GOAT has joined the Unicorn Club.

The global resale platform closed a Series E funding round of $100 million from D1 Capital Partners on Wednesday, the company announced in a press release. The latest funding move brings the company's total valuation up to $1.75 billion, a source familiar with the deal said. GOAT was previously valued at $550 million, according to the source.

Founded in 2015, GOAT currently serves 30 million members and 600,000 sellers across its platform. With 13 physical locations across the US, Asia, and Europe, GOAT has expanded from solely sneakers into categories such as apparel and accessories. 

As the sneaker resale sector grows, platforms like GOAT, which authenticate products before they are delivered to buyers, have been galvanized. A Cowen & Co. analysis from July said the sneaker resale industry was worth $2 billion in North America and could reach $30 billion globally by 2030. StockX, another leading resale platform, hit a $1 billion valuation in June of 2019. 

"Our mission is to bring the world's greatest products together from the past, present and future, while providing a premier end-to-end customer experience with a point of view on culture and style," GOAT co-founder and CEO Eddy Lu said in the release. "We will utilize this new round of funding to capture the significant market opportunities in sneakers, apparel, and additional categories through technological innovation and by building even greater scale across our verticals."

SEE ALSO: How a self-taught developer with no formal training made $700,000 in sales this year from his sneaker bot, Splashforce, that nabs hyped pairs in just milliseconds

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Look down at the shoes on your feet or the pairs in your closet — it's likely their front tips curve upward. This is known as the toe spring.

"We've all been wearing shoes with these toe springs, and have had no idea why they're there, the only thing we know is they seem to make walking more comfortable," Nicholas Holowka, an anthropologist at the University of Buffalo, told Business Insider.

But according to Holowka, the comfort and efficiency this shoe design offers may do our feet a disservice in the long run. He helped publish a recent study that shows how toe springs may contribute to the weakening of foot muscles over time, consequently making us more susceptible to injuries like plantar fasciitis.

"They're reducing the amount of work we need to do with our foot muscles, just a little bit every step," he said.

The study offers the latest data point in an ongoing debate about whether minimalist shoes are better for our feet than supportive modern shoes.  

Less effort needed to walk, but weaker foot muscles

Each step we take can be broken down into distinct parts: First, our heel strikes the ground, then our whole foot makes contact. As we move toward the next step, we shift our weight forward to our toes, then push off the ground with them.

That push, sometimes called a toe-off, requires the tiny muscles at the metatarsophalangeal joints — where the balls of our feet meet the base of our toes — to keep our foot rigid. These joints allow the transfer of energy from the foot to the ground and back.

A toe spring reduces the work these muscles must do to ensure an adequate toe-off, Holowka and his co-authors found.

They came to that conclusion after observing 13 people walk on a treadmill in various types of footwear. The participants walked barefoot, as well as in four different types of sandals with increasingly pronounced toe springs. The researchers, meanwhile, used an infrared camera system and special plates built into the treadmill to measure how much power the walkers put into each step and how much force went into the ground during their toe-offs.

The results showed that the more a sandal curved the volunteers' toes upward, the less power their feet needed to generate to push off the ground. Wearing a shoe with a toe spring, in other words, meant their muscles were doing less work.

"Add that up over the thousands of steps the average person takes in a day, over years," Holowka said, and it means shoes with toe springs lead one's muscles do a lot less work in the long-run.

"Less work means the muscles will not be as well conditioned, meaning that they may not be able to protect other soft tissues in the foot like the plantar fascia from trauma, leading to conditions like plantar fasciitis," he added.

Weaker foot muscles could mean a higher risk of injury

About 2 million Americans get treated for plantar fasciitis every year — a condition characterized by painful inflammation in the plantar fascia tissue on the bottoms our our feet. This injury, which can be common among runners, comes with a stabbing pain in the heels and arches. It's difficult to repair. 

Holowka and his colleagues suspect that toe springs may be contributing to the prevalence of this injury.

"What happens is that people are relying on their plantar fascia to do what muscles normally do," Daniel Lieberman, a co-author of the study, said in a press release. "When you get weak muscles and the plantar fascia has to do more work, it's not really evolved for that, and so it gets inflamed."

In addition to plantar-fascia stress, Lieberman and Holowka also found in a previous study that long-term use of modern footwear often leads to a collapsed arch.

But this doesn't mean we should suddenly start running barefoot

Prior research has also found that people who wear minimal footwear— shoes that help approximate barefoot running and have little cushioning, arch support, or toe springs — have larger foot muscles and stiffer arches than those who wear traditional modern shoes.

"Walking and running in minimal shoes with less supportive features over a while, about six to 12 weeks, can strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles," Freddy Sichting, the lead author of the recent study, told Business Insider.

But that doesn't mean we should chuck all our old shoes in the bin.

"It can take a long time to build up those muscles, and if you try to do it all at once, you could hurt yourself," Holowka said.

Indeed, barefoot runners tend to report more calf and achilles tendon injuries.

"Most feet are likely not used to doing all the work without the support of modern shoes," Sichting said, adding, "I would recommend a slow transition to minimal footwear to avoid overuse injuries."

Shoes with arch support and cushioning became popular in the 1970s, which in evolutionary terms, of course, is very recent.

"If we start to wear shoes with all sorts of features to control and limit our natural foot motion, as we've been doing for decades now, it might mean that we're not using our feet in the way they evolved to function," Holowka said, adding, "this is a classic example of an evolutionary mismatch, in which our body finds itself in a novel environment — our shoes — that it has not evolved to cope with."

SEE ALSO: Nike's controversial Vaporfly shoes are helping runners set new records, but some think it's 'technology doping.' Here's how they work.

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• Fall weather can be unpredictable, but a good pair of weather-resistant sneakers can help you maintain your fashion sense and active lifestyle in any conditions.
• We rounded up seven of the best sneakers that'll keep you dry and comfortable during rain showers.
• To potentially save more on sneakers visit Insider Coupons for deals at Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Zappos, and Foot Locker. 

Fall is here, but that doesn't always mean sunny skies and beautiful autumn leaves. The season can also bring cold and rainy weather, so having a pair of waterproof sneakers is a useful way to keep yourself from wearing heavy boots too early in the year.

Most sneakers today are made out of knit or mesh fabric for lightweight performance, or basic leather for a classic aesthetic — but neither is ideal for wearing in the rain. Most people think that clunky boots are the only viable solution to staying dry, but there are certain sneakers made specifically for rugged and wet outdoor conditions.

So, to help you stay warm, dry, and comfortable this fall, we rounded up seven pairs of sneakers to wear during unpredictable weather. Whether big rubber rain boots simply aren't your style or you like to stay active regardless of how gloomy it is outside, these are the best choices on the market — including all-terrain sneakers from Adidas, water-repellent runners from Nike, Goretex-lined sneakers from New Balance, and more. 

7 water-resistant sneakers to wear in rainy weather:

Vans SK8-Hi MTE

Vans SK8-Hi MTE, available in five colorways, $89.95

Although you might not want to skate in these, the Vans SK8-Hi MTE is the best way to maintain that classic skate look without getting soaked in the rain. It features a Scotchgard-treated leather upper for water resistance, a fleece-lined interior for warmth, and rugged gum rubber outsoles. 

SeaVees Mariner

SeaVees Mariner, available in two colorways, $178

While SeaVees labels the Mariner as a boot, it's much more like a sneaker in terms of design and on-foot feel. Inspired by the shoes US Naval cadets wore in the late 1960s, the SeaVees Mariner features a waterproofed suede upper, sealed seams, gusseted tongues, and extra rubber foxing around the perimeter to ensure leak-free wear.

Read our full review of the SeaVees Mariner here.

Adidas Ultra Boost All-Terrain

Adidas Ultra Boost All-Terrain, available in three colorways, $135*

The Adidas Ultra Boost has been released in plenty of styles and variations since its initial launch in 2015, but the All-Terrain model is the most utilitarian of the bunch. It features a sock-like upper made from water-repellent Primeknit material, and a rugged Continental outsole for maintaining good grip in the rain.

*Limited stock

Salomon S/Lab

Salomon S/Lab, available in over 30 colorways, starting at $110

You may have thought that Salomon made gear strictly for outdoor performance, but its designs have begun to creep into the streetwear and style space. The S/Lab, in particular, brings the best of both worlds with a nylon and polyurethane upper for water resistance and a chunky outsole that reflects the "dad shoe" trend of today.

New Balance Fresh Foam 880v10 GTX

New Balance Fresh Foam 880v10 GTX, available in one colorway, $149.99

The New Balance Fresh Foam 880v10 is designed to be waterproof, lightweight, and well-cushioned for runners that like to put in miles in any weather. It features a knit and Goretex upper for keeping the water out and rugged soles for traction. 

Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 36 Shield

Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 36 Shield, available in four colors, from $130

Nike created the Air Zoom Pegasus 36 Shield for the dedicated runners who like to hit the streets rain or shine. As an adaptation of its popular runner, it features a seamless water-repellent upper, drawstring laces, and updated outsoles optimized for traction on wet surfaces.

Nike ACG Air Zoom Air AO

Nike ACG Zoom Air AO, available in four colorways, $130

With a waterproof upper, rugged outsoles, and a water drainage system (for water that makes its way into your shoes after being fully submerged), the ACG Zoom Air AO is built for any weather or terrain. It comes from Nike's All Conditions Gear sub-brand and surely lives up to it's name.

Without a technological leg up, it can be close to impossible to purchase a pair of hyped sneakers when they drop at retail.

That's where "bots,"software applications that expedite the online checkout process, come into the picture. The technology is known to help resellers nab pairs in limited-edition drops. They are also considered one of the more controversial parts of the sneaker resale world. That's because the race of interested buyers scrambling to input their information online at each drop is rendered useless by the software, which does this process instantaneously.

Bots, like sneakers, can go for thousands of dollars on the resale market because of their limited stock. As a result, certain groups devoted to the nabbing and reselling of bot software have sprung up adjacent to the bot-making community. These bot-nabbing groups use software extensions – which are basically other bots — to get their hands on these coveted sneaker bots.

This niche is where Restock Flippers thrives. The exclusive, membership-based group is designed to help users nab bots when they drop at retail. Then, members can decide if they want to keep or "flip" the bots to make a profit on the resale market. In addition to equipping its members with the tools to nab bots at retail, the group also offers advice and information for reselling sneakers, Supreme, Funko Pops, video game consoles, and other items that typically fetch high returns on the resale market.

Depending on when they entered the group, each of the close to 600 members of Restock Flippers pay a fee that can vary between $28, $32, $45, and $100 a month. Since October of 2019, the group has charged members $200,000 in fees, according to a screenshot of the group's Stripe account, which was viewed by Business Insider.

"Different groups have different methods," said Brenden Truong, the 16-year-old owner of Restock Flippers. For his group, being the first to know about a bot drop is essential. Since most bot sellers announce restocks and new drops on Twitter, his group relies on a Twitter monitor, or an extension that instantaneously picks up tweets from various bots' Twitter accounts when they announce a new drop or restock.

In such a high-demand, low quantity sector, being the first — even by half a second — is essential. 

"Some group picked up the Tweet two seconds after us," Truong said about a recent bot restock. "And by then it was already sold out."

Truong runs his group on Discord, a messaging platform that has become popular among the sneakerhead community. He employs six people to run support for his group, and some other people to staff different parts of the business, such as the sneaker resale and Funko Pop flipping channels. These moderators also offer support, assistance, and guidance for various aspects of bot copping and flipping.

Despite designing a product meant to help people nab sneakers, many bot developers try to avoid having other bots nab their stock at releases. As the CEO and creator of Splashforce, one of the top sneaker bots on the market, Iwan Jeffery uses a queue system so that customers wait online instead of all buying at once. Other bot sellers deflect bots by selling their products in raffles or prompting buyers to answer trivia questions before checking out.

But to bot flippers like Truong, this represents an ever-present conundrum in the sneaker community between the bot makes and bot flippers.

"That's an argument about bots," said Truong. "It's kind of hypocritical because they're a bot that buys sneakers, but they don't want people using bots to buy their bot. It's an argument."

But even being lucky enough to nab a bot at retail isn't enough to claim a full victory. According to Truong, learning how to set up and successfully run a bot is a process

"People think that you buy a bot, you click a button and you get like 10 pairs of shoes," Truong said. "When in reality, it's not [that]."

Like many parts of the sneaker industry, working a bot is a learning process.

"It's trial and error," Truong said.

SEE ALSO: Inside the controversial underworld of sneaker 'bots,' where coded scripts resell for thousands of dollars and Twitter monitors can make or break a release

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It was only a matter of time before the sneakerheads took over Discord. 

As a haven for interest-driven subcultures like hip-hop, e-sports, and programming, the messaging and audio communications platform valued at $3.5 billion is built for fostering communities. And in the sneaker world, community is everything.

"I would say that we've noticed a handful of sneakerhead communities starting to pop up within the last few years," said Mallory Loar, Discord's manager of community and social marketing. Loar, who has been at Discord for four years, has had a front-row seat to the platform's evolution since its founding by CEO Jason Citron and CTO Stan Vishnevskiy in 2015.

Discord initially launched as way to engage the video-gaming community, but has gone through a series of identity shifts since then. Like other social platforms, Discord has had trouble policing all of its members' actions. Various alt-right groups have used Discord to connect and plan events. In 2017, a Charlottesville protest that resulted in the death of one woman and multiple injuries was organized by alt-right groups on the platform.

Addressing the events at Charlottesville, Citron told Forbes in June, "You're going to make mistakes. As long as it doesn't kill you, you learn from it." 

Discord has worked to shed this part of its past by banning certain alt-right servers in the wake of the Charlottesville incident. And for the most part, it seems to have worked. Today, the platform resonates with more mainstream collections of interests, connecting more than 100 million monthly active users. Every day, people spend a collective four billion minutes in 6.7 million active servers on the platform that run the gamut of topics, from sports to fantasy novels.

With such a vast network, Discord has been introducing a variety of custom features, such as channels meant for announcements and personalized welcome screens, to further differentiate its communities.

