Before Michael Vick re-signed with Nike, Dallas Stokes was designing his brand…
I got the call around June 13, 2011…”Yeah man I’m sorry we meant to call you but Mike is going back to Nike.” I was crushed.
A few months earlier, I got a call telling me Michael Vick was leaving Nike and wanted to start his own brand. I was so excited to have the chance to work with him!!! I immediately started doing as much homework as possible to create products for him. I know he loved straps and the Nike Air Force 1. I studied the types of cars he drove and the suits he wore to the arena. I looked at how Vick played the game for hours on YouTube. The one word that came to mind immediately was “Sleek!!!” Everything about dude is visually sleek, streamlined, form fitting and fast. My thought was how do I capture the essence of all that and put it into a shoe? I looked at everything from cars to boats to planes and even bullet trains and then it hit me. My third passion in life after family and footwear: Motorcycles!!!
Michael Vick’s game reminded me of how most bikes are light, agile and aerodynamic. They usually strip away everything that is unnecessary and just leave the guts and a beautiful frame cradling the necessary. For my presentation for Michael Vick’s new footwear and apparel brand, I went through multiple ideas: A spatting system that interlocked with the arc and the external heel counter. A laceless strap and strategic memory foam insert system. All kinds of stuff because I could not use anything previous from Nike so I had to scramble like he does on the field. I also had to keep in mind the most important factor, which was pleasing Mr. Vick aesthetically. As I said, I looked at his automobiles, his suits, his 10 episode TV show (which is available on iTunes by the way). I put together a huge collection for the new Michael Vick brand, post-Nike era. It didn’t work out. But I will share a few things with you guys here in Stokesworld…
Dallas Stokes is a 20-year footwear industry veteran. His current shoe design projects include BALL’N, Protege, Sean John, Rim Rocka, Van Grack, Militia Project, and The Dallas Stokes Collection. Read his interviews here and here.
