Meet Kathy Villar. As the managing director of an ad agency called BrandAide, her creativity doesn’t rest even when life has practically ground to a halt in the wake of COVID-19. Aside from being a successful executive and entrepreneur, Kathy is kept going by her three other loves: motorsports, her dog Nimbus, and racing veteran and coach Edgen Dy-Liacco.
Kathy threw herself into motorsports after a series of personal challenges. She first took up drifting, but unfortunately at that time, the lack of a proper venue and series didn’t pan out well for her. She then tried traditional circuit racing. There, she flourished as one of the few active and successful women in the local scene. In 2017, Kathy was runner-up in her class at the FlatOut Race Series, and in 2018, she became the Yokohama Clubman Champion while also bagging Driver of the Year and Rookie of the Year in her first full season of wheel-to-wheel grid racing. She took a short break in 2019, and planned to do rallycross last year. This was the real passion of her beau, Edgen, who had been coaching and helping her in her motorsports journey. Alas, the pandemic started, and just like the rest of us, Kathy was stuck at home. But her creative mind couldn’t stay still. The idea of a new business venture was hatched, and Socks Talk was thus born.
Her first design for Socks Talk was aptly called “Heel and Toe.” Most of you might know about this driving technique that one must master in racing for smoother gear changes, which leads to more efficient braking and faster cornering. Heel-and-toe downshifting didn’t come naturally for Kathy herself, much to her exasperation. She went as far as to write a step-by-step guide on how to do it. And after mastering the skill, it became the inspiration for the first design—and, ultimately, the entire business upon which it’s built.
Each pair of socks delivers a cute, witty, instructional or inspirational message. Some of the car-inspired designs have the following messages:
- When in doubt, flat out
- Clutch kick. Floor it
- Rally drivers do it sideways
So, if you’re looking to spice up your feet with a pair of stylish socks, come check out Socks Talk on Facebook and Instagram.
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