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D’Wayne has a lot in common with Michael Jordan, his former boss. His appetite for excellence has propelled him to superlative success. D’Wayne turned his childhood passion for drawing sneakers into a high-flying design career, moving from L.A. Gear to Sketchers and then eventually landing his dream job at Nike’s Jordan Brand. D’Wayne’s designs have, in total, earned over $1.5 billion. But D’Wayne was determined to leave a mark on the footwear design world that couldn’t be measured in dollars. As one of very few Black leaders in his business, he saw an opportunity to create a pipeline for diverse designers. D’Wayne quit his job at Nike to launch Pensole Footwear Design Academy in order to build career pathways that didn’t exist when he was coming of age. Pensole is now an established force in footwear design education, providing a host of immersive programs in partnership with ArtCenter and other institutions. The results speak for themselves: Pensole had a hand in training over 500 footwear designers working today. In this debut episode of Change Lab’s new season investigating the future of education, D’Wayne reflects on the importance of mentorship, hard work, and hands-on learning in creating a more diverse and sustainable design education model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In case you missed this episode on the Playing with Science channel… Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore the world of sneakerheads and the science of sneaker design with legendary designer D’Wayne Edwards, designer/creator Federico Maccapani aka @Mbroidered, and sneaker fashionista Ezra Wine. Photo Credit: StarTalk©.
Sneakerheads Unite – Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore the world of sneakerheads and the science of sneaker design with legendary designer D’Wayne Edwards, designer/creator Federico Maccapani aka @Mbroidered, and sneaker fashionista Ezra Wine. Don’t miss an episode of Playing with Science. Please subscribe to our channels on: Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-with-science/id1198280360 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Playing-with-Science-p952100/ GooglePlay Music: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iimke5bwpoh2nb25swchmw6kzjq SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/startalk_playing-with-science Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/startalk/playing-with-science Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2s86W6olMuRwgGJ2cKELkz NOTE: StarTalk All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://www.startalkradio.net/all-access/sneakerheads-and-sneaker-design/ Photo Credit: StarTalk©.
Fall 2018 Product Design graduate Ari Montanez spent much of his young life equipping himself with the skills and stamina necessary to succeed in a highly competitive arena – ideally one called Madison Square Garden or Staples Center. Indeed, this is a man who wanted to follow his hero, LeBron James, straight into the NBA. But when it became apparent his hoop dreams might be slightly out of reach, Ari pivoted, with the agility of a gifted point guard, to pursue a parallel career as an athletic shoe designer. His goal was still to land on the basketball court in spirit, if not body, through his performance-enhancing footwear designs. Ari diligently researched his new chosen profession and discovered, under the mentorship of footwear design legend D’Wayne Edwards, that ArtCenter offered the best training ground for him to channel his parallel passions for basketball, sneaker culture and drawing into a coveted gig as a professional shoe designer. Ari’s determination and dedication paid off. Several months before he graduated, Ari accepted a job offer from No.One, a start-up sneaker company specializing in high-end handmade shoes. Each season, we dedicate one episode to capturing a student or recent graduate, just as they’re poised to leave ArtCenter and embark on their creative travels. Ari’s journey from to dedicated athlete to hands-on maker seemed like the perfect narrative to kick off the fourth season of Change Lab. In this episode, which includes a visit to No.One’s Venice studio, Ari and Lorne discussed the spark that ignited his interest in design, his insights into the booming sneaker subculture and how his facility for casual human connection animates and adds to the special sauce of his design process. In combination, these two experiences yielded a visceral portrait of the exhilaration and exploration and uncertainty fueling a nascent artist or designer’s creative journey. Learn more about the artists, designers and brands mentioned in this episode: https://www.arimontanez.com/ https://no-one.la/ https://pensole.com/dwayne-edwards/ https://solecollector.com/news/2018/09/nike-lebron-16-jason-petrie Learn more about ArtCenter and its programs at www.artcenter.edu
In the second installment of Shoe-In Show's African American Footwear Series, footwear designer extraordinaire and PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy founder D'Wayne Edwards is back to continue exploring effective ways to drive diversity throughout the footwear industry. Jasmine jumps in for her Fashion Footwear in Focus segment to explore the influences of stylist and designer Ade Samuel and her meteoric rise.
In the first installment of Shoe-In Show's African American Footwear Series, footwear designer extraordinaire and PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy founder D'Wayne Edwards walks Matt, Andy and Jasmine through his inspiring story from his younger days as a kid from Inglewood to the peak of his career at NIKE to the launch of PENSOLE in Portland. D'Wayne is just getting started as he works to provide greater opportunity for youth and speaks out on the need to drive diversity within the footwear industry.
Taped during the 2018 FDRA Executive Summit, Matt and Andy listen in on a panel discussion focused on innovative consumer engagement with four key footwear and digital executives including D'Wayne Edwards, Jeff Hunt, Sara Irvani, and John Puterbaugh. Listen now for key takeaways before it's too late!
Today's guest is the Founder of Pensole Footwear Design Academy and former Creative Director of Brand Jordan. He shares his story of how he used his passion for sport + drawing to create his dream job. This is so inspiring, you won't want to miss it!
