SOLE TO SOUL

Paris: Le Quai 54 Part One

Sometimes things just click.

When certain things happen and neatly  fall into place its almost like its meant to be. This is the thought I had when I started planning my trip to Paris. The chance to meet Gentry Humphrey Director of Jordan Brand, watch an international streetball tournament and surprise the BF for his birthday – perfect! Well apart from the fact that I blew the surprise!

Le Quai 54 is dubbed the best streetball tournament in Europe, I’ve wanted to go to this competition for the past two years and it was definitely worth the wait. Greg Tanner once defined streetball as “basketball in its purest form” and Le Quai was the epitome of that, as over the two days I witnessed tough competitive basketball, with some moments of street flair and a bellowing coach from the sideline. Even though the regular season is over, summer is still all about basketball with Midnight Madness starting in the next few weeks, Le Quai 54 definitely set the tone.

Le Quai’s motto was “Bring your name, Not your Game” as teams from Japan, Italy, The Netherlands, America and UK done just that as they played for the title on the asphalt of the Stade Georges Carpientier.

The weather hot and the atmosphere was electric to say the least. I was intrigued to see how the French “got down”. Entertaining is a crowd is not easy, I should know I used to host  but Le Quai seemed more than prepared at half time and after games the MC’s took charge of the crowd. There was a ton of competitions for the crowd to participate and not all basketball related as you will see later, I only wish I understood French as this guy Makobe was making the crowd laugh out loud!

Le Quai was a Jordan sponsored event so it was only right that I dressed for the occasion and it seemed others also followed suit.

As said before I had the feeling like this, me being in Paris right now was just meant to be. I have Jason Mayden to thank for the next part of the story to tell as without him it would not be possible. I consider Jason to be my mentor as he puts me on the right path and gives me crucial advice about how to break into the foot wear industry and while I take advice from him, he too had a great mentor to guide him and that was Gentry Humphrey.

Now for those of you who don’t know Gentry Humphrey is THE GUY over at Jordan Brand. From working his way up to Nike Regional Sales Representative to then become the Director, he has had a input in twenty three most iconic shoes in basketball footwear history.

Now, that may just be my opinion but for those of you who don’t adore kicks as much as I do and are not really into basketball the Jordan shoe is historic because when it was first released in 1985 it broke the convention of a basketball shoe, apart from the fact that it’s initial red/black colourway was banned it was considered a breakthrough because it fused performance with fashion – it was a basketball shoe you could wear off court, as I and many others do even today.

I’m reading a book at the moment entitled Young Black Rich and Famous by Todd Boyd. In a quick overview it deals with the rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop invasion of the 80’s and the transformation of American culture. His main theme is how Hip Hop and basketball interlocked and provided a base for which African Americans could propel themselves into mainstream American culture. Boyd dedicates a whole chapter on what Michael Jordan contributed to the game but also business of basketball. He defines him as, ”one of the most ubiquitous icons ever [because he used the sport of basketball] to become one of the most talked-about figures in the history of American popular culture”. Michael Jordan created his own legacy as his games are still talked about and his shoes are still worn.

Jordan’s footwear success initially stems from a great team of designers, namely Peter Moore and the fact that he was able to bridge a gap between the emerging black Hip Hop culture and the rise of the NBA and therefore create and market the Air Jordan shoes.

It was a major rush for me to go to Opium which is a sneaker boutique in Paris but more so a Jordan Brand shrine. With signed designs by Michael Jordan’s right hand man Tinker Hatfield on the wall, I was in heaven as I stepped through the doors. In awe as I walked around because they had ORIGINAL 1’s, 5’s, and 7’s wrapped up in plastic and some even with the box.

My love affair for Jordan shoes started 2 years ago when I bought my first pair of Retro 1’s, in that same year I picked up some lows and in 2008 I copped some more. The original models have seen a massive resurgence with new colourways and tweaks being applied to the Air Jordan’s to bring the 80’s shoe into the twenty first century. It was great to meet someone with the same passion and appreciation as me. On the second day of the tournament I bumped into a fellow sneaker fan Kevin. What started as a casual conversation soon turned into praise about the whole Jordan line. For near two hours we talked everything sneaker related, colours, dates, prices, styles, stores and more. It’s nice to know your not alone in this crazy world of kick culture!

So………….. Meeting the man who influenced the shoes I love was a very big deal for me.

To say I was nervous was an understatement, I had been planning these questions and the night before I applied some last minute changes. I really wanted to come correct with what I would say to Gentry as his advice was truly priceless and with this very personal to me. What I asked was very career based, what should I specifically be doing to become a credible candidate for Nike Internships and how should I now be building my skills so I could pursue this as a career. Everything I wanted to know got answered. I’m so thankful he took that time to break things down to me. Throughout our conversation my leg was shaking as I was well and truly nervous. We sat court side during half time with the music still playing as I competed with the sound to get my questions across. It would have been pointless for me to use my dictaphone so I relied on my ability to take notes, funny how I mastered it after my second year at University. Reading back over my notes I managed to capture all his advice but the moment can’t really be conveyed through words. This really did mean a lot to me. Gentry explained to me that an essential thing for me to be would network, volunteer and get myself out there. It comes back to making yourself a brand again – especially in the field of Product Marketing it is about marketing yourself and putting yourself out there and getting your face known. My talk with Gentry provided me with a renewed outlook about how to achieve my goal, more hope and even more determination.

At the end of the conversation I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face.

Part Two coming soon.