Stuart Jenkins, Founder & CEO of Blumaka: Revolutionizing Footwear with Sustainable Innovation
- Stuart’s early passion for modifying running shoes as a high school student
- A serendipitous partnership with George Cole
Podcast
Overview
Welcome to a special episode of TBCY featuring Stuart Jenkins, a pioneer in footwear innovation and sustainability, interviewed by Ashutosh Garg. Dive into Jenkins’s remarkable journey from a high school footwear tinkerer to leading a revolution in recycled foam technology through his company, Blumaka. Here’s what you’ll discover in this engaging conversation:
00:00:57 – What inspired Stuart Jenkins to partner on the first Air Sole?
- Stuart’s early passion for modifying running shoes as a high school student
- A serendipitous partnership with George Cole
- The creation of air shoe technology, later licensed to Reebok
00:02:31 – How does Jenkins maintain creativity over decades?
- A lifelong drive to improve products
- Balancing humility with confidence to create meaningful change
- Treating innovation as play — avoiding boredom by staying creative
00:03:46 – A story that demonstrates his innovation philosophy
- Facing 94 rejections over eight years before successfully bringing air shoe technology to market
- Lessons from working with the Hoka founders, who challenged industry conventions
00:06:34 – What sparked the founding of Blumaka?
- Witnessing massive foam waste behind factories
- Realizing the problem could become the solution
- Navigating a major technical barrier: foam cannot be melted down; it must be reused as-is
00:09:52 – Biggest challenges in market adoption
- Building a recycled-foam manufacturing facility just as COVID hit
- Supply-chain resistance and skepticism about recycled foam performance
- Overcoming cost and durability misconceptions
00:12:11 – How Blumaka won over elite athletes and NFL teams
- Introducing a non-slip, high-performance insole
- Rapid word-of-mouth growth — without paying any athlete endorsements
- Real-world results: measurable improvements in speed, traction, and durability
00:15:07 – What makes Blumaka’s sustainability approach stand out?
- Visible recycled content — you can see and feel the difference
- Radical transparency: sustainability that is simple, authentic, and tangible
RESOURCES:
Learn more about Stuart Jenkins: LinkedIn
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Profile
- Stuart’s early passion for modifying running shoes as a high school student
- A serendipitous partnership with George Cole
- The creation of air shoe technology, later licensed to Reebok
