Tough Mudder Launches Incubator Program with VJ Shoes Partnership

Tough Mudder, the global fitness and active lifestyle brand, today announced a partnership with VJ Shoes USA, the North American distributor for Finland-based VJ Sport, which officially launches the Tough Mudder Incubator program. The Tough Mudder Incubator will scour the world to find the best mud-tested, Mudder-approved products to bring to Mudder Nation.

“This is the beginning of a very unique and powerful program – not only for Tough Mudder, but for the brands that will participate in the Tough Mudder Incubator,” said Kyle McLaughlin, President of Tough Mudder, Inc. “VJ Shoes USA is a perfect partner for the program and we’re thrilled to help introduce its lightweight line of footwear to the North American market.”

The Tough Mudder Incubator is a unique program that allows Tough Mudder to capitalize on its powerful reach and network in order to introduce brands to broader markets. With a special focus on sustainable, start-up, small businesses that otherwise wouldn’t be able to approach a partnership with a major global sports property, the Tough Mudder Incubator will introduce brands to relevant retail locations and provide assets to help drive sales. Additionally, Tough Mudder will leverage its global ambassador network to test, vet and promote new products – vaulting participating brands into a national spotlight.

VJ Shoes USA is Tough Mudder’s official North American shoe partner and is the first participating brand in the Tough Mudder Incubator. Founded in Finland in 1981, VJ Sport shoes offer’s fast and lightweight shoes for a variety of sports and activities, priding itself on offering “the best grip on the planet”. VJ shoes made their debut in North America in January 2019.

“We couldn’t be more excited to participate in the Tough Mudder Incubator,” said Matt Gorski, North American Distributor, VJ Shoes USA. “VJ has designed some of the best footwear for obstacle course racing, trail running, orienteering and more for nearly 40 years.  VJ shoes have been on the feet of multiple World Champions, including Jon Albon, 2018 European and World Tougher Mudder Champion.   We’re thrilled to use Tough Mudder’s prowess to help introduce VJ shoes to the North American Market.”

About Tough Mudder, Inc. - Founded in 2010 with the launch of the Tough Mudder obstacle course event series, Tough Mudder Inc. has become a leading global sports and active lifestyle brand. With more than 3 million participants, the company hosts more than 130 non-competitive (Mini Mudder, Tough Mudder 5K and Tough Mudder Classic) and competitive (Tougher Mudder, Toughest Mudder and World’s Toughest Mudder) events annually in 10 countries including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Germany. The company’s content arm provides the more than millions of engaged online brand enthusiasts with fitness, nutrition and wellness content delivered daily across social and digital platforms. Other NAM sponsorship partners include 3M’s Nexcare™ and ACE™brands, CELSIUS, Soap & Glory, EveryManJack, Navy Federal Credit Union, Alanic, Chipotle, MuscleTech and Viewsport. UK and Germany partners include Lucozade Sport, Brewdog, Snickers Protein, Toyo Tyres, Black Tower Wine, Rawbite, and Strandgut. For more information visit www.toughmudder.com.