For years, Swiss sportswear brand On had a very specific reputation in the U.S.—one that had a lot less to do with performance and a lot more to do with polo shirts and startup salaries. At some point in the 2010s, its shoes became synonymous with a tech-adjacent, practical wearer who was largely uninterested in either running culture or fashion.
Recently, when I asked people on the street that fit this demographic why they wore On shoes, they raved about comfort and durability in a package that still looked appropriate for a mid-day lunch meeting. Others who I spoke to said this tech/dev following is precisely why they find the brand unappealing—to them, On shoes are associated with a certain socioeconomic class that doesn’t align with their personal style.
This image has proven sticky, even as the brand has grown far beyond it. On’s recent athletic and cultural partnerships, like an outdoor capsule Beams and REI, and a multi-year partnership with music artist Burna Boy, suggest a company actively trying to reposition itself, reaching for a younger and more tapped-in audience. Brand representatives declined to comment on whether this shift is intentional, although recent company reporting points to an effort to connect with younger consumers. But have these initiatives helped On shed its finance bro reputation and appeal to a wider audience?
To be fair, the tech bro-airport dad aesthetic is at odds with how the brand began. On launched in 2010 as a performance running company, founded by retired athlete Olivier Bernhard, who was fixated on creating a shoe that felt fast without sacrificing cushioning. His early prototypes—famously hacked together from garden-hose tubing—eventually evolved into On’s signature CloudTec system, which has hollow air pockets that compress in the sole and earned the brand early industry attention and a major innovation award within its first year.
Over a decade later, On is growing rapidly in the U.S. The brand’s net sales are up 32.6% year over year, eyeing $3 billion dollars in revenue in 2025. (Hoka, another footwear brand making efforts to stay core to running, by comparison, hit around $2.23 billion in 2025.) Ons presence in running and tennis—with a lift from Roger Federer who joined the company as a co-owner in 2019—has expanded significantly, while apparel, once a peripheral category, has become a meaningful part of the business, with sales increasing nearly 87% from 2024.
On is clearly growing and positioning itself as a multisport megabrand alongside the likes of Adidas and Nike. The people wearing the shoes, though, still suggest a gap between the brand’s ambitions and real-world adoption.
The Cloudboom Strike LightSpray
On’s Growing Legitimacy in Running
For years, On’s running shoes were pretty easy to dismiss. Early models were often critiqued as too stiff, gimmicky, and overpriced for serious training. “The running shoe for non-runners” was a common knock. Multiple runners I spoke to were also disappointed that their shoes seemed to wear down earlier than expected, especially given the $180 price tag. Many switched because they could get a more resilient and equally great model from another brand for at least $30 less. As a running shoe tester myself, I’ve tested the brand's footwear for years, and while I still have a few pairs in my closet, I’m much more likely to reach for nearly anything else. Most of the models lack a certain oomph or joy—that responsive, fun pop that brands like Adidas and Asics have nailed through modern foam compositions.
But with the max-cushion Cloudmonster model, launched in 2022, runners started paying attention. Kellen Matthews-Thompson, a Philadelphia-based marathoner who averages over 50 miles a week, says the Cloudmonster is his go-to daily trainer behind the Adidas Evo SL, one of the most popular shoes on the internet right now. It’s stiffer than most max cushion shoes, but that seems to work for a certain subset of runners who like a firmer, more stable ride. And as social media has pushed a running culture where people increasingly want to look good while training, it certainly doesn’t hurt that the Cloudmonster aesthetic is far bolder and more maximalist than the brand’s earlier, more conservative models.
On’s push into high-performance racing in July 2024 with a shoe called the Cloudboom Strike accelerated that shift even further. “When they entered the long-distance running and the super shoe game, that was proving not so much that they could produce shoes that break records and win marathons, but also go toe-to-toe with the likes of Nike, Adidas, Puma, and New Balance,” says Daniel-Yaw Miller, sports and fashion journalist and writer of the SportsVerse newsletter.