A platform that fosters community

But as for why sneakerheads, specifically, are flocking to Discord, that might be because it isn't your average messaging platform.

As Loar put it, Discord's user interface confers an advantage for sneaker groups that focus on a variety of areas in the market, from reselling to showing off new styles. Similar to Slack, Discord allows users to clearly delineate channels meant for discussing different topics. It also offers three options of communication for its users, via messaging, voice, and video.

"We chose Discord because it gave us a unique ability to connect three different mediums," said Jessie Mechling, who runs a 10,000 member sneaker server on Discord called "Sneakers" since 2017. "It facilitates more of a community because everything is in real-time. And with such a big group, there's always guaranteed someone to help you or be able to have a conversation with you."

A hotbed of 'secret sneaker societies'

While Mechling's group is free for those who choose to enter, Discord is known to foster a variety of sneaker "cook groups" that charge hefty fees for admission to the servers. These slots of entry are often offered on an extremely limited bases.

In many cases, the fees are worth it. These exclusive members-only forums are hotbeds of information for anyone looking to break into the $2 billion market.

Business Insider recently spoke to the founder and owner of AK Chefs, one of the top cook groups in the sneaker resale world. The group, which was founded in 2017, includes 36 staff members and costs a $50 monthly fee for each member. Like many cook groups, AK Chefs exists on Discord. With a variety of channels and groups, users have access to bots— a software application that expedites the checkout process for an online purchase — and to investing advice and advance information on hyped sneakers before they are publicized.

In many cases, these Discord-based cook groups are the breeding ground for new sneaker-focused businesses. Iwan Jeffery, the owner and CEO of major sneaker bot Splashforce, first learned about the programming and software world via a sneaker group on Discord about three years ago. Now, the self-taught developer with no formal training makes hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales with his product.

Sneaker brands are heading to Discord

Even though Discord is free for users, Loar said the platform is aware that some users in sneakerhead communities would be interested in monetization options. Laor added that Discord has been approached by leading footwear brands who are looking to tap into the buying potential of the sneaker communities on Discord, though Business Insider could not independently confirm any of these conversations with footwear brands. 

However, Nike has connected with Discord users in the past. In June, Nike featured its BeTrue collection for Pride Month in the game Animal Crossing and connected with a handful of Animal Crossing and LGBTQ focused Discord servers to give out codes for the in-game products and IRL merchandise to match those in the game. 

Beyond the resellers, sneaker-focused websites and brands are also starting their own Discord communities. Sneaker discovery app Aglet runs a 1,200-person server devoted to fostering a community of collectors and players. And Hypebeast's server pushes out a mix of editorial content, raffles, and sales listings. 

"It's clear that other brands are taking notice too, which is really exciting," Loar said of the growth of the sneaker community on Discord. "We're really trying to think through various ways that we can interact with them through our community efforts for sure. And through our marketing efforts."

On way Discord is encouraging this brand adoption of the platform is via its server verification program, which works similarly to verification programs on other social media sites.

As more brands join the platform, Mechling predicts that Discord will take on more of a marketplace identity in the next couple of years. He also sees a future where sneakerheads and brands adopt the platform a mainstream social media channel adjacent to Twitter and Facebook. 

"I think we're to see that as a commonplace [thing], similar to people dropping their Twitter hashtag," Mechling said. "It's like, 'Hey, here's how you get to my Discord. And I'm not just like a content creator. I'm also a company.'"

SEE ALSO: How a self-taught developer with no formal training made $700,000 in sales this year from his sneaker bot, Splashforce, that nabs hyped pairs in just milliseconds

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Reebok's market strategy has increasingly focused on streetwear in the last couple of years, as evidenced by a series of collaborations with brands like Vetements, Billionaire Boys Club, and Kerby Jean-Raymond's Pyer Moss.

But the sneaker and apparel maker is no stranger to this sector.

In his new book, "Shoemaker," Reebok founder Joe Foster described the story of how the brand accidentally forayed into the fledgling streetwear market in 1982. It happened with the launch of the Freestyle shoe, an aerobics sneaker that became wildly popular in New York. The sneaker, which retailed at $54.11, was dubbed the 5411 by hip-hop influencers in The Big Apple.

This, wrote Foster, was crucial to the success of the silhouette. It's also something that is increasingly important for Reebok today, given the massive rise of the streetwear and sneaker industries.

A shift toward streetwear and hype

Reebok has undergone a series of identity shifts since it's founding in 1958. The UK-based footwear brand started in the running category, eventually enjoying great success in the aerobics sector, and even went on to make an iconic basketball shoe in the early 90s. After Adidas acquired Reebok in 2005 for $3.8 billion, the two brands continued to operate independently.

According to Foster, while change is bound to happen, elements from the old days of Reebok culture still exist today.

"Things have to change," Foster told Business Insider in a recent interview. "The only thing that has not changed in my life is performance," he added, referring to the level of show quiality and how it functions.

Today, Reebok's identity is again largely tied to streetwear sector. The brand appointed Kerby Jean-Raymond, the designer behind the luxury streetwear brand Pyer Moss, as vice president of creative direction this week. The designer, who is known for incorporating complicated subjects like racism and mental health into his work, initially partnered with the brand in 2017 for a series of streetwear collections.

"I welcome this opportunity to help invigorate the brand with new ideas, while also focusing on instilling a sense of social purpose into our work," Jean-Raymond said in a statement to WWD.

This move also represents the brand's commitment to increasing diversity efforts and fighting racism. Jean-Raymond will lead Reebok's Product With Purpose program, which is associated with the brand's commitment to United Against Racism. 

"I think Reebok, has been very concerned about Black [consumers]," Foster said. "I think they're very interested and they've been progressing that way, that Black lives do matter."

In addition to resonating with the Black consumer, Foster sees Reebok's method of focusing on the "street" as a smart way to help the brand achieve notoriety.

"The one thing that we see, and it's happened for years and years, is if you put [shoes] on the feet of athletes, it's a big influence," said Foster. For many major brands today like Nike and Adidas, this method is tried and true. But according to Foster, Reebok's strategy slightly different.

"They're now using the 'cool' look to get onto the street rather than the performance that Adidas and Nike are doing," Foster said about Reebok. "Any brand that wants volume has got to impress the street. That's where it's won. And we see this now from Pyer Moss."

The people driving a brand's hype are increasingly the "cool people on the street," Foster added. As such, Reebok has also invested in partnerships with celebrities like Arianna Grade, Gigi Hadid, and Gal Gadot. 

"It's very new, I know a little about it," Foster said about the world of hype. "But I think it's exciting to think that this is a trend that Reebok would probably find again will grow the volumes."

SEE ALSO: A 16-year-old's sneaker bot business charged $200,000 in fees since October. Here's how his 600-member group secures the coveted software before anyone else.

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Matt Steiner's 19th birthday was special, but not because of the usual perks that come with turning another year older.

August 12, 2017, wasn't just another day of cake and balloons. It was the day Steiner's sneaker media account became verified on Twitter.

"It was like waking up to a birthday present," the college student, now 22, said. More than an ego boost, receiving the coveted "Blue Check" was a massive business win for the young entrepreneur looking to disrupt the world of sneaker media with Saint, his fledgling yet steadily growing sneaker news account.

With just under 40,000 followers in 2017, Saint — at the time known as "The Supreme Saint"— was still up-and-coming. Platforms like Complex, B/R Kicks, and Hypebeast were and still are considered the titans of the world of sneaker and hype-focused media, thanks to their fast and often exclusive coverage of the sector.

But for Steiner, Twitter's proverbial blue seal of approval was a "pivotal moment" in the story of Saint because his business model hinges on his success on Twitter.

A little over three years later, Saint has over 173,000 followers on Twitter and has become a leading destination for sneaker news. The account is followed by celebrities like YouTube influencer and entrepreneur Casey Neistat and TikTok star Dixie D'Amelio and regularly receives thousands of engagements on its tweets and replies.

From bot-making to sneaker media

Steiner's goal is to make Saint the first name in sneaker news.

The effort to do so has been a long time coming, though it has intensified since August when the brand acquired the @saint handle.

Saint began its life as The Supreme Saint — @TheSupremeSaint on Twitter — a botting service that Steiner co-created in 2015 to help customers nab Supreme merchandise at retail. Sneaker bots are software programs that expedite the checkout process online, allowing users to nap sneakers quickly. Some botting services, like the one Steiner ran, take care of all the technical legwork for customers.

By the spring of 2017, the botting business was slowing down, but the decent-sized Twitter account was still active. It eventually became verified in August of that year. In August, Steiner got ahold of the simple @Saint handle on Twitter by working directly with the platform. 

But even when he was still operating under The Supreme Saint, Steiner was working with influencers like Neistat to help grow his following. At the same time, the account was shifting its image to focus more on media and sneaker news.

"That was always something I wanted to do," Steiner said, "[To] make sure to be the leader in pushing content, be the first to post about it, and have big news outlets pick up my tweets."

Thus far, he's heading in the right direction. And he's using an unconventional tactic to get there.

Twitter as the starting point

While platforms like Complex and Hypebeast primarily use Twitter to drive traffic to their websites, Saint does the reverse. Twitter is the goal, in and of itself, and achieving high tweet engagement is the first priority. Everything else — including Saint's associated website that is populated with blog posts and sneaker news — is secondary.

"I'm reaching easily hundreds of thousands of people a day," said Steiner, who shared images of certain tweets and replies that have crossed the million mark in terms of impressions and engagements. 

According to Steiner, winning engagement on Twitter comes down to two factors: being first, and being correct. As Steiner put it, "If you're not first in this sector, you're last."

In some cases, Saint gets information that allows it to be the first to report on a collaboration or drop. For example, Saint worked with a company called MSCHF to be the first media outlet to report on its exclusive t-shirt drop over the summer.

In other cases, Saint just acts quickly. In February, when Supreme announced an upcoming collaboration with Oreo, Saint was one of the first media outlets to push out the news via Twitter. Steiner said he prepared the tweet in advance, knowing that Supreme was releasing images from its lookbook that day.

"An Oreo appeals to the world. Supreme appeals to the streetwear industry," he said, recalling how he anticipated that this Tweet might take off. "All I needed was the image."

The tweet exploded, racking up close to 8 million impressions and over 4 million engagements. It ended up being the sixth most quoted tweet of the day globally, according to a screenshot of Trendsmap data from that day that was shared with Business Insider. Delish and Today even attributed the news of the collaboration to Saint's tweet.

"That tweet was a huge pivotal moment where I said to myself, 'This engagement is different,'" Steiner said, adding that Saint's follower count increased by tens of thousands that day.

Saint has also recently begun working with Twitter to have Saint featured prominently when certain topics are trending. Saint's story about J Balvin's upcoming collaboration with McDonald's was featured on Twitter's homepage and news sidebar last week, which Steiner said helped solidify Saint as a major media source.

Still, Saint has fewer followers than other sneaker news pages. But to Steiner, he's winning where it matters. As he pointed out, if someone were to log into a private web browser and search "Saint" on Twitter, his account would appear first, coming in ahead of @saints, the handle for the New Orleans Saints NFL team that has almost triple the number of followers.

"This is a very tight-knit following that's super strong," Steiner said. "It continues to grow every day."

Saint also increases its presence by interacting with accounts with large followings. For example, Saint's reply to a tweet by Kanye West in July garnered almost 10,000 likes and over 1.5 million engagements, according to a screenshot of the analytics that was viewed by Business Insider.

One recent GIF reply to a McDonald's tweet garnered over 3,000 likes — and a response from the brand that racked up almost 9,000 likes. 

How social media is replacing mainstream news outlets

There's a reason Saint is taking a Twitter-first mentality. The platform already has a built-in audience of sneakerheads, thanks to how things worked in the days of sneaker culture's past. Certain hype drops used to be announced only on Twitter, so it was essential for sneakerheads to be on the platform to get in on them. The sneakerhead community on the platform today is still active,  making Twitter an ideal place for Saint to expand its audience.

Mainstream media outlets such as MTV used to be the key for propelling a voice or movement. In the era of YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter, this mainstream cultural authority is no longer relevant, Steiner and others argue. 

"There's nothing between the individual, the one creating the creating culture today, and their audience," said Neistat, who started his career as a vlogger and content creator in the early aughts and now has over 12 million subscribers on YouTube. Like Steiner, Neistat built his brand by directly connecting with audiences on a social media platform. Neistat is also the creator of Beme, a video-sharing app that he sold for a reported $25 million to CNN in  2016, which was shut down in 2018.

"Matt is uniquely able to lean into his understanding, which is a wildly nuanced, hyper-specific understanding, of a very narrow piece of fashion and culture," Neistat said. "And the difference is they don't need that mainstream outlet to lean into. Because of social media, they can create that outlet and then own the entire vertical. And I think that gets into the brilliant business acumen of what he's doing."

'It's never really been about the money'

Steiner is looking beyond Twitter, too. He purchased the @saint Instagram handle from its previous in July for $10,000. The account already has 24,500 followers, but he's thinking about how he can make a bigger impact on the platform.

Other than through some affiliate partnerships with brands and websites, Saint is not making any serious money just yet.

"It's never really been about the money for me," Steiner said. "It's more about how much power and impact can I get."

Building a media machine is essentially a full-time job, even if it's not a well-paid one, yet. And Steiner is juggling it all while finishing up his degree at Muhlenberg College. But between staying on top of the latest news and drops, he still finds time to enjoy his last college months, albeit currently remotely. 

Still, his business is always on his mind. That's the cost of success.

"I always have to be thinking about it," he said.

SEE ALSO: How Discord went from gaming and alt-right hub to a sneaker cook group hotbed, where resellers charge fees to share their secrets for cracking the $2 billion resale market

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The sneaker industry has never existed in a silo. From designers to consumers, the field is intrinsically bound to an array of cultural influences.

First and foremost, the sneaker community, as we know it today, has its roots in Black culture. Icons like Michael Jordan and Run DMC helped define the industry, while celebrities like Travis Scott and Beyoncé give the industry relevance and excitement today.

