It was 2016 when I started running seriously. At the time, as a lover of nature, trail running appealed to me most. I had played sports for most of my life. But my youthfulness was fading fast.
I always seemed to set high goals for myself. A slow progressive build up never did appeal to me. So jumping straight into 100km Ultra was befitting, admittedly I was pushed by a really good friend, the same guy who took this picture actually. But good friends are synonymous with sport and here I met plenty! Many of them play key influences in what we have today.
Soon I was escaping into the Table Mountain Nature Reserve which, as a child growing up on the Cape Flats, was just this man laying on his back on the horizon. One we always saw but never quite imagined. The discovery of this mecca of trails brought a new life. Which from then on revolved or perhaps circumnavigated around my new found joy.
It didn't take long to learn why we lived so far from this paradise. Of Course the good spots around it were all taken but it became apparent that there were many more like me and even more that were better suited for this sport. They just never had the opportunity to experience it. So for many, the distance to the mountain and gear requirements stood in the way of mountain running bliss.
Being as a neighbour I was fortunately more attuned to this challenge. I myself needed to get gear from China. Even with a well paying job, it was hard to get my hands on good gear, and so I had to find another way. Enter Flat Mountain Living.
At the start, Flat Mountain was intended to bring equipment which was priced out of our league, closer. However, the sport was not growing as quickly back then, and this was and is a bootstrapped business. So other needs arised, but our goals stayed the same - To give back to the community and share that which brought us so much joy.
After resolving that there were many better and in cases cheaper brands that were not yet available in South Africa. Flat Mountain Living changed tact to identify with those wanting to live a mountain lifestyle with better quality products that weren't going to leave you worried about your spend.
Our mission, described as “To Make the Climb Sublime” - aimed to bring better performing products at a price which we could smile about. Resulting in a quality, tried and tested product listing which will always leave you smiling, even if you had to spend a little bit more.
Flat Mountain Living has lived with each of its products and this is its story.
