Marbury's $15 shoes a stark contrast to $150 Air Jordans

[Samr]

This isn't necessarily direct NBA news, but it certainly is related. The piece is about the stigma of the Air Jordan shoe brand, how it is marketed to it's demographic ("urban youth") as a status symbol, and how the shoes are sold at up to $175 a pair. The piece then contrast this with Stephon Marbury's shoe line -- Starbury -- which sells its basketball sneakers for only $15 a pair. And to lend the brand some credibility, Marbury actually wears the shoes during games.


It was more than just wearing the same shoes that Michael Jordan wore; it was wearing a pair of shoes that cost $120 or so. Wearing Air Jordans meant being able to afford Air Jordans.

.......

Of course, it's one thing to roll out a pair of $15 basketball shoes, and it's another thing for an elite professional athlete to actually wear them during the course of a season. That's what Marbury does, which, of course, gives the Starbury the ever-elusive hope of street cred.

link to the story (http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/inthemeantime/contentview.asp?c=192181)

Personally, I own a single pair of basketball shoes, and they are made by New Balance. However, I do understand the kind of stigma and desires that go along with owning Jordans and the like.

I just want to hear what people think about this article. Is Marbury doing a good thing here? Jordan's overhyped? What is your take on this?

[ponky]

i saw a tv story about it and it seems like a good thing. i've never been a big fan of marbury but i've kind of eased off a bit since the whole shoe thing came out. i think he gave away something like 5K or 15K to NYC high school basketball kids a couple of months ago. i know the only thing that got some negative criticism about the whole thing was that in order to make the shoe cheaply (although not any different than nike's practices), cheap sweatshop labor from china was used. i'm not commenting on this, just pointing out a different take by some.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Apparently, Starbury just signed up Ben Wallace as its first endorser (save for Steph himself).

[ponky]

Apparently, Starbury just signed up Ben Wallace as its first endorser (save for Steph himself).

yup, they have a clothing line as well

[Shank]

I think the Starbury line is a great idea.

But you know kids on the court are still going to think you're "poor" because your shoes only cost $15.

[Spurminator]

A noble endeavor, but I don't see "bargain" fashion succeeding with urban youth, particularly shoes that are marketed as such.

It's an unfortunate byproduct of urban materialism. You might do no worse trying to sell them with the $15 price printed onto the shoes.

[Shank]

If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn't have given my folks so much grief over how much my clothes cost and what brands were "in".

Spurminator is right. As adults (except for Spursdynasty), we see it as a great idea and would like to see kids embrace this even more. But the reality is that you're still wearing something around the same level as Payless shoes in the minds of the kids.

[MrChug]

It's probably because Jordan was 11.667 times the player that Marbury is.

[ALVAREZ6]

I hate how the Starburys aren't available anywhere....you can't get them in my area without traveling 45 minutes to some shady place. They should be available online.

[Samr]

Unfortunately, I think this is a matter of the good guys being defined as idealists in a world that is about as real as the sweatshops which produce the shoes. The idea of a $15 sneaker is great, and so is the hope of acceptance and respect among the urban youth target demographic, but it just isn't going to happen. And furthermore, the only reason a $15 basketball shoe is given attention and a market is because the same exists for its opponent on the other end of the spectrum. The Starbury brand is rebelling against the very thing ($175 shoes) which gives it a market (youth who can't afford the expenses) in the first place.

Ideally, yes, it would be great if this "urban youth" was not as materialistic, and accepted affordable clothing etc. with the same clout as they do the almost unattainable items. But, I think this materialism is more the product of simple adolescent insecurities than it is a nation-wide problem. Kids want something they can hang their hat on, that they can be proud of. Adults have their families, their careers, their life successes and the experience gained from them. But more than anything, they have proof of their hard work -- they have end-results. For kids, they want this kind of status symbol, this fulfillment of some void they think they have. So they go get expensive sneakers, the price tag representing, at least superficially, the "hard work" they needed to purchase the items. The street cred isn't from the actual looks or performance of the shoes; it is from the assumption of some self-sufficiency that goes into acquiring them. The Air Jordans are so marketable because they exploit these desires for being "all growed up" and showing you can do something on a level you cannot.

