Doesn't Altra just make running shoes? The answer is no, they also make hiking boots.
Can I still run in these hiking boots? The answer is yes, which is good because mountain lions are pretty fast.
Is the name Altra short for "all trail," or a play on "ultra?" The answer is probably.
Having once asked ourselves these very questions, a video concept started bouncing around our brains. The thing about a so-called "proof of concept," though, is that the proving part of the equation is pretty essential. Luckily for us, the good people at Altra are [insert play on words between "Altra" and "altruistic" here] and lent us a pair of hiking boots so we could wrestle with, and eventually tame, this concept much like the aforementioned mountain lion. We were doubly lucky, in fact, because it turns out it wasn't at all like wrestling a mountain lion (which don't particularly care for being tamed, and have big fangs and claws to express the sentiment).
To shoot the hiking boot in its natural habitat, we built our own little river crossing inside, ironically enough, a tent of grip gear. Add to that setup a projector and a shop vac set on reverse, and voilà the great outdoors.
So the lesson is, if the roll-up-your-sleeves portion of a proof of concept is like climbing a mountain, then it's good to have a well-made hiking boot to get you over that peak.
