THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SHOES
This has not been an easy task to bring Newton Running to market. It has taken the time and effort of many people to invent, design, test and now manufacture our Newton Active Membrane Technology™ into lightweight performance running shoes.
PAULA NEWBY-FRASER
Paula Newby-Fraser is the only triathlete to transcend the sport. Certainly, she is the greatest triathlete of all time: Her 24 Ironman Championships are more than twice that won by triathlon legends Mark Allen & Erin Baker (8 each) and Dave Scott (7). Her 1988 Ironman finish (11th overall) has been called the "greatest performance in endurance sports history". The Los Angeles Times, e-xtra and ABC's Wide World of Sports have acclaimed Paula "The Greatest All-Around Female Athlete in the World".
The Women's Sports Foundation named Paula its 1990 " Professional Sportswoman of the Year", the most prestigious international award given to female athletes each year. The United States Sports Academy, CNN & USA Today! named Paula as one of top 5 professional women athletes of the last 25 years (1972-97).
Paula has been involved as an investor in Newton Running from the very beginning. Her Multisport Camps have served as a testing ground for Newton's research and development.
DAN GRUNDY
Dan Grundy is 43 years old and has 23 years of experience in the athletic footwear industry. Dan has worked extensively in Asia as an expatriate in South Korea, China, Indonesia and Thailand. Dan is a very versatile industry vet having worked as Technical Rep, Production Scheduler, Production Controller, QA Administrator and Developer. He maintains an athletic lifestyle and has competed in the San Francisco, New York City, Portland and Boston Marathons. He posted personal best of 2:45 for the marathon and 1:13:52 for the half marathon.
Dan is married and the proud father of a 16 year old swimming ace and makes his home in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
BOB TAYLOR
Bob has eighteen years of footwear industry experience, working with major brands. Bob is the Founder and President of MCG (Material Concepts Group), which represents a consortium of Asian manufacturers for footwear & sporting goods materials & processes. MCG works with major footwear and sporting goods brands to introduce new materials and support material sourcing needs (MCG has offices in Portland, Boston, Korea & China).
In addition to heading up MCG, Bob lived 11 years in Asia, working in a variety of capacities for a couple major footwear brands, heading up Advanced R&D projects, as well as managing Development and Commercialization for several factories. In addition, he established an Asian wide materials organization and headed up material innovations teams in both Taiwan and Korea. Bob also headed up Asian Operations covering 4 Asian Countries. Bob has a Bachelor's degree in Business Management (Portland State University).
JENNIFER ABSHIRE
Jennifer is a Canadian native, runner, skier, mountain biker and mother of two boys! In her free time she is the President and Co-Founder of Active Imprints Custom Insoles and Running Store in Boulder, Colorado. She has assisted in the development and patent of weight bearing foot impression systems for Active Imprints.
Jennifer is also a consultant for Newton Running and has contributed to the color selection, anatomical upper fit and packaging design for Newton. Her vision of packaging was to promote recycled materials and have less waste with reusable items such as socks and a shoe bag instead of useless tissue paper and hangtags. Jennifer will continue to find ways to cut down on waste for Newton Running, but it's off to a great start.
As the shoe and apparel buyer for Active Imprints Jennifer will be the first and only running store to have the privilege of featuring the Newton Running shoe line in April.
