Customizing with a Purpose
To celebrate the kickoff of the long-awaited continuation of the NBA and bring awareness to the BLM Movement, Outlandish Customs releases a new custom sneaker design that honors the Late Kobe Bryant and those that have fallen to police brutality.
Whether you’re the most die-hard basketball fan or haven’t even heard of the sport, you have heard of the famous and at times infamous Kobe Bryant and his passing away earlier this year. An unfortunate death that shook the world. However, this was not the only death that had an impact this year. The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor has called people across the world to call out the injustices in America, a task that the NBA has been proud to take on.
Travius Best, CEO of Outlandish Customs, says “I love basketball and the main reason for that was because of Kobe. He showed me what it means to have that killer instinct, how to be resilient and persistent. And I honestly believe that is the same instinct we need to have when dealing with the Black Lives Matter movement. We need to keep calling for justice and keep the names of those we lost in headlights.”
Outlandish Customs new design rocks the purple and gold on the famous Kobe 8’s with a picture of Kobe palming a basketball with his daughter Gianna Bryant who also passed away this year. On the back of the shoe is the hashtag BLM with George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s name etched in the lining of the back of the shoe.
Best says “The product is one of my favorite designs and based on the backup orders I have for it, I’m not the only one. I did something different with the paint I used to design it. I used glow in the dark and reflective paint so the BLM hashtag and names of the ones we lost can be seen no matter what”
When asked about his intentions for the sneaker Best responded “My intention when I first started designing this shoe was to just paint something. I was watching the NBA scrimmages on TV in the bubble and I seen how adamant they were about the BLM movement and having the number 24 and 8 on screen. It just made me want to do my part in bringing awareness and give people a shoe that honors those we lost.”