That's why Starbury's will never truly compete. Their market strategy is to sell to a demographic that doesn't want affordability -- they want attainable "unattainability." My New Balance shoes work just fine.

[monosylab1k]

Those Starbury's are actually reall nice looking. I'd get some if I didn't completely loathe Stephon Marbury.

[Kori Ellis]

We had a thread about these shoes last year.
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48219&highlight=marbury+shoes

I think the white on white are nice.

Though Alvarez is right, they need to get an online store. But that would cost money and drive up the price.

[dallaskd]

I got the $10 starburys

[RonMexico]

Yeah, Steve & Barry's still hasn't added online capabilities for any of their stores because the cost would be too much at this point in time.

[mardigan]

The blacks are kinda cool

[dg7md]

That's how much shoes should cost. 120 dollars for basketball shoes?! Give me a break. I play in my 35-dollar Nike's.

[Fabbs]

Awesome article, thank you.
I will try a pair.

Thankfully a response to that prick Jordan and his sweatshop loving arse.

[ponky]

Unfortunately, I think this is a matter of the good guys being defined as idealists in a world that is about as real as the sweatshops which produce the shoes. The idea of a $15 sneaker is great, and so is the hope of acceptance and respect among the urban youth target demographic, but it just isn't going to happen. And furthermore, the only reason a $15 basketball shoe is given attention and a market is because the same exists for its opponent on the other end of the spectrum. The Starbury brand is rebelling against the very thing ($175 shoes) which gives it a market (youth who can't afford the expenses) in the first place.

Ideally, yes, it would be great if this "urban youth" was not as materialistic, and accepted affordable clothing etc. with the same clout as they do the almost unattainable items. But, I think this materialism is more the product of simple adolescent insecurities than it is a nation-wide problem. Kids want something they can hang their hat on, that they can be proud of. Adults have their families, their careers, their life successes and the experience gained from them. But more than anything, they have proof of their hard work -- they have end-results. For kids, they want this kind of status symbol, this fulfillment of some void they think they have. So they go get expensive sneakers, the price tag representing, at least superficially, the "hard work" they needed to purchase the items. The street cred isn't from the actual looks or performance of the shoes; it is from the assumption of some self-sufficiency that goes into acquiring them. The Air Jordans are so marketable because they exploit these desires for being "all growed up" and showing you can do something on a level you cannot.

That's why Starbury's will never truly compete. Their market strategy is to sell to a demographic that doesn't want affordability -- they want attainable "unattainability." My New Balance shoes work just fine.

This is probably true, although it would be nice if his line succeeds. This Air Jordan thing kind of reminds me of when I moved to NYC. Sitting in the subway every day, I was constantly amazed at how many of the poorer people in NYC have those really expensive North Face jackets. These jackets cost from $250-500 and yet it seemed like every teenager and adult from the projects wore these, with the puffy down and the fur-lined trim. Anyway, a good jacket is a necessity in the winter up in NYC but dang if that North Face brand wasn't a status symbol.

[mardigan]

They just might succeed just because they dont look like pay-less shoes. The problem with the pl shoes was that they looked really cheap, thus kids didnt want to wear them. Hopefully the fact that these actually look nice and are worn by a famous athlete will change that. Plus Marbury is a God on the streets of NY, street cred son

[J.T.]

I think it's a pretty cool idea, too. I was a big fan of Jordan because, of course, he was awesome and as a fringe benefit, Jordan is my legal first name (J.T. is my first two initials and what I have always gone by, in case you're wondering). I had some replica jerseys growing up, but my folks would never spring for the shoes because of the price tag. So I always wore some cheaper Nike BBall shoes. I'm sure MJ's fame was part of the price tag, but even if they were cut to around $60, that's nothing that some lower-end families couldn't afford as birthday gifts. I think I had one pair of Jordans ever, which I got for Christmas one year.

