Richez 2 Ragz: Starbury Rising

So first off, I gotta give props to my buddy DubbleDubs for making me aware of this through his blog. This has moved me so much that I had to join the "Starbury Movement".

Starbury is a sneaker and clothing line endorsed by two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury and was launched in September 2006. There are many styles, mostly for $9.98, but Steph's on court shoe, the Starbury I and Starbury II, sells for $14.98. The big idea is to offer a well designed quality shoe as an alternative for low income families to the Nike's, Reebok's and Adidas' of the world, which sell for 5 to 10 times as much. Frankly, the big 3 of the sneaker world has made our world into a place where kids get made fun of when they're not sporting the latest 'kicks' that the so called "All-Stars" are wearing (Jordan's costs $200) and robbed or killed if they do.

Hearing, seeing and reading about things like this makes me want to quit so I can go and design for them. Something bigger than myself. Something that really is making a difference in the lives of people who are less fortunate. Something that I wish was around when I was a kid.

My first pair of Nike's came when I was in Sophomore in High School. Before then, I wore a steady stream of ProWings and the occasional pair of Converse (Hexalite BABY!) that lasted me 3 months on average but I ended up stretching them out for about 5 to 6 months until the soles literally would fall off. I would like to think of myself as a pretty decent baller back in the day. And yes, I do remember begging my mom to buy me a pair of $75 shoes (forget the $150 dollar Jordans... are you insane?). In any case, we were not as well off back then as we were now. My mom was more concerned about my education rather than the brand of shoe I was wearing. To quote Stephon, “Two hundred to buy a pair of sneakers, that’s groceries for a week.”

Food, Family, God, Education (just to name a few)... those are the real important things in life. Not how much your shoes cost or how shiny your car is. It's all superficial but somehow, marketers and advertisers have found some way to convince us that is the case. Today’s youth (frankly, everyone) is so brainwashed that they believe paying a C-note and more for shoes, brand name clothes or some gaudy chain equals to feeling better about yourself or superior to others. It needs to change. And from the ground up is as good a way as any other.

So let's check out the current shoe endorsement landscape:
LeBron James: 90 Million / 7 years, Nike
Kobe Bryant: 45 Million / 5 years, Nike
Allen Iverson: 5 Million / 1 year for the rest of his life, Reebok

Even nice guys:
Tim Duncan: 25 Million / 5 years, Adidas
Duane Wade: 10 Million / per year, Converse (Not hating... he still tithes 10%)

And the rest of the NBA: A lot of money to wear hundred dollar shoes that cost $10 to make.

So you have 300+ guys in the NBA who could have started this but didn't. And let's be honest, only a few people could have pulled it off. All-Stars and Hall of Famers really, and the one of the most hated on and most controversial was the only one to do it. Well... two now.

Big Ben (Wallace) is in on the action. As he says: "Kids don't really understand what it takes to go out and buy a pair of $300 pair of shoes. We don't understand the pressure we put on our parents when we're growing up. This is one of the things where I think the parents will appreciate it a lot more than the kids right now because it eliminates so much stress from the parents. All parents want to see their kids have nice things."

So two guys get it. Two guys remember where they came from. Let's hope more remember. We need them to.


FYI... Yes, Stephon has been sporting the shoes the whole season and recently has been averaging 23 points, 6 assists, 3 reb and 1 steal for the month of March.

And if you are wondering where you can buy his shoes, check out the Starbury Site or Steve & Barry's