After more than two and a half years development, the ORITY ONE ESPORTS BACKPACK was launched last month. Time for a review!
My first contact with esports was in 2016. A former work colleague approached me with the idea of creating an esports backpack. Today he, Mathias is one of my founding partners at ORITY.
I will never forget how Mathias jaw dropped when I asked him to explain what esports was.
He explained and I felt very, very outdated. I was caught missing one of the largest digital phenomena of the 21st century: esports. Shocking, especially if you consider that I live in Cologne, a city which is home to GAMESCOM, TURTLE Entertainment (ESL) and has hosted major events non-less than the DOTA2 World Championship and annual events like the ESL ONE COLOGNE. SRY, my bad.
In the same conversation he showed me various YouTube clips of tournaments and what the esports backpack market looked like. One observation that struck me was how thrilling and entertaining the events and how boring the design of the backpacks were. It was like climbing in a DeLorean and traveling back to the 90’s. Hundreds of different black backpacks in various sizes and prices that all looked pretty much the same.
Considering that most backpacks at the time were merchandise products, they did the job, but Mathias was convinced that the esports market was emerging and becoming more professional and that the peripheral products would have to emerge too by becoming more sincere.
What struck most about Mathias idea wasn’t just a void in the backpack market but the mechanics behind the idea. Even today most companies are focussed on the digital development of esports, but what about the physical part? Runners can turn to Nike for some trainers or a sweater, Surfers have Quicksilver to provide them with a board or shorts, but what brand is making apparel and bags for esports enthusiasts?
The weeks after my enlightenment I didn’t get much sleep. One reason was a lot of meetings with the newly founded team of backpack professionals and esports enthusiasts, the other was restless nights playing FIFA or searching for my AOE2 product key on the back of a CD cover somewhere in my cellar.
Despite the lack of sleep the time was very invigorating. Invigorating enough that I quit my former job and have been working on ORITY ever since.
Some of the greatest experiences in the past years was how positive the esports community is. Who would have guessed that a small start-up would become partner of SK Gaming or would find beneficiaries such as Team Secret, Sir Action Slacks and M3lly more to carry us into the world.
These positive vibes and the feedback from the community re-fuel the fire lit more than 3 years ago and with your approval the idea behind ORITY to enhance the esports experience will catch on.
ORITY is evolving thanks to numerous ideas from the community and thanks to this engagement we already have the next products in line. With “ORITY TEE”, a shirt made of the finest merino wool, “ORITY GO”, a smaller version of the ORITY ONE and an inlay for console athletes we reacting to the feedback we received so far.
Do you have additional ideas, or suggestions? Let me know by sending a private message via facebook, twitter or Instagram.
Want to stay up to date? Sign up for the ORITY newsletter :D
