Society
A new episode of Trail Society hit your pod feed yesterday. In episode 9, co-hosts Corrine Malcolm, Keely Henninger, and Hillary Allen mediate on various trail news and inspiring stories including a long form exploration of Hillary’s amazing victory at the Madeira Island Ultra Trail last weekend!
Trail Musings
- Huge news broke yesterday as the trail and mountain GOAT, Kilian Jornet, announced he was leaving his longtime sponsor Salomon at the end of the year. It sounds like Kilian will be launching his own brand, which is very interesting. If history is a guide, Kilian is sure to change the game again.
- One of the last international races of the year happened at Ultra Trail Cape Town on Saturday where Jim Walmsley and Courtney Dauwalter ended their incredible seasons with respective victories. What can you say? They’re just so good.
- The Western States 100 and the Hardrock 100 lottery are both taking place on Saturday. Make sure you follow the official twitter accounts of both races for real time results. Best of luck to all applicants!
Peace and Restlessness,
Dylan, Ryan, & Harmony