Of course, the sneaker world is also a cultural melting pot that includes a wide range of communities. Chitose Abe's Japan-based Sacai label has become a major global brand since its 1999 founding, for example, and has become a major name in streetwear, featuring collaborations with Nike and Beats by Dre.

But when it comes to people of color in the sneaker industry, such cultural influences are rarely seen beyond a brand's outward messaging or campaigns. As the New York Times previously reported, fewer than 4.5% of the 1,700 Adidas employees at the Portland, Oregon, campus identified as Black, according to internal employment figures from the summer of 2019. In contrast, marketing campaigns and celebrity partnerships from Adidas are known to prominently feature artists and athletes of color, such as Kanye West and James Harden.

Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour have all recently acknowledged their part in maintaining a workplace lacking in diversity and inclusion, But more importantly, the sneaker industry has committed to changes. 

Nike raised VP-level representation for underrepresented groups to 21% in 2019. Adidas announced a commitment to filling a minimum of 30% of new US Adidas and Reebok positions with Black and Latinx people. Meanwhile, the African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), an organization that works to address and solve diversity issues in the footwear industry, is looking to take stock of the industry's diversity and opportunity for Black people.

"People of Color are the heartbeat of the sneaker industry and epicenter of sneaker culture. They are our consumers, employees, athletes, and influencers," said Kris Wright, Nike's VP of global footwear for men's sport and lifestyle. "In order for brands to engage, understand and resonate with the communities they serve, their employee community must reflect those same POC communities so that those making product can relate and qualify their work with that of what our consumers would want to purchase."

Business Insider identified 28 outstanding people of color who are transforming the sneaker industry today. After a nomination process, final inclusion in the list was based on multiple factors, including an individual's impact on the sneaker industry as a whole or on the impact an individual has had on a company in which he or she has worked. The final list was determined through our reporting.

SEE ALSO: Why a former Air Jordan design director left his job to lead the charge for Black representation across the sneaker industry

Portia Blunt

Company: New Balance

Role: Director of apparel operations

Career highlights: In her role as New Balance's director of apparel operations, Portia Blunt oversees design, innovation, and operations for apparel. In her role, Blunt spearheaded company efforts to highlight Black culture and expression, leading a team of Black designers to launch New Balance's first-ever Black History Month (BHM) product capsule. Blunt also helps the brand strategize diversity and inclusion efforts in her role on the New Balance's D&I leadership task force, where she focuses on guiding women and Black people in her brand and in the footwear industry at large. 

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "Ultimately, I believe it is imperative that people of color continue to drive and influence the sneaker industry," Blunt said. "However, that influence and cultivation needs to be reflected in more Black and brown talent in positions of leadership. This is important because as we address the clear deficits with leadership at the executive level, we will start to have a more accurate picture of who the sneaker industry really is. At the end of the day, that progress will validate the value of culture's of color to our industry and will also ultimately honor our contributions to the industry."

Gabriel Maselino

Company: Nike

Role: Footwear designer

Career highlights: Gabriel Maselino is a self-taught footwear and apparel designer who leveraged a background in graphic design and illustration to start his own consulting group after graduating college. He was recruited in 2012 as a footwear designer at Nike, where he had the chance to design iconic pairs like the 'Greedy' Air Max 95s, the Presto, and the iSPA collection. He also designed the Nike 'Air Max VG-R running shoe, which launches this fall. Maselino said he sees himself as a "problem solver" who aims to continue to use his designs to address the issues that the world faces today.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"It is the unsung cultures, experiences, and learnings of each individual and their respective communities that allow us to look at the world from a different vantage point," said Maselino. "It is those points of view that provide us with a new way to teach, to learn, to adapt, and ultimately, to grow."

Jazerai Allen-Lord

Company: True to Size

Role: Creative strategist and sneaker designer

Career highlights: Jazerai Allen-Lord began her career as a journalist at Complex's KicksonFire. She then went on to make her own products as a designer, launch her own unisex streetwear line, and design her own sneakers with Reebok. Today, Allen-Lord works as a consultant and brand strategist with the team at True to Size, a strategic agency that she co-founded. Allen-Lord was a part of the team that helped New Balance launch its inaugural Black History Month Collection this year, which was activated with basketball player Kawhi Leonard in Los Angeles in tandem with the Boys & Girls Club of Mar Vista Gardens. Allen-Lord is also a leading member of The African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), an organization that works to address and solve diversity issues in the footwear industry.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"Unlike most of the top line industries like tech, automotive, hospitality, and the like, the sneaker industry has a unique cultural element — the same element that drives sales — and that specific element is rooted in Black culture," said Allen-Lord. "Beyond that, when we look at the talent who is selling the product that drives performance and innovation-driven categories, that talent has historically been, and continues to be, Black. As the creators of the culture and the people who continue to drive it, Black people not only deserve but are owed a seat at the table. Correction: we deserve our own tables, in rooms that we built."

Brandis Russell

Company: Converse (Nike)

Role: VP of Global Footwear

Career highlights: Brandis Russell has been at the helm of Converse's product innovation since joining the brand in 2018. She has overseen the launch of the Converse CX, a sustainable footwear line, as well as the launch of the brand's All Star Pro BB basketball shoe.

Russell is also a co-leader of Nike's D&I acceleration task force, which focuses on growing representation, professional development, inclusion, and education within the brand. In her over 15 years with Nike, Russell also led product in Nike's sportswear division and helped launch the "Sneaker Culture for Women" initiative. Russell was named the Black Employee Network (BEN) person of the year in 2014.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:  "As a Black woman, it is important that I play a role in the sneaker industry because I know that my community has largely been the catalyst for sneaker culture — as consumers, as creators, and as influencers," Russell said. "As a result, it is important that there is diverse representation in this industry, to ensure it reflects the communities that we serve and to ensure we are equal parts creators and leaders in an industry we have shaped and informed."

Alexander-John

Company: Freelance

Role: Designer and artist

Career highlights: Alexander-John is a footwear and fashion designer who has worked in the sneaker and streetwear industries for over a decade. In addition to customizing and engraving footwear, John has designed sneaker collaborations for leading brands and celebrities throughout his career, all while avoiding going in-house at a brand.

The artist, who began customizing sneakers in 2004, has had his work worn by Usher, Chris Brown, Caron Butler, and Drew Gooden, and Busta Rhymes. He has also customized footwear Jay Z, Beyonce, Emory Jones, Google, Microsoft, and Nickelodeon and has designed exclusive sneakers for Puma, Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. Alexander-John has also designed collaborations for Foot Locker and has lectured about his journey in the industry. 

While his work includes a variety of different styles, from out-of-the-box to more conservative, he says his mantra is always the same: to imbue life into the footwear he creates.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "It's important for people of color to play a role in the sneaker industry because it is heavily driven and inspired by our culture and athleticism," John said. "I have enjoyed being able to go to schools in my community and discuss what I do and how far I've come by staying true to my heritage and offering true stories to the world through design. The excitement in the students' eyes as I stand before them delivering my story is priceless, and I realize at that very moment I represent the thing that our ancestors fought for — the American Dream, also known as freedom."

Navalayo Osembo

Company: Enda Athletic, Inc.

Role: Co-founder and CEO 

Career highlights: Navalayo Osembo is the co-founder and CEO of Enda Athletic, Inc., a performance-focused footwear and apparel brand with products made in Kenya. Osembo originally hails from a town near Eldoret, Kenya, which is known for producing a slew of world-famous long-distance runners. She co-founded Enda, which means "Go" in Swahili, after working in international development and noticing a pattern of Africans playing sports but rarely leading product development.

Enda's two models currently on sale, "Iten," which refers to a popular running region in Kenya and "Lapatet," which means "run" in Kalenjin, a language used by many Kenyan athletes.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "People of color are already playing a big role in the sneaker industry. Their roles just aren't at the ownership or decision-making levels," said Osembo. "Neither are they adequately represented in the design, manufacturing, or distribution processes, which is where the money is. There should be less focus on the role people of color play, because sneaker culture is largely Black culture, and more focus on understanding why we are so underrepresented in critical roles. This forces us to then look at the structural, economic, and social structures that limit people from getting into these roles and then come up with practical multifaceted solutions."

Richard McLeod

Company: Foot Locker

Role: VP, Marketing

Career highlights: Richard McLeod joined Foot Locker, Inc. in 2019 as a VP for Footaction, a subsidiary of Foot Locker. He was promoted after 10 months to his current role as Foot Locker's VP of marketing. McLeod also chairs a committee of Foot Locker Diversity & Inclusion Council, which keeps the brand focused on diversity goals. McLeod also helps run Foot Locker's No 1 Way Design Program with the Pensole Design Academy to encourage budding design talent from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the US.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:  "I don't think there's a 'sneaker culture' without the Black community — the two are intrinsic to one another," McLeod said. "It is extremely important to have relatable and authentic people of color, at all levels, who fundamentally understand the people and community we are trying to serve."

Shaneika Warden

Company: Under Armour

Role: Senior color design manager 

Career highlights: Shaneika Warden's main role at Under Armour is managing what colors are used on the brand's footwear, basketball, and team sports apparel divisions. In this capacity, she has led color selection and strategy for a variety of launches for the brand, including the Run HOVR tech platform, the 2018 Black History Month (BHM) collection, the 2019 NFL combine collection, and the women's HOVR basketball sneaker.

Before landing at Under Armour, Warden spent time working in color design at Nike and REI. At Nike, she worked on multiple BHM collections and products for stars like Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Blake Griffin. In addition to her design prowess, Warden also enjoys helping young designers find their place in the industry and sees color design as a way to evoke conversation and tell stories.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"I strongly believe diversity and culture are critical elements required for innovation, progression, problem-solving, and the need for continued relevancy,"  Warden said. "It's how we continue to better ourselves as human beings. Having a true diverse school of thought represented by people who hail from a variety of backgrounds make for real conversation that brings real solutions."

Eric Wise

Company: Adidas

Role: Global VP of product for Adidas Originals

Career highlights: Since Joining Adidas in 2016 as director of merchandising for Foot Inc. brands, Eric Wise was promoted multiple times finally landing in his current role in April, where he leads global marketing for Adidas Originals. In addition to his official job at Adidas, Wise has helped shape the company's United Against Racism (UAR) commitments and has worked directly with Adidas' North American President Zion Armstrong in his role as a co-chair and executive sponsor of the brand's US United Against Racism Accountability Council. He is also a member of Adidas' Global Committee to Accelerate Inclusion and Equality and recently helped launch Honoring Black Excellence, a company movement focused on engaging communities with specific activations focused on Black culture.  

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "It is important for people of color to play a role in the sneaker industry today because sneaker culture has always been influenced, inspired, and authenticated by people of color," Wise said. "We need to give people of color the awareness and visibility to the types of careers the sneaker industry can offer. The more we can give them awareness to opportunities, the better our industry will be."

Je Nay Silva

Company: Sneaker Wellness, HER Collective Sole

Role: Founder of Sneaker Wellness and CEO of HER Collective Sole

Career highlights: Je Nay Silva's involvement in the sneaker industry is focused on the widely unexplored topic of sneaker wellness. Leveraging a background in hospitality management, media, and tech startups, Silva's work focuses on educating women about the relationship between their shoes and their wellness, something she calls "Sneaker Wellness." She spreads her message as the CEO of HER Collective Sole, a resource for foot care and ergonomics. Working at the nexus between design and health, Silva hopes to help sneaker companies and consumers focus on foot health when it comes to designs. Silva recently ran a virtual conference for women of color, which featured a panel of women discussing their journey in the sneaker industry.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"Being a woman of color and a sneakerhead is a superpower. Being  [a] woman of color in sneakers drives you in a way to create more opportunity, to tell the stories, and to connect dots faster for growth that benefit the communities you know need it," Silva said.

Eric "Shake" James

Company: CLICKS, SNEEX, BLACKMARKET

Role: Owner of three sneaker boutiques

Career highlights: Eric "Shake" James is a Milwaukee-based owner of three sneaker stores. He opened his first store, CLICKS, with musician Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC in 2015 with the help of designer and creative strategist Jazerai Allen-Lord. The store was meant to be a conceptual Adidas boutique and an archive of Run DMC-related items. James later opened SNEEX, another sneaker and apparel store, and is currently preparing to open his third store, BLACKMARKET. In addition to owning and operating these stores in what has been called one of America's most segregated cities, James is also working on launching the JAY Community Center, which will serve a mostly Black neighborhood in Milwaukee. This center will be a place for James' community projects, such as his toy drives and annual Jam Master Jay Back to School community school supply giveaway, to live.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "It's necessary for people of color to have stake and ownership in the decisions made within the senior leadership within organizations because when it comes to sneakers and streetwear, it's us who is dictating the direction of the culture," James said. "The next generation needs the knowledge and education to not only be in the pipeline but have ownership one day as well. We can be more than just a face on a mood board."

Alicia Pinckney

Company: Timberland

Role: Apparel designer

Career highlights: Alicia Pinckney has worked on a variety of pieces and collaborations for  Timberland since started on the apparel team as a designer in 2017. Her designs were featured in the RAEBURN x Timberland collection, which launched in fall of 2018 and was shown at London Fashion Week.

In 2019, she worked on the "Timbs on my Feet," collection that celebrated Timberland's links to hip hop culture. She later shifted her focus to general apparel, focusing on knit and sportswear. Pinckney recently launched The Black Talent in Design and Fashion Fund, a non-profit that supports Black students in the US pursuing a fashion career. She is also a member of the African American Fashion Forum, Timberland's inclusion and diversity action team, and Timberland's parent company's inclusion network.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"I believe it's important for people of color to play a role in the sneaker industry because the sneaker industry has been built, for years with our culture as the blueprint," Pinckney said. "If the product is designed with Black influence and marketed with Black aesthetic, then naturally Black influence should have a strong presence in the industry, making creative and scalable decisions."

