DeVonta Smith's custom high tech sneakers and the Big Game
You can bet that DeVonta Smith fans will be showing off some unique kicks next Sunday while they watch the Super Bowl.
Boston based Endstate recently teamed up with DeVonta Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles to create a high tech sneaker that allows fans to earn exclusive digital and personalized experiences focused on DeVonta, the first wide receiver to take home the Heisman Trophy since 1991.
Smith worked with Endstate’s renowned designers to create his signature sneaker, the Honey Drip.
Throughout the season, his fans were gifted a cheesesteak for any receptions of 41+ yards, hitting their inboxes immediately after the play. When he eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards, customers who bought his Endstate “Honey Drip” sneaker earned a limited edition football card. The crowning event was an in-person meet and greet where DeVonta’s fans got to meet their idol the month before he plays in his first Super Bowl, by virtue of owning his shoes. On January 3rd, Endstate hosted a meet & greet with Smith at luxury sneaker boutique Lapstone & Hammer in the heart of Philadelphia. The public was invited to sit in on a Q&A session with Smith where he discussed betting on himself to become the first ever professional athlete to sign with a web3-native footwear brand. Honey Drip sneaker owners were then invited to an intimate meet & greet with the star wideout where DeVonta shared football stories, autographed sneakers, and posed for photos.
“I’ve always been the type of guy to do my own thing, be in my own lane. Knowing that I was going to be [Endstate’s] first signature athlete, it was a no brainer for me,” Smith declared.
How it works: Using Web3, Endstate designs and manufactures sneakers and then embeds an NFC chip into each pair, definitively linking each pair to an NFT. This entanglement of physical and digital allows for the verifiable authenticity and the deep connectivity with fans on display with DeVonta’s Honey Drip sneaker drop.
Endstate was founded by Bennett Collen and Stephanie Howard in 2021 out of a lifelong passion for sneakers and a deep understanding of the power of blockchain technology, specifically NFTs. Bennett is the former Founder/CEO of Cognate, which was acquired by GoDaddy in 2018 for its pioneering use of smart contracts/NFTs to represent trademark rights, and Stephanie is a veteran design director known for her work at Nike, New Balance, and Reebok, including one of her most notable designs - the New Balance 850. She was recently featured in the books Sneaker Law, She Kicks, and London Design Museum's Sneakers Unboxed, as well as in media such as Highsnobiety, Sneaker Freaker, One37pm, Design Milk, Hypebae, and others.
There are some sneakers left in limited sizes/quantities that Endstate made for the “Meet & Greet” event at Lapstone & Hammer boutique specifically. Those can be found here:https://www.lapstoneandhammer.com/products/esds-01_kelly-green?_pos=1&_sid=9b283f0b4&_ss=r