“But I don’t sit idly by

I’m planning a big surprise

I’m gonna fight for what I wanna be”

— “Waiting Room” by Fugazi

As a kid growing up in Lacey Township, NJ, in the late 1980s and early 1990s – an area and era he labels “vanilla” – Bryan Poerner fell in love with punk rock music. The genre’s DIY messaging and creative culture resonated with Poerner. Many punk bands screened their own tees, printed their own fliers for shows and designed their own album covers.

“Scratching every part of the creative itch,” Poerner tells Running Insight. “In punk, you could write your own story.”

Poerner was also drawn to punk’s rebellious edge, including lyrics openly questioning mainstream conventions. It broadened his perspective of the world – and the possibilities.

“I loved the questioning,” he says. “What was culturally accepted wasn’t necessarily correct.”

Today, Poerner’s longstanding embrace of punk rock’s ethos fuels his work with another long-time personal love: running. Blending creativity with a hard-charging attitude and a singular mission to make the best running products possible, Poerner stands a central figure in Diadora’s recent running renaissance.

Intermingling Passions

Poerner has spent much of the last four decades trying to mix his passions for running and music. During his high school years, he frequently hustled from cross country or track practice to band jam sessions or shows. He also launched his own independent label with a telling name: Track Star Records.

While the two worlds intermingled seamlessly in Poerner’s teenage life, he rarely saw overlapping examples elsewhere. Running seemed to exist in one space. Music in another. 

That is until he walked into Miles Ahead Sports in Manasquan, NJ. There, Poerner saw his two favorite worlds – music and running – co-existing in beautiful harmony. The tiny run shop led by running evangelist Bruce Robinson and his wife, Sharon, featured split shorts, posters of elite racers and lively discussions about track workouts over the melodic beats of reggae music. 

“To me, it was every bit as rad as the coolest record store,” he says. “The feeling I got in this space as a kid was something I wanted to preserve.”

After a standout running career at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, including setting the school’s steeplechase mark, Poerner became a Puma athlete. He also began working for The Cat as a regional specialty sales manager. In total, he spent 14 years at Puma, eventually becoming a national account manager handling major sporting goods chains in the Northeast. 

Landing at Diadora

In 2017, Poerner joined Diadora as national sales manager for U.S. Sport and found a brand vibe reminiscent of his punk rock days. Diadora, an Italian brand that had largely disappeared from the performance running stage despite strong ties to the sport, was eager for a running resurrection and – much like the punk rock bands Poerner admired – actively, intentionally questioning its purpose.

“What they wanted to do aligned with my interests,” Poerner says. 

He began working with Diadora’s sport director on a fresh product line. The process was steady and meticulous, rooted in an unapologetic combination of investigation and ingenuity. Building prototypes in-house, testing, analyzing results and then repeating the process over and over and over again. The spirit reminded Poerner of his punk rock days – imaginative, individualistic, inquisitive.

“If you want to build shoes like everyone else, that’s easy,” Poerner says. “If you want to build shoes to help a kid win the state title, that’s a different pursuit.”

Poerner brought Diadora a deeper understanding of the nation’s run specialty marketplace, helping the brand select specialty partners and put discipline behind distribution. Still today, the brand only sells in-line products to running stores and does not discount on its own e-commerce site. 

“If you want to build a real running brand, you need the buy-in of the running community and you need to respect that partnership,” Poerner says. “I’m happy to be that brand modeling out how to act with run specialty partners.”

Within three years, Poerner’s guidance pushed Diadora footwear into more than 200 run specialty stores across the U.S., a rather remarkable feat given the channel’s uber-competitive landscape.

A Running Resurgence

Since 2022, Poerner has served as Diadora USA president and CEO, continuing to elevate the brand’s presence in the nation’s running consciousness. Exciting models like the Gara Carbon and the Italian-crafted Atomo Star have helped accelerate the 77-year-old brand’s profile and propel its marketplace ascent. Today, Poerner reports soaring sell-through data in more than 400 run specialty doors across the country.

“Retailers and runners are becoming more comfortable with us and we’re growing every year,” he says.

Diadora’s climb comes at a time in which many running retailers are actively seeking niche brands to ensure their stores’ “specialty” positioning. Yet, Poerner takes nothing for granted. He recognizes “the shoe has to be king” and likens run specialty to luxury goods and high-end cars. Product doesn’t have to be $400, he allows, but it must be special.

“And we want to be that brand,” he says.

Fundamentally, he continues, Diadora looks at the market differently than most of its peers. From daily trainers to marathon racing shoes to spikes for cross country and track, Diadora’s mission is to create the best possible product, not to indulge the masses. It’s to be with the right partners, not in the most doors.

The mission resonates deeply with Poerner. When he put out records on the Track Star label decades ago, he wanted every record to be the best expression of the art form. Today, he says, Diadora clutches the same values.

“It’s not about selling the most,” he says. “It’s about making the best.”