Kris Wright

Company: Nike

Role: VP global footwear, men's sport lifestyle

Career highlights: As Nike's global footwear, Kris Wright keeps a constant pulse on consumers in the men's sport lifestyle division. The footwear veteran has worked across the Converse, Jordan, and Nike brands, where he has led many high-level collaborations with artists like Virgil Abloh. Wright is vocal about encouraging young talent of color in his capacity on the advisory board of directors for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which is considered a top HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) conference.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"People of color are the heartbeat of the sneaker industry and epicenter of sneaker culture. They are our consumers, employees, athletes, and influencers," Wright said. "In order for brands to engage, understand and resonate with the communities they serve, their employee community must reflect those same POC communities so that those making product can relate and qualify their work with that of what our consumers would want to purchase."

D'Wayne Edwards

Company: Pensole Design Academy

Role: Founder

Career highlights: When he got his start in the sneaker world in 1989, D'Wayne Edwards was one of a handful of Black designers in the field. He went on to spend 10 years as Nike's footwear design director between 2001 and 2011, where he designed for the Air Jordan brand. To date, Edwards has created over 500 styles for athletes like Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, and Michael Jordan.

In 2010, Edwards started Pensole, a design academy that encourages the next wave of young footwear designers on their path into the industry. Since its founding, Pensole has placed more than 475 graduates in top brands. Edwards is also a driving force behind the African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), an organization that works to address and solve diversity issues in the footwear industry. In 2016, Edwards was awarded the President Volunteer of Service Award by President Barack Obama.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"I am tired of the double standard of my industry spending billions of dollars on Black people to be the face of their companies as if they are trying to make the industry better for us when in fact, our industry does not spend .5% of those same billions to educate us on how we can have a career in this industry," Edwards said. "I pray all of the Black people who currently work in a company take on the responsibility to do what you wish was done for you when you were a teenager, today."

Jasmine Pendergrass

Company: Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA)

Role: Director of events and marketing

Career highlights: Jasmine Pendergrass manages events, marketing, and communications for the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA). The FDRA represents over 90% of sales in the entire footwear industry as the largest footwear association in the US. In addition to producing events for the FDRA, Pendergrass was also involved in the creation of  the African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), which works to address and solve diversity issues in the footwear industry. She was an integral part of organizing the forum's inaugural event in February of 2019. 

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"What's important for me is to have people of color occupying all seats, vertically, from top to bottom," Pendergrass said. "We give the sneaker culture so much depth and value; it's proven. It's vital that we have the opportunity to tell our own stories and have a hand in the entire process. We should have a seat at several tables, not just an invite at one within a culture that we heavily influence."

Rodney Pratt

Company: Converse (Nike)

Role: VP, general counsel, and corporate secretary

Career highlights: In his capacity as a VP and general counsel, Rodney Pratt is responsible for Converse's global legal strategy. Pratt is also a member of the senior leadership team at Converse and is the founder and executive sponsor of the Converse Diversity Network, an employee group.

In addition to his work at the footwear brand, Pratt regularly speaks about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the footwear and legal spheres. He chairs the workforce development committe, a working group for the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), where he is also a member of the board of directors. He is also a member of Nike's Black Community Commitment Task Force, which guides the brand in supporting the Black community. 

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"Perhaps more than any other industry in the world, the sneaker industry, and the ecosystem of sportswear, streetwear, lifestyle and fashion sustained by it, has been influenced, inspired and authenticated by Black and Brown consumers, athletes, trend-setters, and sneaker connoisseurs," Pratt said. "We need to ensure, with a greater sense of urgency and accountability, that we bridge the sneaker industry representation gap that exists between the block and the boardroom. We have made a lot of progress over the years, and we still have a lot of work to do."

Priscella Shum

Company: Reebok

Role: Global design manager

Career highlights: In her 18 years in design and project management, Priscella Shum has helped grow iconic brands, including Reebok, Yeezy, Sean John, and Baby Phat. In her current role at Reebok, Shum is responsible for overseeing collaborations and partnerships. She managed design and production for the Cardi B x Reebok and Reebok by Pyer Moss collections. As an advocate for people of color in the design industry, Shum sees her managerial roles as an opportunity to develop and nurture young, underrepresented talent in the industry.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"I believe it is incredibly important for people of color to play a role in the industry because these are OUR stories," Shum said. "From the expression, to the colors, to each design line, there's a part of our history in every sketch and every concept."

Vladimir Estiverne

Company: Foot Locker

Role: VP of strategy, corporate development, and strategic investments

Career highlights: In his role as a VP at Foot Locker, Vladimir Estiverne focuses on corporate development and spearheads investments in early and growth-stage companies for Foot Locker. Estiverne also oversees partnerships and investments with Black-owned businesses and leaders in conjunction with Foot Locker's $200 million commitment to supporting the Black community. Focused on inspiring future leaders of color in the industry, Estiverne is an executive member of Foot Locker's Black employee resource group, BUILD (Blacks United in Leadership and Development) and sits on the board of The Opportunity Agenda, a non-profit that addresses social justice issues.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"People of color are a big part of what is driving the industry today. We have, throughout history, been leaders of movements and culture – and sneaker culture is no different, but we are oftentimes not represented in the decision-making spaces," Estiverne said. "We must lift one another as we climb, and through our collective effort, we can truly shape this industry in a way that better serves and supports all of us together. It's our time."

Julia Bond

Company: Adidas Originals

Role: Assistant designer

Career highlights: Julia Bond is an assistant designer at Adidas, where she creates products for Men's Originals. Bond was only a few months into her full-time designing job at Adidas when she became the face for activism and change in the company. In June, she wrote an open letter to the company that called out leadership for ignoring what she described as "systemic racism" at the brand. Bond asked for a public apology from Adidas and continues to lead protests at the brand's Oregon headquarters at noon every day in pursuit of a response from the company. In addition to her roles as designer and activist, Bond is a dancer with the Freshvibe Dance Crew.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"This is an industry that uses Black bodies as mannequins and Black culture for profit, but does not always celebrate or amplify Black minds within the space," Bond said. "Black erasure is a real thing, and our industry can do better if it amplifies black voices and perspectives in the space. It's so necessary and long overdue. This industry would be nothing without Blackness, and I see that some people are recognizing that. Black people need to be in this industry because at its core, it is us."

Derrick Register

Company: StockX

Role: VP of operations

Career highlights: Though Derrick Register only recently joined the team at StockX, a leading resale platform for sneaker and streetwear, the VP has already accumulated a series of accomplishments in his role heading up operations at the Detroit-based company. In addition to overseeing more than 350 hires across the company, Register led the openings for an Atlanta authentication center and a New York seller drop-off location and is in the process of opening three more authentication centers. Beyond his role at StockX, Register aims to empower future leaders through his work as a tutor for the SOAR Detroit Reading and Mentor Program and as a board member for the Southeast Michigan Omega Foundation, which offers college scholarships to students in the Metro Detroit area.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"Like so many other areas of society, the sneaker industry has long reproduced systemic inequalities of representation and opportunity," Register said. "Historically, people of color have not received due credit for their contributions to the space, which include some of the most innovative ideas and biggest trends shaping the sneaker industry. For that reason, and many others, it remains imperative to me, and to the broader team at StockX, that we afford people of color opportunities to directly impact the space."

Vicky Vuong

Company:@cestlavic

Role: Sneaker customizer/influencer

Career highlights: Vicky Vuong is a sneaker customizer who has been bringing her designs to life on a variety of different sneaker silhouettes for the past eight years. Vuong's passion for design began as a hobby, but in 2019, she turned her talents into a viable business. She also helps customers customize their own shoes. Her Instagram page, which currently has over 11,000 followers, showcases her intricate designs. Her YouTube channel offers tutorials and resources for people looking to customize their own shoes.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "Sneakers tell a story of where someone has been, where they want to go. I think people of color have a very rich story to share, whether it is personal experience or history passed down through generations," Vuong said. "Being an Asian woman, I am underrepresented in more than one facet of life, but especially in the sneaker industry. However, this underrepresentation pushes me to work harder, it means my work must speak louder, and my designs must stand above the rest."

Rashone Bryant

Company: Sneaker Bar Detroit

Role: "The Sneaker Box" podcast host

Career highlights: Rashone Bryant uses his platform as a writer and content creator at Sneaker Bar Detroit to shed light on issues and nuances in the sneaker and streetwear industries.

Known as Afrikan Caesar, Bryant is the host of Sneaker Bar Detroit's "The Sneaker Box," a podcast and radio show focused on sneaker culture. Via his platform, Bryant has touched on everything in the industry, from the resale market to its roots in Black culture. Outside of his role as host, Bryant has traveled and lectured about the sneaker community and has focused on speaking on behalf of people of color in the industry.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"We need people of color in the sneaker industry because people of color are the ones moving the needle in both sneaker culture and in the sneaker community," Bryant said. "We need people of color in the industry, not just for the sake of diversity in numbers, but also for diversity of thought and experience. This breeds creative balance, which broadens the industry's ability to relate and engage in a more authentic way with their consumer base."

Clyde Edwards

Company: Puma, North America

Role: Senior marketing manager

Career highlights: Clyde Edwards got his start in the sneaker industry in 2007, when he launched his sneaker unboxing YouTube channel and blog, "Inside The Sneakerbox." This was before the boom of shoetubing happened a few years later.

Edwards went on to work as the GM of merchandising for luxury boutiques Mr. R Sport and Addict in Miami, Florida, where he got the opportunity to oversee a concept collaboration with Lacoste in the 2016 Miami Open. He joined Puma in 2016, where he was recently named the captain of #REFORM. This team, which focuses on social responsibility issues related to equality and racism, gives him a platform to lead Puma's first employee resource group for diversity and inclusion.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"If Black culture is a driving force behind the athletes and signature shoes, past heroes and retros, modern-day entertainers and the hype; then there must be Black and brown people at the forefront of product concept, story design, creation, marketing, advertising and retail," said Edwards. "I think it's imperative for us to hold executive roles and board seats to also break the cycle of systemic racism and not 'having a seat at the table.'"

Caroline Lew-Wolf

Company: Adidas 

Role: VP of business development

Career highlights: Caroline Lew-Wolf oversees Adidas' strategy and business development teams for North America. She came to Adidas in 2016 after an over 20-year career in the consumer products and sneaker industries. Passionate about advocating for women and minorities, Lew-Wolf is a member of Adidas' United Against Racism (UAR) accountability council, working with a group of employees, athletes, and artists to ensure accountability and change from within the company. Lew-Wolf is also an advisor on Adidas' employee resource group focused on engaging the Asian community.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"It is important for people of color to play a role in the sneaker industry today because sneakers are a celebration and reflection of inner-city communities and culture," Lew-Wolf said. "People of color should not only play a role, but also lead the innovation, evolution, and growth of the industry."

James Hardaway

Company: Reebok

Role: Global senior product manager

Career highlights: As one of the longest-tenured Reebok employees, James Hardaway is known by his colleagues at the brand as "The OG." The Reebok veteran, who currently serves as global senior product manager, has been with the brand for 28 years. During his time at Reebok, Hardaway has become known for pioneering strategic partnerships between the brand and music artists. In the 1990s, he helped Reebok become one of the first footwear brands to partner with a music artist when he launched Reebok's collaboration with rap group The Hot Boys. This kicked off a series of music-focused partnerships with other artists such as Common, 50 Cent, Pharrell, Nelly, and Kendrick Lamar.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:  "The influence that people of color have had and continue to have on the sneaker industry is vast and immeasurable," Hardaway said. "For decades, they have been a driving force in sneaker culture, setting the fashion trends that are adopted by the masses. The industry simply would not exist without the contributions of people of color. But there is still work to be done. The industry has an obligation to reciprocate by ensuring that people of color permeate and thrive in the industry at all levels."

Jaconna Jacobs

Company: Adidas/Everything Boisterous

Role: Creative director at Everything Boisterous and assistant product manager at Adidas

Career highlights: Jaconna Jacobs got her start in the footwear industry in 2015, when she started Everything Boisterous, a blog meant to highlight unapologetically creative individuals in the streetwear space, many of whom are people of color. Through this platform, Jacobs has interviewed influential figures in the sneaker and streetwear worlds such as Adidas collaborator Na-Kel Smith, Sonny Digital, DJ Kid, and more. She also spent time as a contributor for Vashtie.com, the blog platform for designer, filmmaker, and DJ Vashtie Kola, the first woman to design an Air Jordan sneaker. In addition to running her Everything Boisterous, Jacobs currently works as an assistant product manager at Adidas.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"Without people of color, sneakers would not be cool. Without people of color, streetwear wouldn't even be called streetwear," Jacobs said. "When I say people of color, I really mean Black people. We are the most powerful consumer as well as the most influential consumer, so to play a role in the industry that we helped build up is only natural. This is OUR culture and we deserve ownership."

Sean Williams

Company: Obsessive Sneaker Disorder

Role: Educator, curator

Career highlights: A longtime sneaker enthusiast, Sean Williams joined Obsessive Sneaker Disorder (OSD) as a partner when the live, weekly talk show and podcast was launched by his friend Dee Wells in 2007.  

Today, OSD is regarded as one of the first and longest-running sneaker culture talk shows and podcasts. In his role, Williams aims to educate and inspire the next generation of sneakerheads and people looking to forge a career in the industry. Williams also teaches OSD's "SOLEcial Studies" program, which helps prepare people for a career in footwear, and was a co-curator of a New York City-based apparel and sneaker exhibit in 2019.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"It is very important for people of color, and women just as importantly, to play a role in the present and future of the sneaker industry because people of color and women represent experiences that have been taken for granted for too long," Williams said. "If the experiences and professional approach of people of color and women are given more top billing and leadership opportunities, I'm sure it would lead to better product all the way around."