So it's cool that Marbury is making his shoes available, and actually wearing them too. It's a great idea, and it's a shame that it'll probably fail at the social level because it will put a label on some of the kids that wear them, mostly by stuck up richies. This needs its own "NBA Cares" commerical. I honestly didn't know about it till this thread.

[Fillmoe]

i saw a tv story about it and it seems like a good thing. i've never been a big fan of marbury but i've kind of eased off a bit since the whole shoe thing came out. i think he gave away something like 5K or 15K to NYC high school basketball kids a couple of months ago. i know the only thing that got some negative criticism about the whole thing was that in order to make the shoe cheaply (although not any different than nike's practices), cheap sweatshop labor from china was used. i'm not commenting on this, just pointing out a different take by some.


not to mention the 1 mil he gave to the katrina fund.....

[Spurminator]

I'm not sure I understand what people DON'T like about Marbury...

[mardigan]

Yea, I guess that this really shows that even though you might dislike a person on the court, they can be a fantastic person off the court.

[ponky]

not to mention the 1 mil he gave to the katrina fund.....

oops, i meant 5K-15K shoes...but wow, i didn't know he gave 1 mil to the katrina fund...that's pretty cool, my opinion of him is slowly changing which is a good thing as i'm a knicks fan too

[RonMexico]

Yeah, Starbury is only selfish on the b-ball court - he's a better guy than he's given credit for

[leemajors]

I'm not sure I understand what people DON'T like about Marbury...

leftover resentment from twolves fans?

[SRJ]

Yea, I guess that this really shows that even though you might dislike a person on the court, they can be a fantastic person off the court.

That's an interesting reversal. Many times, the form is "brilliant player on the court, asshole off of it."

[J.T.]

If I made millions of dollars, I'd probably give back a lot of it too. I'm a big fan of music, used to play trumpet and piano, and I've been teaching myself guitar the past two years with the help of a friend who's pretty good. If I ever hit it rich, it's a dream of mine to make some donations to the music programs that taught me everything I know, and a lot to my mother as well since she started a piano teaching business in SA and it's been her livelihood since I was a boy and it still is.

I really didn't know this much about Marbury's off-court self, and it's really good to know. I never thought he was as bad as he's made out to be, and this definitely improves my opinion of him a lot. It's great that the NBA has guys like him who do good for the community, hell, for the world. It's a shame that things like this don't do much to overshadow things like the brawl, Artest's craziness, Melo throwing a punch, etc. The media only cares about what will make the front of the sports section.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i play in cheapo shoes also not made for bball

casual sneakers ftw....= ankle breakers ftl

but if i can beat you in these cheap shoes > ur 120-150 sneakers

[bdictjames]

I've heard of black people (no offense) beating each other up for these Air Jordans. This upset Jordan himself, I think it was back to the early 90s.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I can't count the number of near fights I saw in middle school and high school because someone stepped on someone's brand new Nikes, and it was dipshits from every race doing it. It's absolutely moronic to have a pair of athletic shoes so expensive that you're scared to anything remotely athletic for fear of messing them up. I should see if I can find a pair of Marbury's shoes. I might splurge and get a upgrade from my usual $12 sneakers I get from Target.

[Samr]

Of course, it is very easy to label this as an act of charity on Marbury's behalf-- that is, wearing and endorsing a product, at the possible expense of his own performance or clout, and in all likelyhood seeing very little financial return.

I think we all agree that this is very good of Marbury, and that it is a very noble cause. Simply reference the many people before me (and probably still after me) saying that their opinions of him have changed.

But do you think this effort will ever be noticed? Do you think that the Starbury Brand will ever be a recognizable name, that the company will profit, or that the common conception of price = desirability among the targeted "urban youth" will change? Expensive clothing and shoes being sought after simply because they are expensive, but do you think that by addressing this problem, that it will change?

Do you think that the Starbury Brand will reach a point where, if someone were to post about it again a year or so from now, people would claim it as old news? Or will Starbury just be another failed attempt at conveying traditional values to target demographics?

