Article: How the one-of-a-kind running socks "RETO" were created - A conversation between Daichi Kamino and the president of a long-established sock manufacturer (Part 1)
How the one-of-a-kind running socks "RETO" were created - A conversation between Daichi Kamino and the president of a long-established sock manufacturer (Part 1)
Text: Yuki Yoshida
In February, we actually visited the factory in Kakogawa City, Hyogo Prefecture. In this article, we will reveal the conversation that took place between UNIVAL's President Yokoyama and Kamino after the factory tour.
In the first part, he talks candidly about the background of this collaboration and Kamino's sock situation.
Why did we take on the challenge of developing running socks?
Kamino Daichi (hereinafter, Kamino): Today, I'd like to talk with President Yokoyama about UNIVAL's commitment to socks, as well as my own personal commitment to socks, focusing on socks!
President Yokoyama (hereinafter referred to as Yokoyama) : Nice to meet you. I am Yokoyama, the representative of Unibal Co., Ltd.
We recently collaborated with Kamino-san, who has always worn our "IDATEN" socks. That connection was what surprised both us and our employees at first.
Kamino : The reason I decided to collaborate with UNIVAL this time was that in January of last year (2021), exactly one year ago, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to upload videos to YouTube, so I wondered if there was anything I could do and started a segment called ``Answering everyone's questions.''
Then UNIVAL gave us a comment on that question, asking, "What kind of socks are you wearing?"
I've posted videos of myself wearing "IDATEN" on YouTube and elsewhere, so I thought they knew (what socks I was wearing), but it seems that wasn't the case. UNIVAL simply asked me in the comments, "What kind of socks do you like, Mr. Kamino?"
So I replied, "Actually, I wear IDATEN shoes," and then the person in charge looked at the purchase history, saw my name, and contacted me. That's how it went. I think it's a pretty rare case.
Yokoyama : That's right.
Kamino : But I'm really happy that we've been able to build a relationship to the point where we can now plan products together, and I'd like more people to know about this collaborative product...so thank you!
By the way, I think UNIVAL collaborates with various companies, but why did you decide to collaborate with me, an athlete, this time?
Yokoyama : As Mr. Kamino mentioned earlier, our company has been manufacturing socks for many years. We make socks for major companies, especially for sports, but we wondered if we could develop something in-house at our own factory.
While we have had talks with various athletes, our running products have been supervised by Yuriko Kobayashi, who competed in the Beijing Olympics. I met her by chance a few years ago, and as she is a Kakogawa Tourism Ambassador, I felt like I was close to her. At the time, we were looking to focus on sports socks, especially those related to running and track and field, so we asked her if she could come to our company and take a look. She looked at the products we were making at the time and gave us suggestions for improvement. We had always said within the company that we wanted to hear other people's stories as well.
A divine connection?! A mysterious connection that began by chance
Yokoyama: The product we collaborated on this time is called "IDATEN," and IDATEN is the god of running. And Kamino-san is the god of the mountains.
Kamino : Yes, that's what people have said (laughs).
Yokoyama : I think he was the third generation. ...So, I'd been interested in Kamino-san for a while. But I never thought I'd contact him...
Idaten → God of Running → Kamino-san. And the "kami" in Kamino-san's name is the "kami" for god!
Kamino : Yes, there are a lot of different types! There are "kami" that are mountain gods and "kami" that are gods.
Yokoyama : God is like a voice from heaven, after all. Taking that into consideration, I honestly think there must be something to this.
Kamino : That makes me really happy.
When I heard about the project, I was at a point where I was thinking about trying out different socks. When I run a marathon, the soles of my feet would hurt a lot...or rather, they would rub against my feet, and in the second half, the soles would hurt and I would slow down.
Up until now, I've never been particularly particular about socks when it came to track races, but when it came to a marathon, I first realized that socks could make a difference in performance.
I tried three or four types of socks that weren't UNIVAL products, and I felt that "IDATEN" was the best, so I bought them and started wearing them, which was my first encounter with UNIVAL. Now, I'm able to collaborate with UNIVAL, the manufacturer, on a product that I used to think was great, and release it as "RETO x IDATEN," which is the happiest turn of events for me.
Yokoyama : I'm happy.
We are curious as to why you chose "IDATEN" from among the many socks available in the first place.
Jinno : To repeat, in the second half of a marathon, the soles of my feet start to rub together, get hot, and start to hurt. This happens more easily when I'm wearing socks with anti-slip properties.
The practice shoes don't have any anti-slip properties, but without them the shoes tend to move around inside. When I first put on these "IDATEN" shoes, they didn't slip even though they didn't have any anti-slip bumps. That's when I thought, "Ah! These are what I've been looking for!"
Until now, I've had separate socks for practice and socks for matches or important, tough training, but I wanted to combine them if possible.
Socks with anti-slip properties are expensive and tend to tear easily, so I wore them a lot during practice and they got torn...that's why I kept them separate.
I was thinking about wearing the same socks from my regular jock training to tough training, and I found that "IDATEN" socks have a non-slip surface but no bumps, so I don't feel tired even when wearing my regular jock training. In fact, the reason I like "IDATEN" is that I can wear them with the same feeling as usual even during key training or tough training.
