The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 302 — 📖 The Kobe Brand is off to college
Things just got super interesting for Nike and the Kobe estate.
Gooooood morning, folks. Happy Friday. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. I hope you’ve had a fantastic week.
Cop anything this week? I ended up getting the Hal Studios Gel-1130s that I’ve been completely obsessed with. That’s two of the three pairs in my collection. Might have gotta go for that third.
Let’s jump in.
Big plans for the Kobe brand
The Kobe Brand is starting to seem more and more like a Nike subsidiary and less like a sneaker line.
The latest: Vanessa Bryant and the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation have reportedly handpicked the University of Kentucky as the brand’s first school in Nike’s “Mamba Program,” per reporting from Jack Pilgrim of KSR.
The Wildcats will be laced up with Kobes throughout the season in their patented blue and white colors.
They’ll also be getting Mamba-themed apparel to go along with the sneakers.
There’s also reportedly the possibility of having Kentucky uniforms with Mamba-themed logos on them the same way you’d see a Nike swoosh or a Jumpman logo.
This has been in the works for at least a year, per Pilgrim’s reporting. Though the school is the Kobe Brand’s first partner, per Pilgrim, it won’t be the last. It’s all part of a multi-year program run by the foundation.
What this means: This is a big deal. It’s not just a simple partnership to lace the team up with kicks. It’s potential uniform sponsorship. It’s apparel. It’s coming on a massive level through a college institution. In the same way Jordan Brand sponsors Michigan and Nike sponsors Duke, the Kobe Brand is sponsoring Kentucky.
Does that mean that the Kobe Brand is on the same as Jordan Brand in terms of being a subsidiary of Nike? No, it’s not there yet. Things are just beginning here. The brand hasn’t had nearly enough time to blossom.
But remember, Jordan Brand didn’t sponsor its first school (Michigan) until 2016 in Michigan. This is a massive move for Nike’s Kobe Brand and it’s just starting.
The big picture: It’s pretty clear that Nike has some big plans for the Bryant estate and the brand.
We already knew about the number of sneaker releases coming. Kobe sneakers are going to be a mainstay for Nike for years to come.
Now, we see the brand is also sponsoring schools in the same way bigger brands do like Nike, Jordan, Adidas and the like.
And we know it at least has one athlete so far.Nike signed DeMar DeRozan to a multi-year deal in 2022 for him to be the new leading face of Kobe Bryant’s signature line. I’d suspect there’s more of that coming down the line, too.
This thing is going to be big and it’s going to get there fast. Buckle in, y’all.
Just call him Travis Scam from now on
Travis Scott has been able to get away with lots of pretty wild things when it comes to his merch and the products he sells to fans. It’s going to be hard to beat the scam he’s running with this “Utopia” Air Force 1 though.
Think back: Remember when we talked about how little effort it felt like Scott put into that sneaker? It looked like it was simply a triple-white Air Force 1 with a Utopia sticker on the back.
Well, as it turns out, that might actually be what it is.
Some Twitter sleuths out there noticed that Scott’s pair of AF1s actually have the same SKU as a regular pair of AF1s.
It also comes in a regular AF1 box. That’s not normal for collaborations — especially not Scott collaborations.
This isn’t a good look for a couple of reasons.
First of all, if this is just a regular AF1, then this shoe is totally misleading. It’s essentially just one big run of customizations. Which, if you want to do that, that’s fine. But that needs to be made clear to people. Transparency is key.
Second, and maybe most importantly, Travis Scott charged folks $150 for these. That sticker on the back heel is not worth $150. I’m sorry. It’s just not. There’s no way to justify it.
I didn’t spend my money on these. But if I did? Man. I’d never buy another Travis Scott collab again. Sorry.
Jalen Hurts bolsters Jordan’s roster
Jordan Brand officially signed Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to an endorsement deal earlier this week. The two sides announced the move via Andscape earlier this week.
Hurts dropped an incredible promo video after the partnership was announced.
As an Eagles fan, this is content I’m extremely here for. Sneakers and my QB? Take my money. Please.
Jalen wore Jordan cleats during the Eagles’ run last year. He also popped up in Teyana Taylor’s short film for her AJ1, which makes a ton of sense in hindsight. This partnership feels right. But the bigger picture is a bit more interesting than that.
In the macro: Jalen Hurts is just 25 years old. He joins an already electric crew of young, up-and-coming athletes on Jordan Brand’s roster — although, they play separate sports.
In the NBA, Jordan has Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum.
In the WNBA, they’ve got Satou Sabally and Rhyne Howard. Let’s add Kiki Rice and Kiyomi Miller NIL deals to that picture. They’ll both be in the W someday.
Now, in the NFL, they’ve got Jalen Hurts. And he might be the fastest riser in the league right now.
Why this matters: Every name I just mentioned there is 25 years old or younger. There’s not another athletic brand out there with that much rising star power that also happens to be that young. That includes Nike, its parent company.
For a brand that has been fighting to get from under the shadow of Michael Jordan for decades now, this is probably JB’s best opportunity to do it.
So far, so good.
Growing Grails out here in D.C.
So if you were looking for a very good and cool thing to do on the internet that would also brighten a child’s whole year, I have just the thing for you.
The homie JerLisa tapped me on Thursday to let me know that she’s helping out with an initiative donating new kicks to a bunch of students here in D.C. called Growing Our Grails.
How it works: Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys is accepting sneaker donations through August 18 (which is today!) for 262 students at the school.
Their sizes range from 3Y to 14M.
The school is looking for new to very, very, very lightly worn shoes for the kids with, at least, a $100 retail value.
If you’re in the D.C. or Baltimore area, you can donate any pairs you may have through the D.C. A Ma Maniére location or Baltimore’s Social Status location.
I know there are some really good and kind people who read this newsletter, so I felt like it’d be the perfect place to bring something like this. Help out if you can! Appreciate y’all.
#TheKicksWeWear
First the homie Kali got us poppin with these lovely AJ1s. These are so smooth, man.
Then the homie Innanet James came through with the Beef and Broccoli 993s. I gotta get a pair for the winter.
The homie Mon came through with the Air Max Scorpion joints and, y’all, these look so COMFY. Wow.
The homie Jasmine came through with the What the AJ5 and I can’t believe I don’t see these joints out there more. They’re incredible.
The homie Mike Knight popped out with the Maui Wowies and, yeah, I can never get tired of these, man.
Then the homie Rick Dubb sent us home with a 2-for-2. The Doernbecher Vomeros and the Salehes?!? Come on, dog. Play fair.
Y’ALL SMOKED IT. Man. I can’t keep up.
That’s all, folks! Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you. Hope you’ve got a fantastic weekend ahead of you. Let’s chat again on Monday. We’ll do some Back-to-School content! It’ll be great.
Until then, peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. And we out.
-Sykes💯