Jason Mayden

Company: Super Heroic

Role: Former CEO and co-founder

Career highlights: Jason Mayden is the former co-founder and CEO of Super Heroic, a footwear line made for inspiring kids. Though the DTC startup announced it was shutting down its website and operations in February, the brand previously nabbed a $3 million investment from Foot Locker for a total of $10 million in funding. Via his brand, Mayden launched a performance sneaker meant for activity on a playground and launched an exclusive TMBLR sneaker with Nickelodeon. Before founding Super Heroic, Mayden worked at Nike for 13 years as a senior global design director and as the director of innovation for the digital sport division. During this time, he designed footwear for athletes like Michael Jordan and created the best-selling Nike Air Monarch. Mayden often speaks publicly about his journey in the industry and about the importance of empowering kids.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"I believe it is imperative to honor the contributions of BIPOC operators, creators, and leaders in our industry because we serve as the catalyst for relevancy, authenticity, and soul," Mayden said. "Without us, the industry would significantly lack meaning and connectivity to the youth. From our pain, we birth innovation. From our innovation, we spark revolutions. From our revolutions, we change the world."

In the growing world of social media influencers, Casey Neistat is an OG. 

The YouTuber, who has been posting videos since 2010, has built up a massive following on the platform over the last decade and currently has more than 12 million subscribers.

Neistat is also the creator of Beme, a video-sharing app that he sold for a reported $25 million to CNN in 2016, which was later shut down in 2018. 

When Neistat started out on YouTube, the influencer sector was just starting to take off. Today, YouTube is still a major platform to connect with audiences, but other apps like TikTok and Instagram are galvanizing even more creators to reach audiences across the globe.

In many cases, independent creatives are operating in an entirely different landscape than 10 years ago. In a recent interview with Business Insider, Neistat explained how he has observed the shift in the world of media that now celebrates the independent creator over the mainstream.

Cultural gatekeepers are being eliminated 

Before influencer culture was big, mainstream entities like MTV or Rolling Stone determined the legitimacy of a cultural trend or movement.  As Neistat put it, while individuals still created content, these cultural gatekeepers held the key to reaching the world. With the rise of social media, these barriers have been eliminated. 

"There's nothing between the individual — the one creating the creating culture today — and their audience," said Neistat, explaining how this phenomenon helped him find fame without the legitimization of additional entities like HBO or film festivals. "YouTube has made it so I don't need studio heads or television programming directors," he explained. "I can create my content. I can create my creative expression — which is videos — and then I can disseminate it to the world using social media."

Today, more brands and people are taking note of this phenomenon. For example, Kanye West frequently shares news and information about his brand via his personal Twitter account, which has more than 30 million followers.

Business Insider recently interviewed Matt Steiner, the 22-year-old founder of Saint. His company's Twitter account — currently at 173,000 followers — and associated website focus on sneaker and streetwear culture and news. Saint operates differently than platforms like Complex and Hypebeast by focusing entirely on Twitter for engagement.

"Matt is uniquely able to lean into his understanding, which is a wildly nuanced, hyper-specific understanding of a very narrow piece of fashion and culture," Neistat said. "And the difference is they don't need that mainstream outlet to lean into. Because of social media, they can create that outlet and then own the entire vertical. And I think that gets into the brilliant business acumen of what he's doing."

To Neistat, an "inherent mistrust of the mainstream," is what is pushing people towards independent accounts like Saint.

"There's this genuineness to it that I don't think the mainstream or more traditional outlets could have ever had. And I think that the impact of that is very hard to underscore."

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eBay just made another big move to help it dominate the multibillion-dollar sneaker-resale market.

The platform announced on Monday a plan to launch a new program for authenticating sneakers on the marketplace later this month. The service will be an expansion of eBay's "Authenticity Guarantee" program, which launched in September for watches that sell for more than $2,000 in the US.

Under the new program, all new and pre-owned sneakers that sell for more than $100 in the US will pass through an eBay authentication center, where each pair will be inspected before getting shipped off to buyers. Sneakers that pass inspection will receive an eBay-branded seal of verification. eBay has partnered with Sneaker Con, the largest sneaker show, to create both the authentication facility and outline a checklist for verification.

This latest move for eBay represents another push to win over resellers who are galvanizing the booming market. A Cowen & Co. analysis from July said the sneaker resale industry was worth $2 billion in North America and could reach $30 billion globally by 2030.

eBay bills itself as the originator of the sneaker-resale game and sold more than 5.7 million sneakers in North America in 2019. And the platform's strategy to reascend to the top of the sneaker-resale game is more than a few months in the making.

The company made a big move to attract more sneaker sellers in December by eliminating North American seller fees for any sneaker sold at $100 or more. It previously charged fees of up to 10% to sellers, which deterred some sneakerheads from using the platform. StockX and GOAT both charge various fees for sellers on their platforms.

For many sneakerheads, eBay's longstanding inability to control the spread of fake products was another major deterrent in using the platform for selling sneakers.

"Authentication has become an expectation for today's consumers in categories of high passion and high value, and this program makes eBay the most attractive platform for enthusiasts in these categories," Jordan Sweetnam, eBay's senior vice president and general manager of eBay North America, said in a press release.

eBay also provides detailed sales-trend data to platform users via a free foundational tool called Terapeak. Harry Temkin, eBay's vice president of seller experience, said the company offers more value to resellers than StockX, one of the more popular sneaker-resale platforms today, when it comes to data, customization, and transparency.

SEE ALSO: An eBay exec explains how the platform is poaching sneakerheads from StockX by empowering them with superior sales data

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With the sneaker resale market continuing to thrive, Business Insider is covering all aspects of how to properly scale a business in the booming industry. From which sneakers to purchase to necessary technological investments, made in the form of bots that entrepreneurs entrust to nab pairs online, the following covers everything you need to know about how to break into the market that Cowen & Co. estimates could reach $30 billion globally by 2030.

Getting started

Here's everything you need to know about what your early days as a sneaker reseller will look like:

• A 16-year-old who made $125,000 in sneaker sales reveals his pro tips for young resellers looking to break into the multi-billion dollar industry
• A sneakerhead who made nearly $7 million in sales last year reveals his secrets to tapping into the exploding multibillion-dollar resale market
• The top sneaker seller on eBay who made $1.5 million in sales in 2019 reveals how he grew business to dominate the platform
• We got a look at exact spreadsheet a 16-year-old uses to make thousands of dollars in sales as a major sneaker supplier to stores and boutiques

Scaling your business

Once you nail down the basics, here are some tools to guide you on the next steps of growing your business:

• Here are 5 steps that independent sneaker resellers live by to pay their taxes every season
• How a formerly homeless sneakerhead with just $40 to his name built a multi-million dollar resale empire in 6 years
• A sneakerhead who has attended more than 20 Sneaker Cons reveals his top 6 secrets for making the most money at a resale event

Sneaker botting

In the sneaker resale world, a "bot" refers to a software application that expedites the online checkout process and helps resellers nab hyped pairs online — including limited-edition drops. In many cases, bots are essential for purchasing the latest releases at retail prices. Here's everything you need to know about the software:

• A sneaker reseller who uses multiple 'bots' to nab mass quantities of expensive shoes the moment they drop explains why the controversial tech is worth it
• Inside the controversial underworld of sneaker 'bots,' where coded scripts resell for thousands of dollars and Twitter monitors can make or break a release
• A 16-year-old's sneaker bot business charged $200,000 in fees since October. Here's how his 600-member group secures the coveted software before anyone else.
• How a self-taught developer with no formal training made $700,000 in sales this year from his sneaker bot, Splashforce, that nabs hyped pairs in just milliseconds

Cook groups and online services:

While they normally charge hefty membership fees, cook groups are exclusive forums that supply information for anyone looking to break into the multi-billion dollar market. They usually offer members access to botting services in addition to exclusive details related to drops. They are often run on Discord.

• Exclusive sneaker resale groups make millions by paying insiders to leak information on valuable sneaker releases before they happen. Here's a look inside one of these members-only forums.
• Inside a teen's exclusive sneaker cook group that makes him 6-figures in sales, employs 23 people full-time, and nabs pairs of the hottest sneakers on the market
• How Discord went from gaming and alt-right hub to a sneaker cook group hotbed, where resellers charge fees to share their secrets for cracking the $2 billion resale market
• 5 up-and-coming sneaker websites that resellers and collectors should use in 2020 to boost profit and nab hyped pairs

Navigating the industry during the pandemic

Not even a global pandemic has managed to slow down the sneaker resale market, despite mass quarantines and lockdown orders.

• The CEOs of GOAT, Stadium Goods, and BUMP outlined the best ways for sneaker resellers to navigate the multi-billion dollar market in the pandemic
• The coronavirus outbreak is wrecking the sneaker resale industry, but investing in specific pairs can soften losses. Here's how to navigate the market in crisis, according to the head of China's Sneaker Con.
• These are the sneakers most likely to skyrocket in value when the coronavirus panic dies down, according to the founder of the largest sneaker event in the world
• A 17-year-old entrepreneur made close to $500,000 in sales reselling sneakers during quarantine. Take a look inside his pandemic-proof business model.

SEE ALSO: POWER LIST: Here are the 28 most outstanding people of color transforming the sneaker industry today, from designers to influencers

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German sportswear brand Adidas is considering selling US sneaker company Reebok as early as March 2021, a source close to the matter told Bloomberg.

Adidas has assigned an internal team, who have signed confidentiality agreements, to work on a potential deal, but this is in its early stages, the source said.

An Adidas spokesperson told Business Insider the company "does not comment on market rumors."

Adidas bought Reebok in 2006 for around 3.1 billion euros ($3.8 billion) — a bid to stay competitive with US sportswear rival Nike.

Read more:eBay is launching a sneaker-authentication program, in another attempt to win over resellers from StockX and dominate the multibillion-dollar sneaker-resale industry

The proportion of Adidas' income that comes from Reebok has fallen since the acquisition. In 2007, a quarter of Adidas' total retail sales – more than $2 billion – came from Reebok. This has steadily declined over the past decade, and in the quarter to June 2020 Reebok made up just 6.4% of Adidas' total sales.

While Adidas' sales fell by a third in the quarter to June compared to last year, Reebok's dropped by 42% to just 228 million euros ($270 million).

Manager Magazin, which first reported the potential sale, said interested parties included VF Corp, which owns outdoor apparel brands including Timberland, Vans, and North Face, as well as FILA-owner Anta International Group Holdings, although it did not cite any sources.

Prior to the pandemic, Adidas Chief Executive Officer Kasper Rorsted hoped for about 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) from a sale, Manager Magazin reported, but would now accept less.

SEE ALSO: Nike shares hit a record high after the company reported an 82% jump in online sales

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• D'Wayne Edwards is one of a handful of Black designers who built a successful career in the sneaker industry.
• He worked as Nike's footwear design director between 2001 and 2011, where he made sneakers for the Air Jordan brand.
• Now, Edwards is leading the charge for more Black representation in the sneaker industry, via his work as the founder of design academy Pensole and as a leader for The African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), which addresses and solves diversity issues in the field.
• "It's our job to tear the damn door down," Edwards said of the industry's barriers to entry for Black people. "And make sure it never closes again."
• Because of his work, Business Insider named Edwards to our annual list of the 10 leaders transforming retail.
• Visit Business Insider's Transforming Business homepage for more stories.

D'Wayne Edwards is known as one of the more influential sneaker designers around. He's also one of just a handful of Black people who managed to find major success as a creative in the industry.

In a career spanning three decades, Edwards launched his own brand, SITY, and completed a 10-year stint as Nike's footwear design director, where he designed for the Air Jordan brand. To date, Edwards has created over 500 styles for athletes like Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, and Michael Jordan.

But even with all of his success, Edwards said he felt like it wasn't enough. 

"I realized there was just a greater purpose for my existence in this industry than just to design shoes for athletes," he said, explaining his decision to stop working as a full-time designer in 2010 and start Pensole, a design academy that encourages the next wave of young footwear designers on their path into the industry.

Since its founding, Pensole has placed more than 475 former graduates at brands such as Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas.

But beyond nurturing budding designers, Edwards has also embarked on another mission to correct what he sees as an overarching problem in the industry.

As national attention shifts to conversations around diversity and inclusion, Edwards is collaborating with sportswear and sneaker industry workers and alumni in actively fighting for change through The African American Footwear Forum (AAFF). This organization works to address and solve diversity issues in the footwear industry. The forum held its second meeting on June 19, or Juneteenth, where Black professionals and industry workers virtually discussed and took stock of the state of diversity and opportunity for Black people in the field.

In describing his motivation to move into a more activist trajectory, Edwards described feeling fulfilled as a designer, though "incomplete as a Black man and as a person."

As such, Edwards has figured out how to leverage his experience to create more opportunities for other diverse candidates. He is doing so in his role at Pensole as well, with initiatives like the Leaders Emerge After Direction (LEAD) by Design program, which helps nurture students of color on their path towards a career in the industry via a partnership with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

"Right now, we all know there's not that many of us in the industry," Edwards said, noting that one of the forum's goals is to get an accurate census of Black people within each major company to fully understand the discrepancy within the industry. The Nike alumnus estimated that there are likely less than 200 black designers among thousands in the footwear industry right now.

Black representation in the sneaker industry

The sneaker community is largely considered intrinsically bound to Black culture. But for some industry people, this cultural influence isn't seen beyond outward messaging or campaigns. For example, marketing campaigns and celebrity partnerships from Adidas and Nike are known to prominently feature artists and athletes of color, such as Beyonce, Kanye West, and LeBron James.

"We're always talent, we're never the brains behind organizations, we're never a part of the organizational structure and the planning, the manufacturing," Edwards said. "We've been completely shut out of those areas."

After recruitment and retention, career advancement is one of the biggest problems for Black employees in the footwear and athletic-wear industry, said Darla Pires DeGrace, a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist. Pires DeGrace is also a former recruiter for Reebok and a member of AAFF. Beyond the office, activists say there is still work to be done in other sectors of the footwear industry, like at retail stores, to support other Black people in the field.

Some changes are already in place. Brands like Adidas, Nike, and Under Armour have all acknowledged company-wide problems with inclusion and diversity. As for Edwards, his role as a forum leader allows him to ignite important conversations with major footwear brands regarding diversity and inclusion. In Foot Locker's most recent earnings call, CEO and chairman Richard Johnson announced the company's continued partnership with Edwards, which involves funding training and mentorship programs for Black creatives.

