West Roxbury company Endstate uses chip to give sneakers a more personal touch
WEST ROXBURY - Sneakers have come a long way. For the longest time, they were just gym shoes. Now, they're collectors' items and fashion statements.
A new company in West Roxbury is taking it to the next level with a more personal touch for sneakerheads.
"There's the collectability to it, there's the scarcity aspect to it where you get a pair of sneakers that's tough to get and then you are walking down the street and someone else who's a sneakerhead, will give you a nod or a wink and say those are nice," Bennett Collen, Endstate co-founder and CEO, told WBZ-TV.
Endstate is a one-of-a-kind shoe company, that brings the tech to your shoe. Each sneaker has a chip to prove its' authenticity and gets you closer to your favorite athlete.
"We are doing a collaboration with DeVonta Smith, the wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, and we have a chip inside the sneaker and we can create these experiences exclusively for the owners of the sneakers, who are DeVonta's biggest fans," Collen said.
The designs are also unique. That's where co-founder and COO Stephanie Howard comes in. She is an absolute titan in the sneaker designer world with experience at Nike, New Balance, and Reebok.
"The most important thing for me when designing anything is insights. What are people looking for and then insights into the emerging future. What is on the horizon!" she told WBZ.
Bennett is an alum of Boston College, so it's fitting that the Welles Crowther sneaker is ready to drop. All the proceeds from the shoe are going to the Welles Crowther Charity Trust.
"It just seemed like a great opportunity to excite the BC community around Welles and his story and do a little bit of good in the process," Collen said.
"I've never been able to design around a hero's story like Welles Crowther before and then put our heart and passion into a product this way. So it's really exciting," Howard told WBZ.
For more information about Endstate, visit their website.