We thought it would just be another booth.
Set up early, lay out the shades, talk to a few people, pack up, go home. That’s usually how these things go in your head. You prepare for the usual questions, the usual flow, the usual kind of crowd.
But it never actually turns out that way.
The first person who stopped by wasn’t even planning to buy anything. He just picked up a pair, wore it, looked at his friend and said, “Eh… this one actually quite solid.” Then he turned to us and asked if it would move when he runs. We said no, explained a bit, and expected him to either buy or walk off.
Instead, he stayed.
And then he started talking. He told us it was his first race. Said he didn’t really know what to expect. Said he wasn’t even sure if he could finish, but his friends signed him up anyway. Somewhere along the way, the conversation stopped being about sunglasses.
It became about him.
That’s when you realise something about these race pack collection days. People don’t come with the mindset to shop. They come with everything else on their mind. Work, training, stress, excitement, doubt. And somehow, in between collecting their bib and heading off, they pause for a bit and open up.
We had someone come straight from the office, still in his work clothes, holding his laptop bag. He tried on a pair and just stood there looking at himself in the mirror. Then he said quietly that he’s been training only at night because he doesn’t have time in the day. You could tell he was tired, but there was something in the way he said it. Like he was proud he even showed up.
And then there are the familiar faces.
Those always hit different. Someone walks up and says, “Bro, you remember me or not?” Sometimes we do immediately. Sometimes it takes a second. But once they start talking, it comes back. They tell us where they saw us before, what they bought, how they’ve been using it. And just like that, it doesn’t feel like a transaction anymore.
It feels like catching up.
Some of them didn’t even need to try anything. They already knew. They just picked another pair and stayed to talk anyway. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
Not every conversation is about the product. In fact, most aren’t. People talk about their runs, the sessions they skipped, the ones they’re proud of, the injuries they’re dealing with, or how unprepared they feel. There’s no script, no filter. Just real conversations, in the middle of a crowded event.
And standing there, you realise you’re not just selling something for race day. You’re stepping into a small part of someone’s journey leading up to it.
There’s always this quiet moment before they leave. After trying on the shades, after the conversation, after everything. They pause for a second, like they’re deciding something bigger than just whether to buy.
Then they say, “Okay la… I think I’ll just go for it.”
Sometimes they mean the sunglasses. Sometimes they mean the race.
Then they walk off, and that’s it. We don’t know what happens after. We don’t know if they hit their timing, if they struggled halfway, or if they surprised themselves. But somehow, we think about it anyway. And in the middle of all this, something else happened that we didn’t expect.
We hit a PB in sales.
Not because we pushed harder. Not because we shouted louder. But because people trusted us. They took the time to try, to ask, to listen, and then decided to support.
We don’t take that lightly. We’re deeply grateful. Really. So if you came by during the 2XU race pack collection, thank you. Not just for the support, but for the conversations. For taking a few minutes to share a bit of your story with us, even if it didn’t feel like much at the time.
We remember those moments.
And if you’re racing, we hope you go out there and do what you came to do. No overthinking. No holding back. Just go.
Show them what you got.
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Aura Shades will be at 2XU !