"When it becomes a part of the way they do business, then that's when you'll have sustainable long-term impact," Edwards said. "If it's just cutting a check, that just serves the immediate purpose."

SEE ALSO: Trevor Edwards was the highest-ranking Black employee at Nike until 2018. Now the former exec is guiding new brands on diversity and inclusion 2 years after his high-profile ouster from the sportswear giant.

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Before there was StockX or GOAT, there was eBay.

Therein lies the e-commerce website's claim as the originator of the sneaker resale game. Until other competitive resale marketplaces popped up about a decade or so ago, eBay was the go-to platform for buying and selling hyped footwear releases.

But as sneaker resale ballooned into a multi-billion dollar industry, new competitors and innovations in the authentication and marketplace space forced eBay to fall behind. 

Read more:An eBay exec explains how the platform is poaching sneakerheads from StockX by empowering them with superior sales data

"I do think that we were, in all candor, a little bit asleep in the wheel," Jordan Sweetnam, eBay's senior vice president of North America, told Business Insider in an interview. "That the category like this could grow so quickly and we just, you know, sat idly by."

Now, eBay is playing catch-up in a race to reclaim its former glory. And over the past 12 months, it has made some major moves while on the comeback trail.

eBay's winning sneakers strategy

eBay's investment in the sneaker category has become notably aggressive in the last year.

"Sneakers was at the top of the list of categories where we were contracting [losing business] year-over-year," Sweetnam said about eBay's sneaker business up until about a year ago. "It's this incredible space; the average sneaker customer is going to shop in 10 unique categories. That's twice the average eBay customer. And yet our business was shrinking. It was crazy."

eBay made its first major move in sneakers in December of 2019, when it eliminated North American seller fees for any sneaker sold at $100 or more. eBay previously charged fees of up to 10% to sellers, which deterred some sneakerheads from using the platform. StockX and GOAT both charge various fees for sellers on their platforms.

An even larger push forward came last month, when eBay launched a program for authenticating sneakers  sold on its marketplace worth over $100. This landmark move essentially eliminated one of the platform's most talked about pain points for buyers and resellers: mistakenly purchasing counterfeit pairs. It also mitigated a key advantage that, for a while, had been exclusive to platforms like StockX and GOAT. 

eBay's first authentication center is located in New York, but Sweetnam said there are plans to open another center on the West Coast to enable the platform to process 2 million sneakers a year and cut down on shipping times for sneakers shipped from the region.

eBay's key advantages over StockX and GOAT

Even before eBay launched authentication for sneakers in October, it was already seeing an over 50% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV), or inventory, year-to-date in the category. And while addressing seller fees and authentication helped spur eBay's growth in sneakers, there are certain key advantages that Sweetnam says had already made the platform unique.

"For us, it isn't just about only having new in-box sneakers in perfect condition," Sweetnam said. Unlike StockX, eBay facilitates the sale of new — or deadstock  — pairs, as well as used ones. "The ability for us to expand this into non-new is going to be really important."

Sweetnam also highlighted the ability for eBay sellers to create a personalized brand on the platform. StockX and GOAT do not give sellers as much liberty when it comes to personalizing their stores and overall profile on the site. By comparison, eBay sellers can create their own online "stores," complete with a profile and description, which helps them establish credibility and consistency with buyers on the platform.

"I love that our sellers have identity on eBay. That makes them excited to talk about their eBay presence and drive traffic to eBay," Sweetnam said. "That's part of the fun of building a business on eBay — is your identity."

eBay also provides sellers with a detailed set of analytics via a free foundational tool called Terapeak, which equips sellers with historical sales data for categories and specific items.

"As we start to bring all those things together, I think we are just uniquely positioned to have the world's largest supply and selection in sneakers covering new and pre-owned," Sweetnam said, adding that he ultimately expects eBay to cover an even broader range of customers than StockX and GOAT. 

"If you go back to how we were founded: the place to go for collectibles, the things that excite you, the things you can't find, I think we're so uniquely positioned to deliver the best experiences for buyers and sellers in these categories," he said.

SEE ALSO: eBay is launching a sneaker-authentication program, in another attempt to win over resellers from StockX and dominate the multibillion-dollar sneaker-resale industry

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Like many athletic-wear companies, Adidas is aiming to improve its diversity and inclusion efforts. 

One year ago, The New York Times reported that less than 4.5% of the 1,700 Adidas employees at the company's Portland, Oregon, campus identified as Black, according to internal employment figures from summer 2018.

Business Insider previously spoke to employees at Adidas who cited issues of upward advancement for Black people at the company. Some of these employees have been protesting at the company's US headquarters and speaking up about what they describe as an uncomfortable and problematic environment for people of color.

Other companies in the industry are confronting similar issues. Nike and Under Armour have also acknowledged their part in maintaining a workplace lacking in diversity and inclusion. Both have announced new initiatives to tackle the problem head-on.

Read more: POWER LIST: Here are the 28 most outstanding people of color transforming the sneaker industry today, from designers to influencers

Adidas is spearheading certain initiatives to increase diversity, such as aiming to fill a minimum of 30% of all open positions with Black and Latinx talent and investing $120 million in social justice and anti-racist initiatives. The company also launched an employee-led group, the US United Against Racism Accountability Council, to oversee Adidas' commitments to diversity and equity.

"At Adidas, we're focused on working with our employees and empowering them to accelerate diversity, equality, and inclusion within our organization and our communities," an Adidas spokesperson said in a statement. "The fight against racism is one that must be fought continually and actively, and we recognize the work that so many of our employees are doing from inside the company. Together, we can create lasting change."

Beyond company-driven initiatives, individuals at Adidas are pushing the company towards its diversity goals. Business Insider identified 15 of these outstanding people at Adidas who are leading the charge for diversity and inclusion. After a nomination process, inclusion in the list was based on multiple factors, including an individual's impact on Adidas' diversity and inclusion efforts. The final list was determined through our reporting.

SEE ALSO: POWER LIST: Here are the 28 most outstanding people of color transforming the sneaker industry today, from designers to influencers

Victoria Adesanmi

Role: Color and material designer 

Career highlights: In her role at as a color and material designer at Adidas, Victoria Adesanmi has created footwear for a variety of athletes and artists, including Kanye West.

She started her career at Adidas working on the Alphabounce sneaker and then moved to the Yeezy team in 2018 to design for the brand. In 2019, she joined the team that collaborated with Jonah Hill for a collection and currently works on color and material for the footwear division of Ivy Park, Beyonce's collection with Adidas. Adesanmi is a graduate of Pensole, a design academy that encourages the next wave of young footwear designers on their path into the industry. She was nominated in 2019 as a member of The Future 50, an honor presented by Nice Kicks that highlights Black leaders in the footwear industry.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "It is important for us to narrate our own stories and for our voices to be heard as we are the most influential consumer within this industry," Adesanmi said. "I hope companies begin to shift and reallocate their resources from marketing to us to properly investing in us. You can't be what you [can't] see so, I pray that this industry as a whole continues to give Black people like myself opportunities to be seen and celebrated to show the next generation what's possible."

Shakir Ramsey

Role: Global director of strategy and innovation for digital partnerships

Career highlights: Shakir Ramsey currently works as the global director of strategy and innovation at Adidas, where he establishes digital partnerships with leading creators and artists.

Ramsey specifically focuses on the gaming, music, and film industries to find diverse talent to work with Adidas. In addition to working with influencers, Ramsey also works to increase the visibility of Black and brown start-ups in his role working on Platform A, Adidas's sports accelerator program that connects the company with smaller startups to work together towards innovation in product and business models.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "For a long time diverse communities (especially Black and brown) have originated and innovated fashion trends and cycles that have shaped the identity and language of 'cool' in pop culture, à la sneakers and clothing," Ramsey said. "In many instances, these communities are at a disadvantage socially and economically with few resources to own or get credit for their creativity.  It is important that brands that target and sell to these communities promote diversity and inclusion to show compassion beyond transaction.  So many of these communities are full of visionaries and entrepreneurs with drive and intelligence, and they need brands with mega-platforms to dispel consumer stereotypes and show the richness of their truth, to change the world."

Sa'rah Sabino

Role: Senior footwear designer

Career highlights: Sa'rah "Rah" Sabino has been designing footwear professionally since 2013, when she started as an assistant designer at Nike's Converse brand.

Today, she works as a senior designer for statement footwear at Adidas, where she focuses on products for Pharrell Williams' Adidas line. While at Adidas, Sabino has also worked on products for Men's Originals, Yeezy, Kid Cudi, Pusha-T, Ivy Park, and Damian Lillard. As a woman of color, Sabino said one of her lifelong goals is to encourage young people of color to make it in the industry. She does this by leading outreach programs to give back to local communities of color as a member of Adidas's Employee Resource Group for people of color, Progressive Soles. As part of Adidas' MLK Day programming, Sabino also leads a workshop for local Black and brown kids in Portland that pairs employees with mentees to discuss bringing their dreams of working in the industry to life. Sabino graduated from Pensole, a design academy that encourages and readies the next wave of young footwear designers.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "In my humble opinion, it is our duty as People of Color who have found a way into these seats to pull up a few extra spots for those to come after us. We need to build the future that we want to see," Sabino said. "For years, communities of color have curated and created the culture that drives billions of dollars of revenue in these companies. It is simply a miss of the industry to just now, in 2020, realize how important these conversations are. We need to ensure the equal opportunity of building generational career paths for all People of Color who have the interest and willpower to enter this industry. It's equally important for young people, to see themselves in those who are sitting in these seats, promoting a healthy and overdue cycle of turning dreams into fruition."

Eric Wise

Role: Global VP of product for Adidas Originals

Career highlights: Since Joining Adidas in 2016 as director of merchandising for Foot Inc. brands, Eric Wise was promoted multiple times finally landing in his current role in April, where he leads global marketing for Adidas Originals.

In addition to his official job at Adidas, Wise has helped shape the company's United Against Racism (UAR) commitments and has worked directly with Adidas' North American President Zion Armstrong in his role as a co-chair and executive sponsor of the brand's US United Against Racism Accountability Council. He is also a member of Adidas' Global Committee to Accelerate Inclusion and Equality and recently helped launch Honoring Black Excellence, a company movement focused on engaging communities with specific activations focused on Black culture.  

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "First and foremost, data shows that diverse teams produce better results than non-diverse teams in the corporate setting," Wise said. "And secondly, Generation Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in history. In order to understand this generation and be consumer-centric, companies need to mirror what their consumer looks like. This will enable companies to build authentic relationships with their target consumers both short term and long term."

Cheresse Thornhill

Role: Design director of Adidas S.E.E.D (School for Experiential Education in Design)

Career highlights: Cheresse Thornhill is the design director for Adidas S.E.E.D. (School for Experiential Education in Design), which is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

Via a partnership with the Pensole Design Academy and Pharrell Williams, S.E.E.D facilitates an entryway into careers in design for women from diverse backgrounds. To Thornhill, passing on her knowledge to a new diverse wave of talent is the "culmination" of her extensive career in the industry. Thornhill started her career at Nike as a footwear design intern with Nike SB (Skateboarding) in 2006. She went on to work full-time at Nike for more than nine years, designing women's sneakers and sportswear as well as basketball footwear like the Jordan 16.5 and the Jordan Flight. Before she joined Adidas, Thornhill pivoted to helping young talent find their way into the industry by founding No Shoes Creative, LLC, her own design consultancy, in 2016.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "It's not enough for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to only promote our voices but they must create access and pathways into the industry for BIPOC," Thornhill said. "Brands and corporations must see value in BIPOC voices beyond just consumer insights and marketplace dollars but value in our thoughts, ideas, partnership, and a seat at the table. Diverse knowledge, perspectives, thought processes, and experiences lead to infinitely more innovative ideas. It's not just good business but a law of nature, one cannot reap where they have not sown. BIPOC within brands also shoulder the responsibility of holding their brand accountable and leading the charge in being the change we want to see in our industry for generations to come."

Caroline Lew-Wolf

Role: VP of business development

Career highlights: Caroline Lew-Wolf oversees Adidas' strategy and business development teams for North America.

She came to Adidas in 2016 after an over 20-year career in the consumer products and sneaker industries. Passionate about advocating for women and minorities, Lew-Wolf is a member of Adidas' United Against Racism (UAR) accountability council, working with a group of employees, athletes, and artists to ensure accountability and change from within the company. Lew-Wolf is also an advisor on Adidas' employee resource group focused on engaging the Asian community.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry: "It is important for people of color to play a role in the sneaker industry today because sneakers are a celebration and reflection of inner-city communities and culture," Lew-Wolf said. "People of color should not only play a role, but also lead the innovation, evolution, and growth of the industry."

Aaron Seabron

Role: Senior director of baseball business

Career highlights: Seabron started at Adidas in 2016 as the director of wholesale strategy. He currently leads strategy for Adidas' baseball category globally.

In his role as senior director of the baseball unit, he oversees marketing for product and sports as well as brand communications. He also works closely with the teams for product development and design. Seabron helped create Adidas' United Against Racism (UAR) commitments and co-leads the company's accountability efforts as a member of the Adidas' UAR accountability council. 

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "The athletic-wear and sneaker industry can attribute much of its success to the voices of BIPOC. Our industry is woven into the fabric of diverse communities because of its critical role in self-expression," Seabron said. "Communities of color are the heartbeat that gives this industry life, not just through their financial support, but also through their people and culture. We have a responsibility to elevate diverse communities to see themselves not just as consumers, but as individuals with the power to shape the world they consume. If done correctly, we can harness the passion for our products to have a unique and powerful impact on future generations."

Ayesha Martin

Role: Director of global purpose

Career highlights: Ayesha Martin joined Adidas in 2014 as an internal social media lead for the Women's category. She later moved to the brand strategy and development side, where she worked on partnerships with creators to tell women's stories through product. In her current role as Adidas' director of global purpose, Martin focuses on helping Adidas create change and innovation through community-centered initiatives and grassroots impact programs. 

