Currently Running is a California-based athletic brand that specializes in the design of premium running garments
Q&A with founder Nash Howe about his background and the story behind the brand
Process behind the first collection, origin of the name, and logo
Built from years on the running track, the surfboard, and behind the camera, Currently Running is the container Nash Howe created to house all of those threads in one place (running, music, film, and design), all tied to a simple idea: be present in whatever current you are in.
What I really dig about the brand is that it wasn’t just another overnight hyped item. It launched quietly and started to build a deliberate following that really praises the gear.
The brand was born out of Nash’s need to expand his creative practice and do what he loves. Below, we speak with him about how a javelin thrower from Santa Cruz ended up making a running brand and why “mile one” mattered more than perfection.
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BITR: How would you describe your background?
Nash Howe: There were always two tracks running at the same time. One was athletics; I did track and field in high school in Santa Cruz, and competed at UC San Diego, throwing javelin. The other was a mix of music and visual arts.
At school, I studied an interdisciplinary program that let me move among music, computer science, and visual arts. I was producing music, studying theory, and shooting films with friends. None of it felt connected at the time. I thought I had to choose: pursue music seriously or go all-in on visual work like filmmaking. Running was always there in the background, but it wasn’t the central thing yet.
BITR: When did running stop being just a background sport and become something you wanted to be more involved in?
Nash: The shift started when I went to Mammoth Lakes with the cross-country team one summer. Our track team didn’t train together in the summer, but the distance squad did altitude camp up there. I went to photograph them.
Up to that point, I didn’t really “get” distance running. Seeing that environment changed it. People were training hard, but they were also taking ice baths in rivers, hitting hot springs, and going on hikes. It felt more adventurous than the very structured college track experience I knew.
Documenting that environment opened a new window. I realized running wasn’t just a sport to shoot action from. It was a culture with relationships, rituals, and places that could be explored visually in a deeper way. That stayed in the back of my mind.
BITR: How did you get your start in the sports world?
Nash: Straight out of school, I didn’t get a “traditional” job. I moved in with my grandparents for a year, invested in a camera, and started doing mini-documentaries and short commercials for a surf-focused company.
At the same time, I was writing and licensing music for films and commercials and living pretty lean. So there was always this triangle: making music, telling stories on film, and staying close to sport and the ocean. I didn’t see it as a brand seed yet, but the toolbox was getting built.
BITR: What was the actual spark for starting a running brand?
Nash: It came from wanting to work on projects that lasted longer than a single campaign. A lot of commercial jobs are very transactional: you drop in, you shoot, you deliver, and then it’s over.
I noticed I felt the most connected when I was doing more complete stories, like a surf magazine project I did back home in Santa Cruz, shooting friends not just in the water but also in their workplaces and everyday environments. Finishing that project felt different. It felt like something I could keep doing for a long time.
To make that kind of storytelling sustainable, I realized I needed to own more of the ecosystem, not just the images, but the apparel and the world around it. Running was the most honest place to do that because it’s my everyday life. There’s a line you hear about filmmaking: the best directors are embedded in the culture they’re depicting. For me, that culture is running. Starting a brand became the way to stay in that world and build something with a longer arc.
BITR: What was the process behind the first products?
Nash: I knew I needed to start with a really solid short and tight. Getting the silhouettes right was the hardest part; everything else would grow from there.
The production side was a learning process. I didn’t know how factories worked, how people sourced fabrics, or who did patterns. I leaned on friends, mentors, and anyone who would explain their process. I sampled with generic factories for a while and never quite got pieces that felt dialed in.
Eventually, a mentor introduced me to the factory I’m still working with. That’s when it started to click. We built a supply chain around textiles that made sense for what I wanted to make. For the first collection, I bootstrapped hard, using deadstock fabrics the factory already had instead of custom colors. It was about getting from zero to one, making something that felt good on the body and worked for different types of runners, rather than landing on a perfect, fully resolved system right away.
BITR: The brand talks about Mile One and Mile Two. What does that system mean for you?
Nash: The “mile” language is a way to mark development without tying everything to seasons. Mile One was about getting the first core shapes into the world. Mile Two is where those forms evolve, maybe a fabric choice gets upgraded, and details get cleaned up.
It can serve as both a timeline and a naming system. You could have a piece like the M2 short that stays basically the same for years, and then maybe one day there’s an M2.3 version because something needed to change. It’s a flexible structure, and it mirrors how people think about training: you don’t throw everything out each season; you build in increments.
BITR: Where did the name “Currently” come from?
Nash: The name literally started on a plane. I was flying to a running job, scrolling through surf photos on my phone, and dropped the word “Currently” over one of them in a magazine template. I sent it to my friend JP, who ended up on the cover, with a message like, “We should make a magazine.” That became the small surf mag project with friends in Santa Cruz.
“Currently” had this double meaning that stuck with it. There’s the ocean current, always moving, always changing; and then there’s the idea of being present where you are. The original tagline was “be where you are,” and that was something I was trying to learn myself: not constantly thinking about the next thing, but being in the moment, whether that’s a run, a surf session, or shooting photos.
BITR: What is the thinking behind the logo and the visual language?
Nash: I worked with a designer to translate this idea of multiple individuals connecting, runners, friends, collaborators, into a simple mark that also echoes the sparkle of the sun reflecting on the surface of the ocean.
The brand leans into a neutral palette partly because that’s my own preference and partly because it lets the people, the movement, and the locations carry more of the color. Coming from film and photography, I think a lot about how pieces will sit in a frame and how they interact with light and motion.
BITR: How would you define Currently’s design DNA?
Nash: At the core, it’s about approachability, inclusivity, and creativity. I wanted the first collection to work for someone just getting into running and for someone trying to make a USATF final. That meant focusing on fits that feel good on different bodies and making sure the range could live on track, road, or trail without looking out of place.
On the design side, I think a lot about flow. I want garments to move well and to have details, perforations, vents, panels, that feel like they’re in conversation with air and motion, not just stuck on for visual effect. The neutral colors, the mile system, the logo, and the photography all fall within the same idea of currents and movement.
BITR: What’s next for Currently?
Nash: Product-wise, there’s a new crinkle-nylon jacket that builds off the Mile One version, some expanded women’s pieces, and more refinement across the board now that I’m working with a product designer. That collaboration lets me focus more on the film side and the bigger world-building around the brand.
In terms of place, I’m moving back to Los Angeles and want to more deeply root the brand in California. A lot of the early photography has been fairly global (France, Italy, Greece), but the next chapter is about setting a stronger foundation at home and growing out from there, with things like a month-long space in LA and appearances at races and events.
The bigger picture is to keep building a space where running, visual storytelling, and everyday life sit together. The product is one part of that, but the relationships and the stories are just as central.
You can pick up your own Currently Running apparel, including running bras, half tights, and singlets, at currentlyrunning.com.
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Alfredo is a runner, writer, creative director, and cultural analyst based in Berlin. After years as a casual runner, his move to Berlin transformed his running into a vital practice for mental health and a source of tranquility during cold, early morning runs. His interest in clothes comes from uniforms and sportswear, combined with a love for innovation and research—which might explain why he meticulously charts his winter running gear.
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