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Marques Brownlee, the 30-year-old YouTube phenom {and professional} Final Frisbee participant, has developed a world following that is now pushing 20 million subscribers together with his sharp, candid, brilliantly produced opinions of tech and automobiles. Whereas branded merch has lengthy been out there on the MKBHD web site, that is the primary time he’s launched into a multi-year growth strategy of a completely new product from the bottom up: Atoms Mannequin 251.
Brooklyn-based Atoms footwear was launched in 2019 by co-founders Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali with a aim of making comfy on a regular basis strolling footwear you may slip on and put on wherever.
Brownlee first crossed paths with Atoms in 2020 after buying Atoms face masks in the course of the footwear firm’s manufacturing shift in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, they began collaborating on this shoe. Two-and-a-half years and dozens of prototypes later, they’ve simply launched it—promoting out inside a couple of hours on the primary day. Concern not, anybody who orders them inside the subsequent few weeks can pre-order for a supply later this summer time.
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For Marques, creating the shoe was a studying course of, however a rewarding one. He was in a position to incorporate the light-weight side of Adidas NMDs and the silhouette of the Air Jordan 1 with the comfy sole and elastic laces of Atoms. For Atoms, it was its first high-top, and nailing the slip-on side would require its signature elastic laces in addition to an elasticized tongue that wraps across the wearer’s foot.
Fabricated from artificial leather-based and mesh, the shoe incorporates a proprietary sole that curves up on the toe and heel for simpler motion. It is produced from a cloth that Atoms’ Qasim says is “lighter than rubber, extra sturdy than rubber, and completely recyclable.” Breathability and a copper lining within the inside guards the shoe towards odor.
The title 251 comes from the run time (2 minutes, 51 seconds) of Brownlee’s first YouTube tech evaluation he ever posted, when he was 16. There’s additionally an NYC tag on the shoe, as town is important to each Atoms and Brownlee because the cradle of their respective manufacturers and careers. Brownlee’s largest piece of recommendation to followers now shopping for the Mannequin 251 is to essentially put on them as a substitute of placing them on a shelf to collect mud.
We sat down with Brownlee and Atoms co-founder and CEO Sidra Qasim to study their course of and the way these footwear truly occurred.
Males’s Journal: What was the most important shock for each of you on this whole course of?
Marques Brownlee: I realized how a lot you may actually mess up a shoe. You can also make some really horrible footwear should you actually need to. Clearly, most corporations don’t as a result of there are a whole bunch of selections that go into making a shoe and so they all add as much as making shoe. However within the very starting I had my full loopy concepts and so they let me go utterly rogue. We received the primary prototype and structurally it was collapsing—not constructed proper. There have been every kind of issues. That was the start of the educational course of of mixing all of the aesthetics and fascinating little bits of design and supplies that I used to be considering with the precise purposeful experience that Atoms needed to make shoe.
Sidra Qasim: I feel the immense quantity of persistence that Marques had in the course of the course of was actually shocking. We have been sitting on the thought for thus lengthy, however footwear aren’t like a purse. They work together along with your physique and have a really purposeful use when worn, so it takes plenty of time, effort, and analysis to create very comfy ones.
We have been working for greater than two years and have proven so many prototypes to Marques. He is at all times been listener, which offered us plenty of confidence that he is somebody who believes in high quality. The primary prototype we introduced after 9 months, I used to be feeling actually pressured about, however he would say, “So long as we’re making a very good product, if it takes time, that’s okay.”
Did this design course of make you need to do extra collaborations sooner or later?
MB: I feel so. The entire foundation of collaborating with a model that is actually good at one thing helps you to use one another’s experience and leverage to make one thing nice. It could be a huge enterprise to attempt to do one thing like this from scratch—and possibly extra years and unhealthy prototypes if I attempted to do it with out Atoms.
Your first interview ever was with Kobe Bryant, and also you talked concerning the footwear he helped design. Was that in your thoughts whenever you have been engaged on these?
MB: That was my introduction to shoe design and interviewing folks typically. Kobe instructed me each little factor about why they selected a low-top. Why the heel was designed the way in which it was—he had an Achilles harm and had it formed a sure approach for his heel cup. He talked about why they used Flyknit on sure components of the higher versus others, and touched on so many ranges of element. It was actually inspiring. So, once we received to make a shoe, the whole time I’m pondering, I can’t consider I even have this stage of enter.
That is about making a shoe that folks will put on and never simply acquire. How did that play into the design course of?
SQ: Marques saved saying, “I need my group to put on this. It shouldn’t be one thing they exit and purchase simply to placed on their cabinets.” We have by no means made high-top footwear earlier than and it was an enormous problem for us. Usually, you see a high-top as a vogue product or a basketball shoe. How do you make a high-top that is light-weight and cozy with the slip-on expertise. That was a very powerful factor for us—making it very straightforward and fast to slide on as a result of most high-tops take awhile to placed on. Determining that slip-on mechanism took a lot time.
These are inexpensive, particularly given all that went into them. Was {that a} aim from day one?
MB: From the start, one of many targets was simply to make an on a regular basis purposeful shoe—and if it’s not inexpensive, it’s pointless to make as an on a regular basis shoe. So these issues kinda go hand in hand. The method was fascinating as a result of we’d get these prototypes and we’re like—alright, there are particular issues we will do right here that may price extra. However we nonetheless wished to maintain it cheap. Now that we’ve made one thing that is purposeful and nice for on a regular basis use, I am actually hoping folks deal with it that approach—that they really put on it.
How has your expertise been sporting these for the previous a number of weeks?
MB: I’ve had plantar fasciitis since January, attributable to sporting cleats [for Ultimate Frisbee]. I would by no means had this downside earlier than and my bodily therapist steered orthotics. I’ve performed that, and actually take them out and put them into each new pair of footwear that I put on each time I change footwear. I used to be telling Sidra once we received these—that is the one pair of footwear that I don’t should put the orthotics in, as a result of the only and materials inside are smooth sufficient. I simply stroll round in them and so they’re comfy.
SQ: Whether or not you need to do 10,000 steps or 30,000 steps a day, these footwear can deal with it. We used recycled materials for the outsole, which took us a lot time to develop, and had by no means been used commercially earlier than. It’s lighter than rubber, extra sturdy than rubber, and recyclable. We’re calling the fabric “Everlasting.”
Is the 251 a restricted launch?
MB: It’s restricted in time solely. As many individuals who need to organize them can organize them—till Could 23 2023.
SQ: One purpose we’re capping it’s that we’re managing a sure provide chain and we had no concept how widespread the footwear could be. Up to now, we offered out of our first batch and so they’re now out there for pre-orders that may ship out by July 31.
Marques realized lots from Atoms. What did you study probably the most from Marques?
SQ: Marques taught us how you can current the product. He is performed such an unbelievable job highlighting these components of the story, that are a very powerful, and leaving out the small print that are not.
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Marques, you stated in your launch video you can’t evaluation these, however you may inform folks about them.
MB: It’s humorous as a result of I’m at all times on the opposite facet of this. A product comes out and the opposite particular person’s like, “What do you suppose? What do you suppose?” And I’m like, you’ll see when the video comes out what I feel. Now I’m the one who’s like—Hey, so what do you suppose?
[$189; atoms.com]
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