Patrick Ewing A Trailblazing Hero In The Sneaker Game

By: Melo Williams 

Patrick Ewing was drafted #1 overall by the New York Knicks in 1985, after playing four years at Georgetown University, helping Coach John Thompson win his first National Championship in 1984. Ewing had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly with the New York Knicks, where he was an eleven-time NBA All-Star and named to seven All-NBA teams. He was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2008 as a player, and as a member of the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team”.

Patrick Ewing was seen as the the savior of the New York Knicks. David Stern, then commissioner of the NBA, was a marketing guru, who had planned on making the NBA globally known and accepted, so what better way to market the NBA than with another famous college star in Patrick Ewing.

Nike was the premiere shoe company because of Michael Jordan, a young rising NBA superstar playing for the Chicago Bulls. Many people felt because Coach John Thompson was on the Board of Directors of Nike, it was guaranteed that Pat Ewing would sign with Nike.

Adidas was somewhat of a force in the sneaker industry, competing with Nike, Reebok, and Converse. Adidas offered $750,000 to endorse Ewing. That was $250,000 more than, the unprecedented sum of $500,000, Nike had signed Michael Jordan for, only one year prior.

There were rumors of tensions between Nike’s decision makers, regarding if they should match Adidas’ offer and sign Patrick Ewing. Reportedly, it was a man named Peter Moore who designed the entire collection and concept for the Patrick Ewing E-Forces.

Rumor has it he looked at the room and goes, ‘I don’t know if we should sign Patrick Ewing or not. I do know one thing, I know that I don’t want to be the guy that’s gonna call up Michael Jordan and tell him, “We just signed Patrick Ewing for $250,000 a year more than what we paid you — and we have you under contract for four more years at that price.”

Patrick Ewing Signs With Adidas

Nike decided against signing Patrick Ewing and focused on Michael Jordan, leaving Ewing to sign with Adidas. Patrick Ewing was given his collection line and later released the ‘Forum’, ‘Conductor’, ‘Rivalry’, and ‘Attitude’.

Adidas had one of the best marketing ideas as Nike did with Air Jordan. Seeing how Nike targeted Black culture, pairing Michael Jordan with Spike Lee, Adidas decided to spotlight Hip-Hop culture and paired Patrick Ewing with Queens, New York’s famous rap group, Run-DMC, the face of Hip-Hop at the time.

Adidas had it going on, at the time. Some would argue that Adidas was just as big, if not bigger, globally than Nike was, for a brief moment. When it came to urban culture, especially in NY, Adidas was supreme. Not only was Adidas winning in the sales of its sneakers, especially the Patrick Ewing collection, but Adidas was also winning in urban fashion as well with the tracksuits.

Once Adidas outfitted Run-DMC in the iconic tracksuits and Adidas Superstars, urban America bought the marketing pitch and sales skyrocketed through the roof, from New York to Los Angeles. Adidas had everyone rich and famous, every B-Boy and B-Girl breaking dancing crew, to regular blue-collar, working Americans wearing its tracksuits and Superstar shoes thanks largely to Patrick Ewing and Run-DMC.

Adidas invested close to 2 million dollars in New York alone for New York influencer marketing and the return on investment paid off mightily in the Big Apple alone.

Adidas CEO died and Adidas went through some internal changes with the power structure. Patrick Ewing and his agent David Falk asked for a release from Adidas, which was granted.

Falk reached out to a personal friend, the owner of the shoe company Pony, to design Patrick Ewing a shoe similar to the one he wore with Adidas without the Adidas branding.

Falk’s thinking was it would create a buzz and would give Patrick Ewing leverage when negotiating a new shoe deal.

It created such a buzz that the Puma owner approached David Falk and Patrick Ewing about Patrick Ewing starting his own shoe company.

After serious thought, Falk and Patrick Ewing thought it was a brilliant idea. Pat Ewing himself was a brand and a walking and playing billboard.

Patrick Ewing: The Birth Of Ewing Athletics

In 1989, with his agent, David Falk, Patrick Ewing launched Ewing Athletics, a footwear company.
Ewing Athletics was created and Pat Ewing owned 20 to 25% of the entire company. Ewing Athletics had a model that could undercut and compete with Nike, Adidas, and Reebok in pricing but could still deliver a high-level sneaker of quality and value.

In 1988-89 Ewing Athletics released the “Rebound” that Patrick Ewing wore, a lower-end affordable shoe, that was around $40. The following year Ewing Athletics released the 33 Hi.

The 1990 NBA All-Star Game weekend came and it was marketing heaven for Ewing Athletics. Patrick Ewing was donning his sneakers on his feet, the Ewing Athletics 33 Hi’s. Jordan, Barkley, and other stars had their signature shoe lines, and Patrick Ewing had his own sneaker apparel company!

Patrick Ewing was building the brand that he owned equity in. Ewing had to handle his business on the court and build his business off the court by appearing in commercials, magazine photo shoots, and other branding speaking engagements. Ewing put in his all when it came to every opportunity for exposure for the Ewing Athletics brand.

Soon, Ewing Athletics was in Foot Locker stores across America and in EastBay magazine with high demand in the international market after the summer of the 92 Olympics after winning Gold with the “Dream Team.”

For perspective, Jordan had one shoe a year in four colorways. Ewing Athletics had 10-15 models a year in six or seven color schemes.

By 1995 Ewing Athletics had grown into a multi-million dollar shoe company built organically with the star himself Patrick Ewing.

Demand was so high for Ewing’s shoes that it outpaced the production so much that it couldn’t keep up. Due to the lack of the inability to keep up with the demand and other concerns, Patrick Ewing shut down Ewing Athletics to prevent any future financial losses and lawsuits.

EWING ATHLETICS RELAUNCHES

Ewing Athletics was relaunched in 2012 with the help of David Goldberg and David Falk.

Ewing Athletics tapped into the Hip Hop culture for marketing and branding by collaborating with the likes of EPMD, Deathrow Records, and AZ. ASAP Rocky performed in the 33 Hi retros on stage and posted them on his social media accounts.

While Patrick Ewing receives praise for being one of the best big men in Georgetown Hoyas and NBA basketball history, Ewing rarely receives his flowers for being the trailblazer being the first basketball player with his own shoe company opening up the doors for players like Stephon Marbury, Shaquille O’Neal, Spencer Dinwiddie, and the Ball family with Big Baller Brand to do the same.

Michael Jordan paved the way for players like Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, and others to have signature shoes with shoe companies.

In part, due to the efforts, hard work, and sacrifices of both Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan, athletes, and entertainers are now cemented in the sneaker industry space.

Kyrie Irving is the latest super-star athlete not to have a sneaker home after Nike released him. Kyrie should pick up the phone and reach out to Patrick Ewing for advice about starting his own black-owned sneaker company.

In honor of Black History Month lets commend and celebrate Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing for having the vision being the first basketball player to start his own shoe apparel company.

Shop at Ewing Athletics
https://shop.ewingathletics.com/

Follow Melo on Twitter and Instagram at: @_MeloWilliams