“The Internet is a great tool but you can only learn so much. Actually going to a place physically where you have someone that has [designed] at the highest level, you learn so much more…that experience is invaluable.” FYI: Sneakers are a passion of mine. It's no secret. This episode is quite nerdy on the sneaker talk. Xavier Jones, footwear designer at Reebok, joined the podcast to discuss the footwear design industry and his path to designing for athletes like Shaq and Allen Iverson. Xavier's story begins in the Michigan basketball mecca of Flint. He let's us in on his story and how SLAM Magazine, And One and Ballislife inspired and led him to pursue a dream of designing sneakers for a living. We chat about some of our favorite kicks, discuss the evolution of the Jordan Brand, reminisce about the prime of the And One Mixtape and discuss how sport influences mainstream culture and hence sneaker culture. Xavier and I also discuss the unfortunate topic of violence which often happens at rare sneaker releases and how scarcity mindset and poverty effect the violent aspect of these events. Xavier also chats about some of the design processes as a sneaker designer; including what software designers use, why attending Pensole is vital, the collaboration dynamics of teams working on footwear products & more. Mentions Include: Xavier Jones on Instagram Pensole Footwear Design Academy D'Wayne Edwards, Pensole Footwear Design Academy Jason Mayden, Co-Founder, SuperHeroic Jordan XXI commmercial by W+K Wieden + Kennedy Bob's Classic Kicks Kith NYC Ronnie Fieg, founder of Kith And One Mixtapes Alex Bogusky, Crispin Porter + Bogusky Hot Sauce, And 1 Lace Up: The Ultimate Sneaker Challenge Suzette Henry, Pensole Reebok Classic Rbk Aliens Project the Reebok S. Carter My next guest is Chris Do, founder and CEO of Blind Studio, a brand strategy and motion design firm and TheFutur, an online business education platform for designers. Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers. You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free. Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.
If you look into the reading habits of extremely successful people, you’ll notice that many of them spend a lot of time reading biographies and autobiographies. For example, top Nike designer and entrepreneur D’Wayne Edwards attributes much of his unlikely professional success to a biography of Jackie Robinson that inspired him to endure great hardship. Elon Musk has also spoken many times about his love of biographies of brilliant inventors and entrepreneurs, including Howard Hughes, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, and, fittingly, Benjamin Franklin. There are several reasons why this type of literature is so popular among overachievers. First, we humans love good stories, and if someone has a book dedicated to his or her life, chances are it’s because they have an unusual and compelling story to tell. Second, biographies are the ultimate in self-improvement literature because they provide you with wide-ranging, raw, and unfiltered information and insights as opposed to carefully chosen and pre-digested morsels. Unlikely most self-help books, biographies aren't making carefully crafted arguments intended to sell you on particular ideas, strategies, or ideologies—they're showing you the real-world results of very different paradigms for thinking and living, which you can then assess and analyze to formulate your own highly individual lessons and takeaways. In this way, a biography is a "choose your own adventure" of sorts, and can resonate in very different ways with each and every reader. So, with that, let's talk about this week's book, which is widely considered to be the definitive biography of Benjamin Franklin, and a book that sits on the "must read" lists of many notable people. I loved it for several reasons: First, I'm a bit of an Isaacson fanboy. He's not only an outstanding researcher, writer, and storyteller, but he has also worked his ass off for decades to hone his craft and establish himself as one of the premier biographers of our times. Second, I think that Franklin was a man worth modeling in many ways. What spoke most to me was his intense curiosity, diligence, persistence, practicality, lightheartedness, congeniality, and relentless drive to improve both his life and the lives of others. The world could use more Franklins. Third, I've always enjoyed American history and the Revolutionary period in particular, and as Franklin played a pivotal role in both the winning of the war and creation of America, I was already inclined to like the book. The bottom line is if you're already into biographies but haven't read this one yet, I promise it won't disappoint. Similarly, if you've never read a biography before and my pitch has sold you on giving it a go, this is a great place to start. Want to be notified when my latest book recommendations go live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/
D'Wayne Edwards is the founder of Pensole Footwear Design Academy, located in Portland, OR. He's spent over 30 years in the industry, from working with Tupac and Biggie at Karl Kani to working with the GOAT, Michael Jordan. After spending 10 years working at Jordan, D'Wayne decided to start a school for footwear designers to help the next generation and has established one of the top schools in the world for Footwear Design. Donte' not only got to learn under him but interview him for the podcast. Listen as Donte' and D'Wayne talk about the journey that led D'Wayne to Portland. Highlights: 0:30: The Beginnings 3:58: Baseball Cards to Sneakers 5:10: the Reebok Design Competition 7:30: Fast food to Footwear 12:05: Footwear meets Hip-Hop 15:33: The Advent of Sity and Skechers 16:58: The Transition to Nike/Jordan 20:41: Meeting Jordan 23:33: The Nu Retro II 24:21: Melo and the .5 Series 29:33: Designing Signature Jordans 31:29: Innovation and “The Experience” 37:11: Founding Pensole 45:28: How to Attend Pensole 47:30: The Future of Pensole 51:53: Bringing Industry Technology to Pensole 54:07: The Favorites Pensole's Website: http://www.pensole.com/ Instagram: pensole_academy Twitter: @pensole_academy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pensole.footwear.design.academy/ BRNDD Podcast: Website: debonairmaterial.com E-Mail: brndd@debonairmaterial.com Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/brnddpodcast Twitter: @BRNDDPodcast Instagram: @brnddpodcast facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brnddpodcast/ Ronald James' Twitter and Instagram: @whoisronjames
We bring you another session in our ongoing series, the Founder Roundtable. To find out more about the $55 Billion (worldwide)Sneaker Industry, we turn the mic over to three leading insiders of Portland’s Sneaker Culture to discuss the impact of the athletic shoe industry in Oregon. Listen in as Nick DePaula, creative director of the online magazine Nice Kicks, D’Wayne Edwards, founder of Pensole Academy and former footwear designer, and Ian Williams, also a former Nike designer who now owns Deadstock, a PDX coffee shop that brings the sneaker community together, talk about what they know best: Sneakers.
How Did You Get Into That? // Careers // Entrepreneurship // Small Business
Did you enjoy this episode? Click here to get the exclusive bonus material. Ever dreamed of designing your own footwear? D’Wayne Edwards, our guest on today’s episode of How Did… read more →