Sometimes it starts with a quiet dissatisfaction—the feeling that what’s available just isn’t quite right. Not wrong, exactly. Just uninspired. You keep using it anyway, until the question slips in: what if there’s something better? For Fraser and Lyle Duncan, that question took shape on the court. Basketball shoes were expensive, slick. But the socks? Functional, yes—but ugly. They didn’t match the fit, and they didn’t feel like gear you were proud to wear. That disconnect sparked what would become Drippy Grippy, a performance sock brand born not just from utility, but from a desire to make the basics feel exciting again. That small impulse spiraled fast—into self-funded production, organic traction, and then, barely a year in, a full legal takedown that erased their website overnight.

“We actually realized this is a really high-quality product that we had here.”

The launch was humble: three sock designs, three colors, and a £3,000 budget—including a small loan from their dad. But early validation came quickly. Players in the UK basketball scene, from grassroots to pro, adopted the product with unusual enthusiasm. “We'd go to games and see families wearing them—dad, son, daughter. That’s when we thought, maybe we’re onto something.” The product design—performance grips fused with streetwear aesthetics—filled a visual and functional gap. Then, just as the momentum began to build, everything stopped.

Wix shut down their site after a trademark dispute over the word “grippy.” The term, they argued, was descriptive and shouldn’t be protected, but the platform didn’t wait for due process. “We’d get automated emails saying to remove all trademark violations—even our own product photos.” It took nearly a year to resolve. During that time, they rebuilt the entire store on Shopify, learned the legal nuances of design marks, and watched their revenue drop—then slowly recover. “It was a blessing in disguise,” they admit now. “But at the time, we thought we might lose everything.”

“We never thought we'd be this obsessed with socks.”

‍Today, Drippy Grippy is rebuilding stronger. Their core market remains the UK, but international orders—from places like America, Iceland and Tasmania—are growing. They've partnered with rugby events, netball clubs, and Five Guys FC on YouTube to extend reach. While most sales are still direct-to-consumer via social and word-of-mouth, they’re eyeing retail. “Footlocker and JD Sports don’t stock grip socks—and yet 183 out of 220 Premier League players wear them. There’s a clear gap.”

Fraser and Lyle still run their marketing agency in parallel, often juggling client deadlines while packing orders. They recently launched a rewards and referral program and are exploring affiliate schemes for clubs. “We’ve sponsored teams and created custom designs. Some players wear nothing else now,” they say. A new running-specific model has recently launched, prompted by Fraser’s London Marathon spot. Despite limited time and funding, they’ve kept expansion measured: “You can’t do everything at once. If you’re not ready, it’ll fail.”

The socks themselves now reach well beyond basketball—used by strongman athletes, runners, hikers, and even older customers looking for comfort. “It’s about stability,” they explain. “No blisters, no slipping, and a little more confidence when you move.”

In the months ahead, the goal is clear: break into retail without compromising their marginsor identity. But the mindset remains grounded. “Keep it simple,” they say. “We’ve had big ideas before—but they never got off the ground. This was the one that just made sense. People need socks.”