Martin led a partnership with a resource group focused on education to develop an experiential learning curriculum to introduce young people of color to the fashion and design industries. A South African woman of color, Martin is passionate about helping Adidas excel in the realm of inclusion and equity. She is also a part of Adidas' United Against Racism group, where she focuses on addressing the lack of opportunities for BIPOC in the industry.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "I believe that for our industry it needs to go beyond 'promoting' diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC — which, as a member of the BIPOC community, can land as largely performative," Martin said. "More sustainable and impactful change comes with taking responsibility individually and collectively; to actively engage in being anti-racist. Our (the BIPOC community's) voices and craft have shaped culture – and this industry -  for generations. Reclaiming our seats and getting recognition for our contribution should not be an exception to the rule, it should be the norm."

Victor Wilson

Role: Footwear materials designer

Career highlights: Victor Wilson is responsible for the material selection and design for Adidas' performance footwear.

Before venturing into the design side of materials, Wilson spent years on the development and strategy side of footwear as a development manager. Throughout his career, he has created over 300 footwear models. He also introduced a thermo-regulating technology to Adidas' sneaker lifestyle offering in 2018. Wilson has served as a cultural consultant to help senior leadership analyze cultural sensitivities related to products and other matters. This year, he led a workshop that outlined the company's efforts against racism. 

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "BIPOC, specifically Black people, are largely responsible for the mega-success of athletic-wear and sneaker companies today," Wilson said. "Black people account for billions of annual revenue in the athletic space spanning over several decades — from the influence and authentication through sport, to innovating and creating an entire culture that has been accepted and adopted globally. BIPOC are not only the driving force behind product creation, we are also helping to create longevity and a more promising future for the entire industry."

Julia Bond

Role: Assistant designer, Adidas Originals

Career highlights: Julia Bond is an assistant designer at Adidas, where she creates products for Men's Originals.

Bond was only a few months into her full-time designing job at Adidas when she became the face for activism and change within the company. In June, she wrote an open letter to the company that called out leadership for ignoring what she described as "systemic racism" at the brand. Bond asked for a public apology from Adidas and continues to lead protests at the brand's Oregon headquarters at noon every day in pursuit of a response from the company. In addition to her roles as designer and activist, Bond is a dancer with the Freshvibe Dance Crew.

Why people of color are important to the sneaker industry:"This is an industry that uses Black bodies as mannequins and Black culture for profit, but does not always celebrate or amplify Black minds within the space," Bond said. "Black erasure is a real thing, and our industry can do better if it amplifies black voices and perspectives in the space. It's so necessary and long overdue. This industry would be nothing without Blackness, and I see that some people are recognizing that. Black people need to be in this industry because at its core, it is us."

Raymond Boyd

Role: Global category director for the Beyonce collection

Career highlights: Raymond Boyd currently works as Adidas' global category director for the brand's partnership with Beyonce. He has worked at Adidas for six and a half years, starting with his first role as a product manager for basketball footwear.

Between 2015 and 2017, Boyd led Adidas' Black History Month (BHM) collections, which told the stories of Black athletes and icons like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jesse Owens, and Arthur Ashe. In 2016, he shifted to apparel and worked on collections for athletes such as James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Derrick Rose. Before joining the Beyonce team, Boyd worked with the Yeezy brand from 2017 to June of 2020.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "I not only believe it's important for companies in our industry to promote it (diversity and inclusion), I believe we have a responsibility to do so!," Boyd said. "We partner with Black athletes and entertainers, we market and sell product in Black and Latin communities. We have a responsibility to show those kids that we don't have to just be consumers, athletes or entertainers; their experiences and voice are extremely valuable and valued. Their voices can and have cultivated great product, business, marketing, strategy, design ideas and more!"

Liz Connelly

Role: Program manager for Adidas S.E.E.D. 

Career highlights: Liz Connelly is the program manager for Adidas S.E.E.D. (School for Experiential Education in Design), an alternative two-year design program headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that helps women from diverse backgrounds find careers in the footwear industry.

Connelly cofounded S.E.E.D in 2019 via a partnership with Pensole and Pharrell Williams and currently identifies high-potential talent for the program. Connelly attributes the early success of S.E.E.D to her team and partners involved, all of whom are working to create more opportunity for women and minorities in the industry. Connelly started her career at Adidas in 2016 in talent acquisition and later moved to recruiting for design and innovation roles. 

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "Our industry is a massive global influence thanks to its position at the intersection of sports, music, and fashion," Connelly said. "At the helm are the voices and actions of the BIPOC community. Not only should our industry promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC, but we should ensure our employee base is reflective of who we create for."

Aric Armon

Role: Footwear designer for football

Career highlights: Aric Armon currently designs footwear for Adidas' football division. He joined Adidas in 2013 as a full-time designer after completing an internship there.

Before that, Armon had the chance to take a footwear design class at the Pensole Design Academy, thanks to a scholarship that he won from Adidas in his senior year of college. As a designer for Adidas, Armon has worked across the football, baseball, basketball, running, training, and lifestyle categories. Armon recently created a curriculum for footwear design that he teaches as an adjunct professor at the Academy of Art University, his alma mater. He is also creating a design program with Pensole meant to help youth from underserved communities learn about how to get involved in the world of sports and footwear.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "There is a lot of work to be done and it's the responsibility and obligation of the industry as a whole to right what they already know is wrong and it is up to the consumer to hold them accountable," Armon said. "It's not just about trying to sell a dream that if you buy these shoes, you'll be a better athlete. It's about selling the dream that if you like shoes, there are careers that you can pursue. You don't have to be just a consumer, you can be a creator. It is also the responsibility for the diverse talent within this industry to reach back into their communities to inspire the next generation coming after them. We need to show them that we do exist and that there is a path forward if they want it."

Charlie Kirihara

Role: Color and materials designer

Career highlights: During his five years at Adidas, Charlie Kirihara has worked on designing and constructing products for the company's US football division. In this role, he has worked on designing cleats for the NCAA, NFL, and for consumer purchase in stores.

Kirihara has also worked with top athletes such as Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller. Working closely with such figures has allowed Kirihara and his team to accurately tell diverse and authentic stories about football culture and the athletes that live it on and off the field. 

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "It's important for sneaker companies to promote diversity and inclusion because it eliminates a one-track way of thinking. I am fortunate to work on a diverse team in football and appreciate that everyone has a voice, no matter their background or title," Kirihara said. "There are still many opportunities to improve on our representation within the category and the company but I feel that we are headed in the right direction. Anyone should have an opportunity to work in this industry and I look toward contributing to a future where that is truly possible."

Jessica Smith

Role: Global director of future talent acquisition and university relations

Career highlights: In her director role on Adidas' talent acquisition team, Jessica Smith helps identify early career and high-potential talent for the company.

Part of her job involves maintaining relationships with various universities for recruitment purposes, but Smith also keeps the door open for a diverse set of candidates by exploring talent at less traditional training programs. Smith helped launch Adidas S.E.E.D., one example of a different way for people to get their foot in the industry. Smith is currently a doctoral candidate in organizational change and leadership at the University of Southern California.

Why is it important for athletic-wear and sneaker companies to promote diversity, inclusion, and the voices of BIPOC? "The trajectory of people's lives shouldn't be determined by the circumstances they were born into related to their identities," Smith said. "Our belief is through sport we have the power to change lives. That is on and off the pitch. And that includes supporting all people's dreams, removing barriers to those dreams, and ensuring an accessible pathway for all to lives of passion and purpose."

eBay is gunning to be number one in the world of sneaker reselling. And by finally launching a sustainable authentication program, the company hopes it can continue to close the gap on competitors like StockX and GOAT. 

The platform's new service, which authenticates sneakers worth over $100 sold on its marketplace, launched last month. The move is eBay's latest attempt to reclaim its former glory as the originator of the sneaker resale game, following the elimination of North American seller fees last December.

"Making sure that people are getting exactly what they want is important," Jordan Sweetnam, eBay's senior vice president of North America, told Business Insider in an interview about eBay's decision to launch an authentication program. "Are the laces in the box? Is it in the right condition if you're storing this for resale value?"

Read more:A 28-year-old quit his insurance job to resell discontinued items on Amazon. Here's how he's sold $1.2 million worth of goods on the platform since 2015.

When it comes to the sale of hyped sneakers —or any luxury item, for that matter — buyers want to know that they are not being scammed with counterfeit goods. And as sneaker resale explodes into a multibillion dollar industry, other resale marketplaces like StockX and GOAT have already made authentication services a key component of their business models. 

How eBay set up an authentication center during a pandemic

Launching anything during a pandemic can be risky. But eBay's efforts have likely mitigated a key advantage that, for a while, had been exclusive to aforementioned competitors. 

Sweetnam said that eBay made the decision to get into sneaker authentication about six months ago, as the pandemic accelerated interest in the sneaker category overall. Even before launching authentication, eBay was seeing over 50% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV), or inventory, year-to-date in footwear.

To set up the center itself, eBay relied on guidance from its authentication partner, Sneaker Con, the world's largest sneaker show that also runs a popular resale marketplace app with its own authentication service. 

Sweetnam confirmed that authenticators in eBay's launched New York center are currently following standard safety procedures during the pandemic including social distancing and mask-wearing.

In April, Business Insider reported that StockX — which operates six authentication centers globally and four in the US — had recorded seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 at centers as employees complained about unsafe working conditions. And as of August, delays in authenticating real pairs of sneakers due to the coronavirus were still causing some people to wait weeks for their orders and payouts. GOAT has similarly stated that buyers should expect delays due to COVID-19 related workflow delays. 

"Everything in the pandemic is more complicated," Sweetnam said, explaining how other aspects of launching authentication had to be modified to accommodate for the circumstances of the pandemic.

For example, in designing the hang tags that indicate a pair of sneakers has passed inspection, eBay had to work around the unavailability of in-person focus groups to figure out a design that would excite sneaker enthusiasts. To do this, eBay relied on internal user research and feedback from Sneaker Con.

eBay also forwent a formal "unveiling" of the service. Under normal circumstances, launches of this scale are usually celebrated in large, in-person gatherings. But for its sneaker authentication launch, eBay relied on videos and virtual content to help spread the word to users. 

"It has been logistically challenging to pull off," Sweetnam said of the launch, which he describes as successful thus far. 

In addition to the new center in New York, Sweetnam said there are plans to open another center on the West Coast to enable eBay to process a total of 2 million sneakers a year and cut down on shipping times for sneakers shipped.

SEE ALSO: An eBay exec explains how its move into sneaker authentication could help it topple StockX and GOAT as the leader of the multibillion-dollar resale market

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Your Air Jordans could soon lace themselves.

Twenty-five years after the first sketches of Nike's Air Jordan 11 were made, the brand is updating the iconic sneaker with its "Adapt" self-lacing tech in a new shoe coming December 30.

Wearers control the laces via Bluetooth using a Nike app that lets them customize the fit of the sneakers.

They can also change the color of the flashing lights on the side of the shoes.

The tech makes the sneakers "the most personalized Jumpman shoes to date," the Jordan Brand said.

The sneakers are white with black accents, and small touches of red.

Nike first debuted self-lacing sneakers back in 2016, with its HyperAdapt 1.0 model that cost $720 a pair.

Nike returned to the market with a revised product in January 2019. The Nike Adapt BB were aimed at performance sport players, and were less than half the price of the brand's first self-lacing shoes.

Nike's statement about the new Air Jordans didn't include a price – but sneaker site Nice Kicks estimated it could be around the $500 mark.

The Air Jordan XI Adapt will be available from December 30. 

Read more:Here are the 28 most outstanding people of color transforming the sneaker industry today, from designers to influencers

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the shoe, the brand is also releasing The Air Jordan Jubilee, which is black with white accents, and features a metallic silver Jumpman logo.

The Jubilee model will go on sale December 12.

SEE ALSO: NIKE CEO: Self-lacing shoes will be as big as self-driving cars

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For many apparel and footwear resellers, Supreme used to be a gold mine.

Products released from the New York City-based streetwear brand have historically offered high returns on investment on the resale market, thanks to the limited stock of its weekly drops. A Supreme box logo crew neck sweater that retailed for $158 is currently fetching around $700 on StockX, a leading resale platform. And cookie packages from Supreme's collaboration with Oreo in February went for as much as $17,000 on eBay.

Read more:Kanye West's Gap partnership could increase the value of certain Yeezy sneakers. Here are the top 5 pairs to invest in right now, according to experts.

But now, Supreme fans fear that time could be running out for the brand that has been a symbol for counter-culture and the rejection of the mainstream since its founding in 1994. On Monday, Supreme was sold to VF Corporation, which owns Vans, The North Face, and Timberland, for $2.1 billion. Since streetwear thrives on scarcity, analysts suggested that the acquisition from a company that lives in the world of mass production could make Supreme susceptible to potentially losing some of its hype-driven value. 

"Ultimately, streetwear and scale do not make sense together," streetwear analyst Justin Gage said. "If you mass produce Supreme, it dies."

Under the acquisition, Supreme will now have access to VF's global supply chain, international platforms, digital functions, and consumer knowledge.

While some Supreme fans see the sale to VF as a sign of the brand's oncoming death, some resale experts say that certain Supreme products will likely continue to perform well on the resale market.

According to Amir Azarcon, sneaker and streetwear expert at luxury consignment retailer The RealReal, demand and resale value for a brand tend to increase when it announces a new acquisition or change in leadership.

"Case in point, I don't think this announcement will have a negative impact on Supreme's resale value and could actually contribute to it seeing higher resale values," he said.

The consensus among experts agree that Supreme is not dead, yet. But given the shift to VF, Business Insider asked resale experts which Supreme products will most likely retain their value on the resale market over the long haul and which items fans should invest in now.

SEE ALSO: Supreme fans are lamenting its 'death' after its sale to VF this week, but analysts say there is hope for the future of the iconic streetwear brand and its identity as a symbol of counterculture

Box logo and certain collaborations are good investments

Some of Supreme's most popular items are those that feature the company's iconic "box logo" on them. According to Kenneth Anand, a lawyer, former general counsel at Yeezy, and coauthor of the book "Sneaker Law," these items, as well as other Supreme accessories, tend to do well on the resale market.

