NowVIZ Q+A
NowVIZ: As a designer you’ve had the opportunity to work with many high profile athletes. Is there a favorite story you could share with us that has made a lasting impact on your career? Duane: I'd have to say my favorite moment in my career was the success of my first shoe. I had wanted to design sneakers for as long as I could remember going as far back to middle school. I worked tirelessly throughout school with that one goal in mind and I finally got that opportunity in 2004 when I landed a position with Converse. Dwyane Wade is one the hottest players on the planet and I'm teamed up with him to release his first signature shoe. I don't think I realized the magnitude of the project then. After months of development, you can feel the excitement building at the company, but no one could predict the explosion it created in the marketplace. The shoe couldn't stay on the shelves and Wade couldn't be stopped on the court. Converse quickly realized they had to take advantage of the moment, one they hadn't seen in basketball for many years, and went about supplying the growing demand. The saga continued all the way into the playoffs and I was lucky enough to get invited to not one but two Miami Heat Final’s games. And there I am in the crowd and there's D Wade at the line shooting two, in my shoes! Just years prior, I was a ball boy for the Miami Heat sitting on that same court waiting to hand players a towel. Now I'm watching as the MVP knocks down two clutch shots in my shoe design! There's Shaq, there's Gary Payton--my favorite players. There's my old boss who would ask me to rebound for guys during warm up and there's my shoe. That particular shoe ended up selling over a million pairs, which those kinds of numbers weren’t happen during that time, and yet people couldn't get enough of that shoe!