This series is a fictional podcast where writer Hagiwara (who met them at #WednesdayBudozakaTraining) interviews three people (Nishioka, Yoshida, and Haruka) to delve deeply into all things milestone.


It's spring, isn't it? The big races are about to start. So, what about this month?



・All colors and styles are here!



Nishioka (hereafter, Nishi): The cherry blossoms have started to fall these days (recording date April 7th), but what number episode is this?

Hagiwara (hereafter, Hagi): This is the 40th episode.


Nishi: Forty episodes already? This is all thanks to our readers.


Omori (hereafter, Haruka): We're using "Oshi! My" with links from our online product pages. It's a really helpful, in-depth content.


Nishi: This time, we're talking about new colors and events. First, the new colors.


Yoshida (hereafter, Yoshi): It's not an exaggeration to say that the Doo-Bop series has become our flagship product, and new colors are coming out.


Haruka: We had some sizes out of stock for existing colors, but now all colors and sizes will be available.


Nishi: There are so many colors lined up in the catalog that it's almost too much (laughs). We went overboard, but you can never have too many.


Yoshi: It's been three years since we released the Doo-Bop T-shirts, and we talked about the development in detail in a past episode, didn't we?


Hagi: That was Episode 13: "Are you Doo-Bopping?" The hoodie story was in Episode 28: "Things you find near you." You told us about the fabric and patternこだわり (meticulous attention to detail).


Yoshi: If you haven't checked them out yet, please do. milestone's T-shirts come in two types of materials. One is the Canvas T, a lifestyle-oriented recycled polyester fabric that can be used for casual runs. The other is the serious running Doo-Bop series.


Haruka: These are performance models that we want you to wear for races.


Yoshi: That being said, we've also got long-sleeved hoodies now. Of course, it's perfectly fine to use them daily. They're comfortable, quick-drying, and I believe they offer the best functionality, so I hope you'll try them.


Yoshi: The T-shirts will be released in mid-April. The Doo-Bop Sleeveless T-shirts and Doo-Bop Hoody will be released in May.


Haruka: And the two new colors this time are Acid Navy and Charcoal Green. Both are easy to match.

Nishi: Good colors. I'll probably wear them a lot. All types will be available in all colors, so please use them according to the scene and your mood. I don't think there are many other brands with such a wide range of colors. It's a material, design, and color that we love.


Haruka: Hoodies come in 6 colors, T-shirts also in 6 colors, and sleeveless in 7 colors.

Hagi: You're spoiled for choice (laughs). Summers are getting longer and temperatures are rising every year, so you need different colors to change into, right?


Nishi: It's really hot. Sleeveless is our best seller.


Yoshi: The production number for hoodies is small, though. Actually, we're being playful with the hoodie this time.


Nishi: That's the April Fool's project, "CASTING YOUR WAY."

Yoshi: It's that post on milestone TERADACHO's Instagram on April 1st. It said we love fishing so much that we changed the brand slogan from "LIGHTING YOUR WAY" to "CASTING YOUR WAY." We actually make the fabric for that.


Hagi: The milestone logo had changed to a tenkara or fly-fishing fly, didn't it? (laughs) I thought you just altered the logo with image editing, but you're actually making them!

Nishi: We explained the concept to Tom from Denver, Colorado, and he made it for us. It turned out to be such a good design that we decided to commercialize it (laughs).


Yoshi: For that, we produced a whole bolt (about 50m) of purple fabric. We'll produce only that amount. It'll probably be around 30 or 40 pieces.

Hagi: So the fabric was a new color, unlike anything before. Not even one of the new colors this time (laughs).


Nishi: Should we make it a store-limited sale or what?


Yoshi: I bet there'll be a line (laughs).


Nishi: No way! (laughs) We'll figure out the sales method later.



・A biennial festival



Nishi: Now, for an event announcement. From April 25th (Sat) to May 17th (Sun), Jerry Ukai will be holding a solo exhibition titled "Through the Night Softly."

Haruka: Does it mean something like "quietly through the night"?


Hagi: Jerry also appeared in "Oshi! My" during his previous exhibition (Episode 16: "A journey to find 'friends'"). We heard quite a bit about everything from his encounter with milestone to his approach to outdoor activities.


Nishi: This is his second solo exhibition, but I'm really happy that Jerry is coming to my hometown, Teradacho, a working-class neighborhood. It's a biennial festival! Since it's a special occasion, we're making limited edition items.


Haruka: The first round we introduced last month was the T-shirt,

tote bag,

and beer glass.

Nishi: And today is the second round. Let's start from the top.


Yoshi: Yes, the caps.

Nishi: What I want everyone to know is that the basic cap shape will be different from last time.


Yoshi: Last time, the MSC-014 and MSC-017 shapes were used as a base, which were deep and had a large head circumference.

This time, the MSC-022 and MSC-023 will be the base.


Nishi: Simply put, last time the hats looked big at first glance, but this time they are compact.


Haruka: It's still a baseball cap style.


Yoshi: The strap on one side of the back has elastic, so the fit should be even better.


Nishi: The caps come in three colors, plus one limited edition color for milestone TERADACHO.

Haruka: Bluegill, Silver Crucian Carp, Cherry Salmon. The limited color is a light green Dace. Jerry loves fish, so the color names have been a fish series for two years now, haven't they?


Nishi: It's unrelated, but yesterday I was shooting near Jerry's house, and there was a river flowing nearby. There were schools of catfish, carp, and even spot-billed ducks? He also pointed out wild green parakeets in the trees, asking, "See them? Do you have them in Osaka too?" His interest and observational skills regarding nature and living creatures are amazing. I guess that's what comes through in his paintings.