"It's a combination of the brand's history and clever marketing that makes these items so highly coveted," he said. 

Supreme collaborations with other brands are another area of opportunity, he added.

"For example, The North Face, Bape, and Louis Vuitton collaborations are not just hyped, they're actually good products and are always well-executed," he said, adding that while certain items will always be desirable, others, such as Oreos, will not stay fresh for long.

Like Anand, The RealReal's Azarcon also pointed to Supreme's collection with The North Face as a collaboration worth investing in.

"Specifically, I see that The North Face x Supreme jackets consistently sell above retail, and personally, I think they are a highlight of every season," he said.

He added that investing in some of Supreme's furniture and art collaborations with artists like Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Damien Hirst is also worth considering.

Vintage and original products will likely retain or increase in value

According to some experts, older Supreme items will likely continue to be a novelty. 

"I think certain 'vintage' and limited Supreme items will maintain, if not increase, in value," Anand said. "There are currently some Supreme buyers who will only purchase older and more rare items, so we're already seeing less excitement around the newer released products from this group of purists."

Azarcon said that he generally expects more people to be interested in buying Supreme's "vintage, rare, and one-of-a-kind pieces." This would include items from Supreme's original collections and collaborations such as Supreme x Comme des Garçons and Supreme x Nike SB Dunks.

"I would recommend holding on to items from these desirable collections with the idea that in the future there could be more demand for them," he said."It will only be a matter of time before people start looking for older pieces again."

"The appeal of their vintage items is that it's just as wearable today as it was in the '90s or early 2000s so it is always trending," he added.

Louis Vuitton x Supreme is a winner

Azarcon also advises resellers to invest in the Louis Vuitton x Supreme collaboration if they are looking for something that will likely skyrocket on the resale market. 

"We saw that the average resale value for Louis Vuitton x Supreme is 4.9 times stronger than Louis Vuitton and 1.9 times stronger than Supreme [alone]," he said. 

Despite the success of certain past Supreme collaborations, Anand advises people to steer clear of holding onto newer collaboration items for the long haul.

"For the general market, forthcoming collabs and other limited run pieces should still drive initial excitement on the resale market," he said. "But I don't see many of these pieces being good long term growth investments."

There's an internal philosophy that guides innovation at Nike. To make something unique, you have to think outside the "berm," what employees have nicknamed the perimeter of Nike's 286-acre campus in Beaverton, Oregon.

When it came to SNKRS, the brand's app for high-heat footwear releases, going beyond the berm was more than just a mindset. Whether loved or despised, SNKRS has become an indisputable star of Nike's digital profile since its official launch on February 11, 2015. 

In fiscal year 2019, revenue from SNKRS accounted for $750 million, or 20%, of Nike's overall digital business. In a call with investors, on June 27, 2019, Nike CEO Mark Parker praised the explosive growth of the app, calling it "an incredible asset" that was growing faster than any other digital channel for the brand.

The launch of the SNKRS ultimately represented a conscious decision by Nike to invest in its digital and direct-to-consumer capabilities. But getting leadership on board was different story. It was up to a small team of creatives and designers to bring the idea of a sneakers app to life, and to persuade Nike leadership to invest in the project.

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"We did go unconventional," said Vik Singh, one of the people who worked on the early iteration of the app.

Singh, along with a small group of contractors and Nike employees, created SNKRS between March and June 2013, out of a rented space in San Francisco, hundreds of miles from the Nike campus. This kind of innovation, while not unheard of for projects at Nike, defined SNKRS from day one.

Today, many see the SNKRS app as another channel for disappointment in the world of modern-day sneakers. On the surface, it's another way to get — or, in many cases, fail to get — the latest kicks. It has also become a cultural icon, a symbol of the heat and increasing competitiveness of the footwear industry.

But according to five former employees who worked on the app, SNKRS was destined for more than hype. The story of the app, as told to Business Insider by the people who brought it to life, started with a genuine collective passion for kicks and the culture that surrounds them.

Nike declined to comment for this story. 

An idea is born

In 2012 SNKRS was a concept, a proverbial "bullet on a slide," as Singh recalled. The atmosphere was ripe for innovation. "Direct-to-consumer" and "digital" were buzzwords at Nike and beyond as they still are today. At the same time, sneakers were getting hotter.

Nike already had running and training club apps. Some top leaders knew a sneaker-exclusive app was the next step for the company. According to Trevor Edwards, Nike's president from 2013 until 2018 and a key figure involved in the inception of SNKRS, such an app could render in-person lines and lottery-style drops — common pain points for sneakerheads— a thing of the past. It could also provide crucial insights into the wants of the digital consumer.

"This was a very effective strategy to figure out how to serve them better," Edwards said.

But SNKRS was still only an idea in 2013. There was no official budget or designated team for the program. An assortment of Nike employees from digital, commerce, marketing, and other categories were brought to work on the app as a side project.

"That was extra credit," Singh recalled of his early days with SNKRS. He was asked to work on the app in addition to his official role as a digital brand director for Nike sportswear near the end of 2012. "That was like moonlighting."

Evan Steinberg, who reported to Singh at the time, moonlighted on the project while working as Nike's digital brand manager for mobile apps and digital commerce. Jesse Stollak was the VP, of digital marketing and innovation at the time. He oversaw Singh and the SNKRS project while heading up Nike's digital brand strategy.

With Steinberg, Singh, and Stollak starting to make the app a reality, getting off the berm was the essential next step. 

'Project Valiant'

Singh, who describes himself as one of the founders of SNKRS, brought on two independent contractors who would become key players leading the design of the app: Darian Edwards and Daniel Hall.

Between March and June 2013, the pair, along with a developer and a handful of junior designers, prototyped and designed what would become the SNKRS app out of a rented coworking space in San Francisco called Shared SF, at 739 Bryant St. Singh and Steinberg stayed in Beaverton but were in contact with the team in San Francisco daily and were responsible for providing updates to Stollak.

The project was dubbed "Valiant," a hat tip to Nike's founder Phil Knight, who famously conducted Nike's first sales from the back of his Plymouth Valiant. SNKRS was aiming for a similarly intimate direct-to-consumer approach, albeit one suited for the digital age.

Project Valiant was still mostly a concept in early 2013. The prototype, proof of concept, was the key to get the people back home fully on board.

"We needed to go back and show them something real," said Darian Edwards, who was responsible for the digital design of the app. "So we got that space and we got to work."

From sketch to prototype

San Francisco in 2013 was a breeding ground for innovation. Uber and Lyft had only recently launched there. Slack, the office communication platform with over $1.4 billion in current total funding, would launch from the Golden Gate City in February 2014.

"It felt like you were living in the future," Hall said. "It was a really cool time."

Everyone had their own area of expertise to make up what Hall described as a "scrappy, fast team." As a digital producer, Hall oversaw the prototype's development and kept the project on time and within budget. Darian Edwards led product design and user experience.

Among their skill sets, one key factor united them all: a genuine passion for sneaker culture and community. That was what fueled their work.

"Everybody had the same goal in mind," said Hall, who first met Singh in the early 2000s when they worked at a Nike store in Georgia. "We all had a common interest in sneakers and footwear."

Edwards recalled sketching ideas for the app before he was even officially brought on to the team in San Francisco. When he was approached by Singh, he was wrapping up a project for Dropbox, unrelated to Nike. He, too, would initially moonlight SNKRS as a passion project.

A South Side Chicago native, Edwards had looked up to Michael Jordan and the Nike brand since childhood. Working on SNKRS was more than just an opportunity to put his product acumen to use. It was a way to channel his skills into something he genuinely loved.

"We were just so passionate, both about the brand and about these products," Edwards said.

Designing the app

In his first sketches, Edwards was inspired by the feed-based interfaces of social-media apps like Facebook and Twitter.

"We all live in these feeds," Edwards said, referring to his brainstorming process. "What if there is a sneaker feed?"

This initial feed was made up of individual images or "cards." Once the user tapped on a card, they'd be offered additional images and editorial content related to the pair.

"It's almost like a portal — and you can unpack this deeper story when you tap in it," Edwards said.

He called his initial sketch "Nike Pulse," referring to the user's ability to stay on top of the pulse of everything Nike, from products to content. 

This feed-based approach, much of which still characterizes the app, would integrate product and editorial storytelling, what Hall described as a hybrid model between a standard shopping experience and "big story moments." 

During his time at 739 Bryant, Hall worked on experimental and basic product photography work for the app's prototype, in addition to his other duties as digital producer.

Back to the berm

By June 2013 the team had a prototype. Now it was time to sell the concept back to Nike.

The bones of the app were in place, though there would still be another 17 months before the app would officially launch. 

Foundational features, like the app's feed structure, would remain. Other concepts never made it past the idea generation. A community-building feature that would allow users to chat with other sneakerheads was cut before launch. Other complex animations were cut as well.

Edwards was hired to continue working at Nike as a design lead, during which he saw SNKRS through several iterations. Hall continued to work for Nike as an independent contractor focusing more deeply on photography for SNKRS via his production company, Where It's Greater, which still works with Nike today. 

Sneaker porn

It was during this time that Hall took SNKRS' photography to the next level. He helped codify a new set of six universal angles for shooting sneakers and experimented with light and editing.

Having attractive product images — what Hall and Edwards both described as sneaker porn — was top of mind.

"We were like, we need to level up how we romanticize sneakers, and then we have to figure out how we do that at scale," Singh explained. That's where Hall's expertise came into the picture.

"They didn't just want to repurpose the Nike photography that was being already used," Hall explained. "They wanted to capture it their own way. They wanted to have their own design language."

Hall pioneered a new method for sneaker photography at Nike that informed how pairs would be shot across all the company's digital platforms.

For example, while footwear-industry standards dictate that the right shoe is the one displayed in product images online, Hall used the left shoe when he shot for SNKRS. This was done to ensure that Nike's iconic swoosh would not appear backwards in the images, as had previously been the case on Nike.com.

 "The art direction for photography, the playbook that Dan put together for how we capture photos and content, the interface guidelines, and all of that became the Nike digital creative foundation," Darian Edwards said. "Everything that you see right now — from visual, UI, systems, architecture, platform — all started with SNKRS."

Other people at Nike came on to the project. Dennis Todisco, who joined Nike in early 2014, was also asked to offer insights for the app, in addition to his official role as the global digital marketing lead for sportswear.

"I was brought in because I have that insight between fashion, streetwear, sneakers," he said.  Todisco founded and runs Outfit Grid, an Instagram community for streetwear and style enthusiasts with 775,000 followers. "They were looking for somebody who kind of sat in that intersection of digital marketing and living within that space."

Like others who had touched SNKRS, Todisco did his project on the side.

SNKRS officially launched during the NBA All-Star Weekend 2015. To this day, Singh, Hall, and Darian Edwards cannot recall how or when the app got its official name.

The origin of the app's "You Got 'Em!" screen, which pops up upon a user's successful check-out, is also unclear. Singh said he implemented the phrase after hearing it used during games with his local Futsal team in Portland. Edwards recalls coming up with "Got 'Em!" as a way to perfectly capture the feeling of copping a pair.

Sebastian Speier, who worked as a global design director for the SNKRS app after its launch, believes the screen was influenced by a vintage Nike poster that hung in the New York studio he worked in that featured the words "Smoke 'Em."

A year and a half after SNKRS launched, Nike announced an acquisition of tech startup Virgin Mega and the opening of a New York digital studio, s23NYC, meant to refine Nike's mobile experiences, SNKRS included.

"It was really a nice transition," said Singh, who had moved on from his work on digital and SNKRS to a new role in Nike ID. "A handing of the baton from the existing experience over to them. They took what we had built and then created from there."

A hype-generator

In terms of goals, the SNKRS of today deviates from the vision of its founders. To critics, the channel is just another way to promote a lopsided system of supply and demand endemic within sneaker culture. 

"The app today is more oriented around hype and just selling, thereby missing the opportunity to surprise and delight the consumer with new services," Trevor Edwards said. He said he sees SNKRS as having mostly "delivered against its objectives."

Virgin Mega founder and CEO Ron Faris, now SNKRS' general manager, has intimated similar objectives since taking the helm of the project.

"We drop something in the piranha tank and see how fast the piranhas swarm around it," he told TechCrunch in 2017.

Perhaps thanks to industry competition and the hype-based approach of Faris, Project Valiant's initial goal has been lost in translation.

But people do win on SNKRS. This truth, like the legend of the Holy Grail, is what drives people to come back for more after every unsuccessful attempt. Because while the chance to win might be slight, it is still possible.

"I get an adrenaline rush when I hit a sneaker and when I'm able to check out," Todisco said. "When you see the 'Got 'Em!' it's one of the best feelings."

SEE ALSO: How Discord went from gaming and alt-right hub to a sneaker cook group hotbed, where resellers charge fees to share their secrets for cracking the $2 billion resale market

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• Adidas is offering 30% off your entire order when you add a pair of shoes to cart — just use code GETSHOES. 
• The sale ends November 22 and stock is limited, so we recommend acting fast to reap the savings. 
• Check out our review of Adidas' reflective Nite Joggers here and the rest of our style and beauty deals coverage here.
• Read Insider Reviews' Black Friday 2020 deals and Cyber Monday 2020 deals coverage for more savings.

Black Friday 2020 is next week and Adidas is already offering an excellent early deal. Right now, you can get 30% off your entire order when you add a pair of shoes to cart, just use code GETSHOES. 

This current 30% off offer is by far the best savings on the site at the moment. It's also rare for Adidas to offer discounts on your entire order — typically deals from the retailer are limited to certain collections and clearance. It doesn't require you to be a Creator's Club member either, though it's free to join. Membership gets you exclusive discounts year-round and rewards points with every purchase.

There are some exclusions, like YEEZYs and face covers, but Insider favorites like the Ultra Boost 19 and Pulseboost HD are down to new lows. Don't miss out: the sale runs from November 16 to 22 and stock is limited on popular styles.

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