About Nomis
Nomis' goal is to create innovative and technically advanced products that improve player performance.
Nomis is the brainchild of Simon Skirrow. Although the company is a relative newcomer to the sportswear industry, it brings a wealth of new ideas and technological innovation to the production of both boots and gloves for players of all levels in a range of sporting fields including football (or soccer) and rugby. The company is currently distributing its shoes and gloves in the UK, the USA, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe.
The name Nomis came about, so the story goes, one day when Simon's wife, having read his name upside down on some scribbled notes left on their kitchen bench, suggested "Nomis" as an acronym of "Simon".
Simon has been involved in the sports shoe business since he was 17 years old, and says it is the thrill of the challenge that drives him on in pursuit of newer and better boot technologies. He confesses to loving the challenge even more today than he did as a teenager, as the current development of new techniques and advanced materials provides so many more opportunities for diversification and new markets.
According to Simon, football boots have seen some dramatic changes since the early leather sole boots of the 1940s and 50s, and many of these changes have, in the past, been pioneered by adidas, such as the first eight-studded removable sole plate, and a direct injected PU and rubber outsole for more comfort. In particular, Simon believes that adidas' Copa Mundial, designed 30 years ago, was the industry's standout performance driven boot, reflecting the need for cushioning and support while also using fine leathers to create a close feeling with the ball.
However, Simon believes that football boot innovation has temporarily stalled, with the greater shoe market looking to lifestyle rather than performance for its inspiration. It is here that Nomis is set to make its mark. Simon hopes that his company's new technologies - known as Dual Control and Dry Control technology - will be their secret weapon in the marketplace.
Nomis' goal is to create the most comfortable shoes possible for footballers, while at the same time boosting performance. And, with good design and the application of Nomis Control Technology to the boots, wearers are given increased ball contact in even the worst conditions.
In recent years the football boot market has placed a lot of emphasis on shoes being light and, whilst Simon agrees that this should be a design consideration, he cautions that it should not be the main feature, as there is a tendency for light shoes to lack the necessary heel support and midsole strength that the foot needs to support itself, which could lead to difficulties or even injury for players.
Having spent time talking to podiatrists, players and coaches about their shoe issues, Simon is increasingly aware of the importance of both quality upper materials and comfort, and these are the things that Nomis is not prepared to compromise on.
The Glove and The Spark are two of Nomis' top of the line shoes and come with added extras to customise comfort and fit. But the new technology is not just for shoes. Nomis also has a rugby mitt, plus gloves for a range of sports including golf and football, all of which feature the amazing Dual Control technology. While on tour in New Zealand in 2005, the British Lions squad use the Nomis gloves during training and at several of the players also used them during the three tests.
The man behind Nomis
Nomis' founder is Simon Skirrow, a native of Yorkshire, England, who now resides in Australia.
Simon has been involved in the sports shoe business since he was 17 years old, and says it is the thrill of the challenge that drives him on in pursuit of newer and better boot technologies. He confesses to loving the challenge even more today than he did as a teenager, as the current development of new techniques and advanced materials provides so many more opportunities for diversification and new markets.
Simon's start in the world of sportswear production began as a teenager in England, when he applied for a role as a junior sales clerk for the local distributor of adidas. This kick started a career that has lasted 27 years and taken Simon around the world many times.
By the time Simon was 19 he had become involved in the product ordering process and was invited to his first adidas global sales meeting in Germany. "One minute I was looking at shoes I never believed could de designed let alone produced and then the next minute I am sitting at the same dinner table as Franz Beckenbauer, Mark Spitz and Mohammed Ali."
For the next ten years Simon worked closely with the top shoe designers at adidas.
Fiercely competitive in his own way, when the adidas management asked Simon to move to Germany as part of a global restructuring initiative engineered to fight the emerging threat by Nike, Simon did not hesitate. "I was asked by Rob Strasser on the Thursday morning if I would move to Germany and when would be convenient and my reply was 'how about tomorrow night'"
Within four months Simon had designed a whole new football boot line, which included an endorsed shoe by the great man himself, Franz Beckenbauer. The shoe sold over 1 million pairs in its first season and gave adidas renewed strength with which to build on.
While Simon appreciated the sales figures, he felt that what was needed to push adidas forward was new technology and a great idea that would create a revolution within the industry. The answer came following a meeting with former Liverpool player, Australian Craig Johnston, and led, ultimately, to the creation of The Predator, the boot which became adidas' new weapon, selling more than 75 million pairs worldwide.
With adidas' success in the football arena established, Simon left Germany and headed for the USA, the biggest sports market in the world, where he became the successful president of an adidas accessory company.
However, it was the lingering feeling that there was still more to be done in the football boot market that eventually led him to leave the industry, to work on his own new technology.
While researching the project, it became clear very quickly that although great brand loyalty existed for the top boot brands, people didn't feel that the big brands had cornered the market in terms of having the best new ideas. The challenge for Simon, then, was to create not just a great new idea for his product, but to break into a market where brand identity and loyalty is very strong.
Three years later Nomis was born.
Nomis History
Nomis' rise as a sporting brand has been, quite literally, breathtaking.
Back in the 1950s elite football players wore very different boots than they do today. Made from strong thick cowhide leather and weighing 600 grams, the boot featured a leather sole that has been nailed to the upper. It was designed to be ankle length for player protection. The nailed on studs or cleats it features were an invention first used by Adi Dassler on shoes for the German National Team. The design of football boots has definately elvolved since the first cleated shoes and the launch of Nomis can only help further the evolution.
Nomis founder Simon Skirrow created his vision for his new brand after working with some brilliant shoe designers in the 1980s and 1990s. Whilst watching television one night and seeing football and rugby players struggling to play in rain, he saw the potential in creating a technology that would help improve players' perform in wet conditions. And so an idea was born.
Over the next nine months Simon worked in secrecy to develop Control Technology in the UK until the secret broke that he was developing something new. Taking drastic action to keep his development under wraps, Simon moved to Australia. It was here that the first prototypes were designed and four years after starting the Nomis journey, Simon held the first Nomis boot in his hands.
The next decision was which leathers were most appropriate, and how the various leathers would best react to the Nomis technologies. Simon eventually decided to focus on the use of kangaroo and bovine leathers. This selection guaranteed that the leathers would have the degree of stretch, water absorption and abrasion resistance that he was looking for.
Below is the Serpent shoe, the original Nomis prototype. It weighs 255 grams and is made almost entirely out of kangaroo leather. It has a unique slipper like feel to it. This shoe has never been commercialised and sports the first Dry Control uppers, which were put out on test. The results of the tests were so positive that Nomis decided to launch this technology at the same time as the Dual Control technology.
The designs that were eventually decided upon for the existing shoes took two weeks to complete, while the designs for the 2006 World Cup shoes took eight weeks, such was the complexity of the new features that the Nomis team wanted to achieve. The team actually started with 40 designs, which were cut down to 15 and then eventually to five. The final five were there then taken to stage two artwork, which means all the flow lines are finalised and the midsole and outsole are drawn to scale as if ready for production. Each design was then critically assessed in terms of look and feeling, until we settled on "the one".
It is incredible to think how far Nomis has come in such a short space of time. The most exciting aspect, however, is that the Nomis journey has only really just begun. We're sure the Nomis revolution will keep on growing.