Feature: Under Armour SPINE RPM

 

By Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

Image courtesy of Sandy Dover Creative

SPINE.

It’s still a mysterious sort of development. We know what a spine is, but the Under Armour Spine is still a curious sort, right? Well, it’s not all that curious once you really step in it and I, along with other guests, was fortunate enough to get a complimentary pair from Under Armour when I attended the Spine premiere event.

I was impressed right away, and gave those impressions a very public viewing, however, I continued to spend more time in the shoe and eventually put the Spine to the test, receiving a pretty good idea of what the shoe is beyond its own unique aesthetic characteristics.

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Interview: Sara Wasserman & Patrick Buchanan of Creative Recreation

By Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

Image courtesy of Sandy Dover Creative

The great thing about PROJECT was the fact that any brand that has a stake in the fashion industry and market made an effort to showcase themselves and reconnect with buyers and media looking to see something new. Throughout the show, I made my rounds and connected with a number of brands and representatives and I just so happened to make my way to the Creative Recreation booth, which hosted a number of new models of footwear. I was graciously given the time to speak with Sara Wasserman and Patrick Buchanan of Creative Recreation, to hear their thoughts on what makes Creative Recreation unique and special, and also gain knowledge of new releases to come. …

Feature: PROJECT Interview – Mike Antonellis of Royal Elastics

By Sandy Dover of CounterKicks

The great thing about PROJECT was the fact that any brand that has a stake in the fashion industry and market made an effort to showcase themselves and reconnect with buyers and media looking to see something new. In my case, I had a surprising and wonderful opportunity to see Royal Elastics, a brand that has had a long-time presence in casual footwear for the twenty- and thirtysomething crowd for more than 15 years. By happenstance, I was fortunate enough to speak with Mike Antonellis, the marketing director of Royal Elastics, and got his take on where the brand is headed.

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/09/project-interview-mike-antonellis-of-royal-elastics/

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Feature: Meet The Press – Reebok Classics at PROJECT

By Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

“PROJECT — a mysterious word that usually relates the construction of a product not yet finished. I had no idea what PROJECT meant in regards to its New York and Las Vegas connections, and I honestly wasn’t sure what I was being invited to, but as chance had it, I was given access to attend the event (with the gracious blessings of John Brilliant and Yale Schalk) and Reebok happened to be the company to send for me — boy, did they send a message.”

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/meet-the-press-reebok-classics-at-project/

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Feature: Questionable Swag… The Reebok Question

By Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

“I understood that covering the Reebok Classics event at PROJECT in Vegas meant that I might have some access to a few goodies, but I was overjoyed to find a bag of Reebok’s The Question in white/pearlized red waiting on my bed! Though, Allen Iverson himself wore a player exclusive suede version in 1996-97 with accent blue trim, the original retail version of the white/pearlized red/blue Question Mid was only available in Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York, and a few other select cities, and was sold in limited numbers, making the legend of his PE and the initial retail versions a unique kind of Holy Grail for collectors and aficionados. Having missed out on the hyped re-release of A.I.’s first signature shoe this past spring (they were released in the basic white/pearlized red — no blue trim — years ago), I was excited to finally have what I’ve long been missing.”

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/questionable-swag-that-happens-in-vegas-leaves-vegas/

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Feature: Reebok’s 2012 Release Goodies Vegas Style

Featuring Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

The Reebok Project Trade Show wasn’t all Dominique, A.I., Swizz, Tyga, and Rozay. It had shoes, too. CK man Sandy Dover (@San_Dova) snapped these photos of Reebok’s 2012 release goodies, including the “Georgetown” Question, Basquiat lineup, and ES22 options.

–Yale Schalk, CounterKicks

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/reeboks-2012-release-goodies-vegas-style/

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Feature: The Front Row Of The Reebok Classics PROJECT Trade Show Press Conference

Featuring Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

On Monday, Reebok Classics held a press conference at the Project Trade Show in Las Vegas to reintroduce just a few iconic golden era sneakers they have queued up to drop this year like the Pump Twilight Zone, Question, ES22, and Kamikaze II. Of course they had a little help from Dominique Wilkins, Allen Iverson, Swizz Beatz, Tyga and Rick Ross, who sat side by side on stage to field questions in front of a huge mosaic of Reebok ads from way back. Journalist and CounterKicks correspondent Sandy Dover was in the front row to take it all in, including candid shots of those Reebok retros you’ll be seeing soon enough. So cycle through all the pics he took for you below and make sure to follow him on Twitter @San_Dova for killer industry tweets.

–Yale Schalk, CounterKicks

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/what-we-saw-from-the-front-row-of-the-reebok-classics-project-trade-show-press-conference/

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Feature: ‘Nique, A.I., Swizz, Rozay, Tyga & Reebok Classics Rat Pack Las Vegas

Featuring Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

If you’ve been following CounterKicks correspondent Sandy Dover on Twitter @San_Dova, you know from the massive amount of pics and info he’s tweeting  from Las Vegas that Reebok Classics has stolen all available thunder at the Project Trade Show. Yesterday at a 5pm press conference helmed by Reebok Classics Creative Director Swizz Beatz, anyone with functioning eyes and cameras got to take in some classic athletes and artists talking nothing but iconic Reebok sneakers. Atlanta Hawks great Dominique Wilkins reminisced about his days in the Reebok Pump Twilight Zone (re-releasing August 24), Sixers star Allen Iverson reviewed the Question/Answer IV re-release earlier this year and the Question drops scheduled for later in 2012, and creatives Rick Ross and Tyga discussed their Reebok Classics involvement. And don’t think Emmitt Smith’s Reebok ES22 retro didn’t come up. It did. Peruse the presser pics below and stay tuned for pics of the upcoming Reebok retro releases as well as video of the press conference.

–Yale Schalk, CounterKicks

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/nique-a-i-swizz-rozay-tyga-reebok-classics-rat-pack-las-vegas/

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Feature: Spinal Tap – The Premiere of Under Armour SPINE

By Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

Innovation in the athletic footwear industry is key to growth. The development of new ways and methods to engage consumers is a crucial part of being able to grow and maintain business – in essence, it’s investing your future. We’ve seen what brands like Nike and adidas have done when they devote their attention to making their brands better — they grow and gain new love (when the product is of high quality). For Under Armour, still a relative new jack in the footwear industry, they have been able to get by on having the right kinds of product that are suitable to perform and have taken steps to make what is of industry standards to be synonymous with their name, but on June 20, 2012, UA decided to debut a new kind of product that could help re-format the brand as a technology innovator. That product turned out to be UA’s latest creation — SPINE.

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/spinal-tap-the-premiere-of-under-armour-spine/

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