Equal footing TheStar.com - News - Equal footing
NBA star promotes – and wears – low-cost court shoes `to make a difference' for kids, writes Kerry Gillespie
March 15, 2007
Kerry Gillespie
Queens Park Bureau
When a man being paid $17 million (U.S.) wears $15 shoes, it's a statement.
That's just what New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury wants.
"I just wanted to do something different to make a difference," said Marbury, who was in town last night playing the Toronto Raptors.
Marbury wants to use his fame – he's been an NBA star for a decade – to make a low-priced basketball shoe popular and reduce the pressure to buy the $100 to $200 Nikes, Reeboks and others.
He says his shoe, the Starbury – sold exclusively by American retailer Steve & Barry's – is as well made as the expensive ones. To prove it, he wears them in all his basketball games.
But more importantly, if they're cool enough for an NBA star to wear, then kids just might want to wear them, too.
The Starbury line, which includes other shoe styles and low-priced clothing, isn't available in Canada or over the Internet yet, but Marbury said it will get here eventually.
While many parents making good incomes balk at paying $200 for a pair of shoes their son or daughter will outgrow before their next report card, it's not even a realistic option for low-income families.
But by the age of 7, or even younger, kids recognize labels and can be cruel to those wearing cheaper "uncool clothes," said Olive McKenzie who runs a Scarborough daycare.
Many parents, particularly low-income young mothers, feel they have to compete with the other parents, said McKenzie, who sees infants wearing Nikes.
If Marbury or anyone else succeeds in making cheap clothes cool it would be "wonderful" because low-income families can't afford the name brands and many can't resist the pressure to buy, McKenzie said.
That's something Marbury understands. He grew up in the high-rise housing projects of Coney Island, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He was the sixth of seven children and his family didn't have money for the Nike shoes Michael Jordan turned into the must-have item.
"I grew up in that era, but I wasn't able to afford those things," Marbury, 30, said.
He doesn't want other kids to learn to want things their families can't afford. He also doesn't want kids killed for their clothes.
When Marbury launched the Starbury line last August he made reference to a 15-year-old girl killed for the expensive sports jersey she was wearing.
Young people in the Greater Toronto area have also been attacked and robbed for their expensive athletic shoes, clothing and accessories like iPods.
Marbury has reasoned that if kids are wearing inexpensive stuff like the Starburys he wears on his size 12 feet, that danger goes away.
He's been wearing the Starbury One all season – the Knicks are challenging for a playoff spot – and he's just started wearing the all-black Starbury Team, which will be available later this month.
The advertising for his shoe has the same hip music, cool basketball moves and talk from a star player about wanting to inspire kids as the LeBron James Nike ads, Allen Iverson Reebok ads or Dwyane Wade Converse ads.
The only real difference is that parents come up to Marbury and thank him for pushing a shoe they can actually afford.
But is Marbury making cheap cool?
Steve & Barry's, a privately held company, doesn't disclose its sales figures, but it is launching an expanded Starbury line, including two more basketball shoes and items for women, later this month.
And if eBay is any judge of what's hot, Starbury shoes are being sold over the Internet for nearly twice their sticker price.
Steve & Barry's calls it the "Starbury movement."
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/192100
NBA star promotes – and wears – low-cost court shoes `to make a difference' for kids, writes Kerry Gillespie
March 15, 2007
Kerry Gillespie
Queens Park Bureau
When a man being paid $17 million (U.S.) wears $15 shoes, it's a statement.
That's just what New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury wants.
"I just wanted to do something different to make a difference," said Marbury, who was in town last night playing the Toronto Raptors.
Marbury wants to use his fame – he's been an NBA star for a decade – to make a low-priced basketball shoe popular and reduce the pressure to buy the $100 to $200 Nikes, Reeboks and others.
He says his shoe, the Starbury – sold exclusively by American retailer Steve & Barry's – is as well made as the expensive ones. To prove it, he wears them in all his basketball games.
But more importantly, if they're cool enough for an NBA star to wear, then kids just might want to wear them, too.
The Starbury line, which includes other shoe styles and low-priced clothing, isn't available in Canada or over the Internet yet, but Marbury said it will get here eventually.
While many parents making good incomes balk at paying $200 for a pair of shoes their son or daughter will outgrow before their next report card, it's not even a realistic option for low-income families.
But by the age of 7, or even younger, kids recognize labels and can be cruel to those wearing cheaper "uncool clothes," said Olive McKenzie who runs a Scarborough daycare.
Many parents, particularly low-income young mothers, feel they have to compete with the other parents, said McKenzie, who sees infants wearing Nikes.
If Marbury or anyone else succeeds in making cheap clothes cool it would be "wonderful" because low-income families can't afford the name brands and many can't resist the pressure to buy, McKenzie said.
That's something Marbury understands. He grew up in the high-rise housing projects of Coney Island, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He was the sixth of seven children and his family didn't have money for the Nike shoes Michael Jordan turned into the must-have item.
"I grew up in that era, but I wasn't able to afford those things," Marbury, 30, said.
He doesn't want other kids to learn to want things their families can't afford. He also doesn't want kids killed for their clothes.
When Marbury launched the Starbury line last August he made reference to a 15-year-old girl killed for the expensive sports jersey she was wearing.
Young people in the Greater Toronto area have also been attacked and robbed for their expensive athletic shoes, clothing and accessories like iPods.
Marbury has reasoned that if kids are wearing inexpensive stuff like the Starburys he wears on his size 12 feet, that danger goes away.
He's been wearing the Starbury One all season – the Knicks are challenging for a playoff spot – and he's just started wearing the all-black Starbury Team, which will be available later this month.
The advertising for his shoe has the same hip music, cool basketball moves and talk from a star player about wanting to inspire kids as the LeBron James Nike ads, Allen Iverson Reebok ads or Dwyane Wade Converse ads.
The only real difference is that parents come up to Marbury and thank him for pushing a shoe they can actually afford.
But is Marbury making cheap cool?
Steve & Barry's, a privately held company, doesn't disclose its sales figures, but it is launching an expanded Starbury line, including two more basketball shoes and items for women, later this month.
And if eBay is any judge of what's hot, Starbury shoes are being sold over the Internet for nearly twice their sticker price.
Steve & Barry's calls it the "Starbury movement."
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/192100
