History

It was in the remote 1997. When I finally had the fortune to find Meschia and its beauty.
Before that moment, I had carried out some researches to satisfy my desire to find a suitable place for bouldering following my natural aptitude for this sport.
After a somehow timid approach, time went by and games became more and more serious. Without neither strategies nor my practical knowledge bouldering was entering in its second life. Being completely unaware of the great movement that was about start, a few privileged people and I were living a “New morning” of stones, what I called the birth of the “New Bouldering Generation”.
I was about 20 years old then and I was fully conscious of such a luck.
I was living my body fully, submerging it in nature where the forms of the marvelous sandstone rocks were plunged.
Every day was devoted to the destruction of a new barrier considered impossible up to that moment, sweeping any uncertainties away to transform those dreams made of grips in true milestones of bouldering trying a few unpredictable movements again and again. All this was changing my point of view and my desire to be so I started “to be”.

 

For the youngest and for those who stated this journey not too long ago…

After having discovered the real potentialities of the sector “free climbing garments” and consequently chosen this kind of product, the big substantial difference between the new born brands and the older ones lies in the motivation. The former kind of producers understood the potentialities of the growing movement in terms of economic development and they just behaved accordingly.
E9 officially entered the market in 2000 but I started working at the project in 1998.
Differing completely from the above mentioned producers, E9 was born from a dream of a boy lost inside himself and the forests around Meschia. That boy filled with creative energy was also full of inspirations increased by the rounded and smooth forms of the sandstone rocks that he caressed every day.

 

Always hunting for “style”

I was the boy and everything was changing, growing including the number of people I invited in those places “to feel” what those places gave freely.
E9= art and creative style - in the exact moment of the rebirth of the bouldering - through the beauty of the Italian and European stone Mecca – Meschia.
I was tired of the garments proposed by companies which had nothing to do with creativity. It was about time to create something new for people like me who lived and felt the energy of those moments.
I was fed up of promoting brands that produced everything, from the technical garments to the everyday clothes and I started to be ashamed to wear leggings or some unconvincing mixture of fabrics.
While I was studying gymnastics in Bologna and I was competing in some free climbing races I began courageously to believe in my dreams. I decided to create something belonging to me.
I started touring with my scruffy scooter hoping for an inspiration from the other brands of clothing, but nothing and nobody succeeded in impressing me deeply enough.
At last, I found an inspiring old-fashioned pair of trousers displayed in a shop window.
The small unexpected shop was the starting point.
Meanwhile I began to disbelieve in university, it was a constant countdown to catch the train to return to my stones of Meschia. Instead of studying I was drawing one thousand logos for my future brand of clothing.
I decided to abandon university.

 

Why did I call my new brand E9?

The sudden flash coincided with the interiorization or the new Anglo-Saxon free climbing style through the famous film called “Hard Grit” in which the climber goes up the stone respecting it at the utmost, avoiding to pierce it to set the spits, fixed security nails but protecting it by placing only removable tools. It’s a more dangerous game where the psychological factor gets the upper hand on the sport ones. Where the climber can hurt himself seriously or die in case of fall.
The higher is the number near the “E”, the more difficult and dangerous is the way.
Therefore E9 is a level of dangerousness the climber faces to go up a scarcely grip-provided rock. The maximum level achieved then was E9 with a shy E10 proposal.
From that moment I became Mr. Enine (…wanna go climbing).

 

A love for rocks.

The rock is one of the elements I live for. I adore it and I suffer for it. It was my inspiration and it still continues to inspire me. In the past, I pierced it looking for grips but later I learned to bend to its will, with humility learning through the observation any possible ways of climbing it. Today I dig the forms in the garments I like creating and wearing.

 

PLEASE PRESERVE THE ROCK

The rock to the climbers = the nature to our children
Preserving the rock, the rock climbings and the climbers could still exist continuing a rightful and faithful evolutionary process
Today in E9 a team is working actively hoping to carry out this project and to fulfill your increasing requests of our products. Thank you!

 

E9 is not a cheap line.

Do you know the reason?

• It is studied and produced in Italy (even if the Chinese products are cheap labour we still pay a high price for the garments) 
• We are constantly doing researches on style. 
• We are going upstream in the global market.