Of all the places I have lived or traveled, two places have always had the most resonance with me, San Francisco and New York. So when I was given the opportunity by Nike a few months ago to create my own version of the LeBron XI, instead of trying to recreate a color combination that was made popular by another sneaker release, I decided those two cities and my love for baseball would be the inspiration.
The San Francisco Giants are about as close to family as a sports franchise can come, without literally having a relative on the team. I bleed black and orange. The Giants have provided me and my family with countless memories that will forever be held near and dear. What most people forget about is their New York roots. If you’re not a fan, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the Giants moved from NYC to SF nearly 60 years ago. Shortly after the move, the NY logo of the Giants was inherited by the New York Mets. Ironically, this tie has also been prevalent in my life for as long as I can remember. As a kid, the most memorable trip I recall taking with the family was to New York to visit my uncle, where he hooked it up with Mets t-shirts. I found myself cheering for the Mets anytime they weren’t playing the Giants because of this. Years later, I often find myself hanging out in the Mission on the same block that would have been Seals Stadium back in 1958 when the team first moved to the west coast.
Now back to the shoes. Being able to create my own pair of NIKEiD LeBrons was awesome. Since it was in NYC at the Nike office, I decided that the “Mets” blue would be more visible, adding it to the inner lining. The Dynamic Flywire I opted for was blue as well, as an ode to the Mets and they’re unspoken ties to the Giants. The orange speckles over the black and white serve as the San Francisco elements of my design, and of course would still be wearable at AT&T Park, so long as I have my trusty #NTDenim to cover the blue. The final touches of my design were the logos because…glow-in-the-dark.
