A Family Business born in Italy :

First appearing in 1928, the brand la Sportiva was born in the heart of the Italian Trentino region and close to the Dolomites. Narciso Delladio, a shoemaker who made wooden clogs and leather shoes for the lumberjacks and farmers of the valley,who, over the years had the idea of turning the business to mountain shoes. In the 1950s, his son Francesco, having joined the family business, decided to start manufacturing ski boots and to develop a complete winter and summer collection while continuing to innovate in hiking boots.

During the 80's and with the development of climbing competitions and the already apparent need for innovation in terms of boots, La Sportiva expanded and manufactured new climbing boots in yellow or purple colors that would become La Sportiva's mark of success and make it the market leader.

Subsequently, the brand continued its development, in particular thanks to its capacity for innovation, but also thanks its know-how. By keeping a large part of their production of climbing boots and mountain boots in Italy (the Nepal line) and by launching new products for ski mountaineering, approach and, more recently, trail running.

Also aware of the importance of environmental preservation and as an outdoor brand born in the Italian mountains, La Sportiva is very much committed to this. As part of the 1% for the Planet movement, La Sportiva donates 1% of its turnover to environmental protection associations. Also since 2012, it has implemented procedures to certify the textile production chain according to internationally recognized socio-environmental criteria approved by Bluesign®. As a member of the Bluesign® collective, in 2014/2015 it will introduce the first fully certified products and continues an evolution in this direction. Finally, as written in a previous article (La Sportiva, a sustainable approach that works) it has created the Mythos slipper being composed of 95% recycled materials.

Strong links with the sports that it represents:

Historically anchored in the heart of the Italian mountains, the brand is strongly linked to mountain sports, having started with mountain boots and then revolutionizing the world of climbing with light and flexible shoes that opened new horizons for climbers.
Today also present among the leader in ski touring, mountaineering and mountain running products, being present on several competitions as a sponsor or represented by its athletes, it demonstrates its strong attachment to all mountain practices.

This strong link between the brand and the sports it represents is mainly through its athletes and ambassadors. Among them are famous names in the different disciplines such as climbing, trail running and ski mountaineering. For example Adam Ondra, Alex Honnold or Barbara Zangerl, who are considered to be the best climbers nowadays, or the "hippie" traileur Anton Kupricka, to name just few of the long list of athletes.

 

Strange Heroes : the web serie from la sportiva :

The values of the brand such as innovation, respect and love of the playground or even the surpassing of oneself are put forward by these athletes through a web series inspired in its construction by the famous Netflix series "Stranger Things".

The web series "Strange Heroes" gathers different videos and testimonials showing the motivations and passion of the different athletes. These videos show what makes the values of la Sportiva but also gives a motivating and humble vision:

Anton Kupricka and his philosophy of life totally connected with the outdoor environment, he describes in this video that to stay locked up because of injury or to live are only necessary things and that the only added value for him is to live outside and run. 

Adam Ondra talks about how to go beyond one's limits despite injuries and how to act in the most effective way possible when your not necessarily the strongest:

Finally, Michele Boscacci shows the reflexion of an alpine skier in perpetual search of snow and how to train outside the winter periods. He shows the importance of the different seasons and the impact of the climate on mountain sports:

These "Strange Heroes" that are the athletes and ambassadors of the brand show the strong links between the vision of the brand, what it represents historically and encourage everyone to surpass themselves or respect their environment to continue to live their passion.

To find the other videos of the web series : Strange Heroes la Sportiva