[DarrinS]

I saw a story about this on TV (can't remember the show -- 60 minutes?). I was very impressed by Marbury and he doesn't make a dime off of this.


The entire hip hop culture is obsessed with product branding. These kids are spending hundreds of dollars on pants that look like they just took a giant dump in them, just because p.diddley.squat, or jayzee, or some ther person with a made up name, puts their name them.

[Testing]

This is the same for any "status symbol" brand...or in fact any brand in general. Every product has it's high end and low end items. Jordan and Starbury is no different. It also has a lot to do with the fact that Marbury isn't really a great player these days...playing on a losing Knicks team, not having won anything doesn't make him or his product highly marketable or sought after. I do agree that Jordan is using his status symbol as a way to get off selling his stuff so highly priced....but that's not different from what other companies do anyways.

[Samr]

I was very impressed by Marbury and he doesn't make a dime off of this.


But for some reason, I cannot shake the impression I get of Marbury being involved in this hip-hop culture. When I think of people who do charity work, I think of people like Bruce Bowen, Shaq, Kevin Garnett, Sean Marion etc. Stephon Marbury, at least judging by his on-court persona, seems inextricably linked to this "thugish" hip-hop culture.

His supporting of the Starbury line, however, is completely contrary to this.

So why doesn't Stern highlight and promote this kind of thing? Marbury has all the appearance of the hip-hop culture, which is one of the NBA's most loyal demographics, and yet he is doing an almost charitable deed in line with the Greg Buckners and Sean Marion's who receive the Community Assist Award.

So why not promote this: Stephon Marbury, role model for the urban youth- he balls, he talks, and he does charity work and promotions on the side.

If he actually took a public stance on this, Stern could finally have his cake (good deeds) and eat it too (remaining attachment to a hip-hop-ish demographic).

[mardigan]

Apparently now Marbury and Lebron are trash talking about each others shoes. James says he would never sell his shoes for that price because Nike holds there stuff to a higher standard. To which Marbury replied that he would rather not be a slave to a company like Nike or something like that

[DarrinS]

Apparently now Marbury and Lebron are trash talking about each others shoes. James says he would never sell his shoes for that price because Nike holds there stuff to a higher standard. To which Marbury replied that he would rather not be a slave to a company like Nike or something like that


On the show I was watching, they took a pair of Nike's and a pair of Marbury's shoes to an expert on shoe design. The guy cut each pair in half and determined that both shoes were of about equal quality. Profit margins on those Nike's are through the roof. :greedy

[fitzgerald]

Where can you buy these shoes? Anyone know a retail store? I will try them out.

[DarrinS]

I think the white on white are nice.





You are talking about shoes, right?

[fitzgerald]

You are talking about shoes, right?


Yes

[DarrinS]

Where can you buy these shoes? Anyone know a retail store? I will try them out.


Go to this site. http://www.starbury.com/


There's a store locator for "Steve and Barry's".

[DarrinS]

They even have a Starbury with Dirk in mind.

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/images/starbury.JPG

[fitzgerald]

Go to this site. http://www.starbury.com/


There's a store locator for "Steve and Barry's".

Cool. There is one here at Grapevine Mills. Like 10 minutes away.

[Spurminator]

So why doesn't Stern highlight and promote this kind of thing?

He may appeal to the hip-hop demo, but as anyone who's followed the NBA the last few years can tell you, Stern and Co. have no interest in promoting this image. Maybe if Marbury had some tats removed and wore a nice suit, they'd do a little PSA.

Also, he probably wouldn't be able to talk.

[Samr]

Ben Wallace is on board as well (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkuMyWH7Kf7sBAj2MVdTsnKkvLYF?slug=ap-wallace-starbury&prov=ap&type=lgns)

[jmard5]

On the show I was watching, they took a pair of Nike's and a pair of Marbury's shoes to an expert on shoe design. The guy cut each pair in half and determined that both shoes were of about equal quality. Profit margins on those Nike's are through the roof. :greedy

Wow. I am wondering if these shoes will be available here in the Philippines.