Haruka: A lot of creatures appear in Jerry's paintings, don't they?


Nishi: He must always be observing things like that. He keeps catfish at home, and since catfish only eat live fish, he mentioned that he and his daughter might go fishing for bait later. He lives in an environment where nature is so close. That's also why our hats are named after fish.


Hagi: That's the kind of story I wanted to hear!


Yoshi: Next, the Daybreak series shirts, shorts, and long pants will be upgraded with patches.


Nishi: Jerry himself modeled for us.

Haruka: How luxurious. SAKU-san and SAYAXX-san are wearing them too, aren't they?

Hagi: The Daybreak Long Sleeve shirts tucked in look fresh and good.


Yoshi: I used to work for an apparel company that was very particular about embroidery and prints. When I researched patches, I found that old American vintage ones have embroidery on top of the fabric. Until now, our patches were fully embroidered, but this time we took it seriously and ordered all the specialized fabric samples to create them. The embroidery is on a twill fabric base. Furthermore, Marquez's face is made of felt fabric to give it more dimension. It turned out to be a luxurious finish.

Hagi: It looks like it will get a nice patina with use.


Yoshi: That's right. The fabric part will fade.


Nishi: Until now, patches were sold separately, so I think most people attached them to their backpacks or sacoches, and probably didn't wash them too often. But this time, they're attached to apparel, so people will wash them, and I think they'll develop a nice texture and blend in.


Haruka: They're sewn on, so no worries about them coming off!


Nishi: This is our first attempt at apparel items other than T-shirts, so I'm excited. They will be limited in quantity and sold exclusively at milestone TERADACHO and online.


Haruka: The shirts come in two colors: Overcast and

Haruka: ...Basil.

Haruka: The shorts come in three colors: Koala,

Moose,

and Sea Lion.

The long pants are also in the same color scheme.

First, Koala

Then, Moose

And, Sea Lion

 

Hagi: The patches give it a Boy Scout feel.


Yoshi: That's right. That's the feeling we were aiming for.


Hagi: Vintage Boy Scout shirts often have a lot of patches, don't they? It might be interesting to add more patches yourself. Also, wearing the shirt and shorts as a set would create a great atmosphere. Tucked in, of course.


Haruka: Since it's important, I'll say it again. The exhibition period is from April 25th (Saturday) to May 17th (Sunday).

Jerry will be present on the first day, April 25th (Sat), and the second day, April 26th (Sun), and also on the final week, May 16th (Sat) and 17th (Sun). We'll be hosting a talk event on the final day, with Jerry and also Jacky (Jackie Boy Slim) from JINDAIJI MOUNTAIN WORKS joining us. What's the theme of the talk?

Yoshi: I'm planning to have a free-form chat about trail running, including myself. Not fishing (laughs). One thing to be careful about is that when Jacky starts talking, you might miss the last train, so it might be better to come by bicycle (laughs). Just a heads-up there.


Hagi: At the talk show two years ago, Jerry told us about his traverse of Okuchichibu, didn't he? This time, it's about trail running, not hiking.


Nishi: He became a 100-miler at BAMBI100, you know.

Yoshi: Jacky was pacing him then, and I'm sure that topic will come up. He's working hard running in his mid-50s, so I'd like to delve into that aspect as well.

Haruka: Details about the talk event will be announced on Moshicom. Jerry mentioned there might be a painting with a headlamp on. I wonder if it will be a night scene.


Yoshi: We don't know yet. He said he's only halfway done painting (laughs).


Hagi: I've had a sneak peek at the paintings from the exhibition in Tokyo on Instagram, but I guess we'll get to see something different.


Nishi: He said, "I've still got Off the Grid this weekend, so I'm nowhere near done yet" (laughs). It seems he'll also bring some one-of-a-kind watercolors and other items.

To accommodate those coming from afar, milestone TERADACHO will be open from May 4th (Monday) to May 8th (Friday) during Golden Week, so please come visit us. We look forward to seeing you. That's all for today.


Haruka: Wait a minute! Can I just say one thing? In next month's "Oshi! My," we'll be introducing the new products from the catalog in detail, so stay tuned!


Nishi: Look forward to it. Well then, goodbye.


Yoshi: Goodbye.


Haruka & Hagi: Goodbye.



This time, we learned about the new Doo-Bop colors and Jerry Ukai's solo exhibition and its items. When I first heard "Doo-Bop," I thought, what a name! But with more variations, it has become well-established. The season for wanting to wear sleeveless is also approaching.


The other day, I ran along the riverbed all night for the first time in a while. With a headlamp on, and inviting a companion because I was uneasy being alone at night. To distract myself from the fatigue, I even talked about things that I usually wouldn't bother with because they were too silly. Running with someone takes you to places you can't reach alone.

Since it's spring, I also went out to pick wild vegetables. Following my master's gaze, I recalled the branch shapes and leaf forms I hadn't seen in a year. Gradually, my eyes became trained to identify wild vegetables.

Foraging for wild vegetables isn't complete until you eat what you've picked yourself. It takes effort before cooking, like washing them carefully and removing bitterness. I feel like this hassle is part of the deliciousness.

Every time I prepare for an activity or clean up afterward, I find myself thinking it's a bit of a bother. There are times when I'm reluctant to do training because I know it will be tough. Yet, why do I still run?

Even after countless nights and mountains, I still don't quite understand. Because I don't understand, I don't think I'll be able to stop anytime soon. I think I'll go look for clues in Jerry's paintings.

Golden Week seems busy with going to the mountains and seeing art. Well then, until next time.


Text and composition by Ken Hagiwara