For Joel Embiid and a few kids from Philadelphia, the inspiration was mutual.
It was also the muse for the design behind the new pair of size 18 Under Armour shoes the 7-footer will sport when he starts the NBA All-Star Game for the second time in as many seasons.
That Embiid is still just 24 years old, has played in fewer than 150 career regular season games, and only picked up the sport as a teenager makes his explosive ascent all the more impressive. The odds he’s overcome to swiftly establish himself as one of the league’s preeminent, high-impact talents simply adds to the remarkable story.
So Under Armour, which Embiid formally joined forces with in October, sought to mark the big man’s first All-Star appearance in the company’s gear in a special way, and tapped the Boys & Girls Club of Philadelphia for assistance.
Eight members of the Northeast Frankford chapter were selected on merit to take the lead in creating the version of the UA Anatomix Spawn shoe the Cameroon native will wear Sunday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
As the above photo shows, there’s a lot happening on the sneaker. Under Armour teammates met with the eight Boys & Girls Club kids for about an hour and a half the Monday after the Super Bowl, gathering at the Northeast Frankford site’s Kinsey Street facility to hash out ideas and develop a design plan.
The brainstorming session was at the same location where Embiid held his official Under Armour sponsorship launch.
For the most part, the Boys & Girls Club children did the creative heavy lifting. Under Armour provided a couple contextual notes about Embiid’s likes, tastes, and personality. It was up to the Boys & Girls Club octet to handle to the rest.
“This was our first time actually taking participants - youth from a city - and having them really go and design the shoes for one of our athletes,” said Sheldon Donnell, Director, Under Armour, who helps manage the company’s athletes. “I think one of the key things was just sitting with them and saying, ‘What does Joel mean to you personally as well as to the City of Philadelphia?’
“The youth, they’ll talk once you ask them questions. They’ll go and keep talking and talking and talking.”
When Under Armour told the kids Embiid digs bright colors, they came up with a couple options.
Given the strong feelings Embiid has for the 76ers’ fanbase, the Boys & Girls Club designers also tried to identify symbols that would directly establish a link between the big man and Philadelphia, a place he’s come to love.
Think the Constitution, civic slogans, and significant landmarks.
“I know I mentioned ‘love,’ the real love thing, because I know in Philly, there’s the LOVE sign,” said 13-year old Kiera Adams, one of the eight Boys & Girls Club members chosen to participate in Embiid’s All-Star shoe project.
Embiid, she said, is her favorite player on the Sixers’ roster.
“Since [Under Armour] said Joel was a silly person, I said bright colors, and confetti, and skylines, and stuff that really defines Philadelphia.”
The names of the Boys & Girls Club participants were integrated into the shoe as well.
“The best part for me,” said Under Armour’s Ullrich, “is the initials on the back that will always connect these youth with Joel in his first All-Star Game with Under Armour forever.”
Prior to the Sixers’ February 12th home game against the Boston Celtics, four of the eight children designers, including Kiera Adams (pictured below, holding the case), were on hand at The Center to meet Embiid, and - under lock and key - present him with the custom sneakers.
Embiid was aware the shoes were in the works, but had no idea what the finished product was going to look like.
Needless to say, the All-Leaguer approved. Soon after the case was opened, he told the group he wished he could wear the shoe that night.
“I still can’t believe it myself, to be honest,” Adams said of her involvement in designing a shoe for one of the NBA’s top emerging stars.
She told her friends, but none of them believed her.
Adams said, “I’m going to describe the sneaker before they see it, so when they do, they know.”
With the number of eyeballs expected to be tuned into Sunday’s All-Star Game, plenty of other people will see the sneakers, too. The footwear certainly has a story to tell.
