B/R Exclusive: Q&A with Kyrie Irving on Week of Greatness and Sneaker Culture

Foot Locker's Week of Greatness is finally upon us, and Kyrie Irving is helping to welcome one of the biggest weeks of the year for a sneakerhead.

Irving sits down with Bleacher Report's C.J. Toledano to talk sneakers, Uncle Drew and the upcoming Nike Kyrie 3.



Bleacher Report: Sneaker related… So you've worked with Foot Locker a bunch already. How is it working on more comedic spots than just some of the more straight-forward spots with some of the other brands?


Kyrie Irving: It gives it a different perspective. It's more or less about showcasing the shoe and getting the story out there as much as possible. 
It's good to have different narratives for different shoes, whether it be comedy or whether it be serious. It's just more or less about the exposure, the brand. It's always good.


B/R: When you were growing up, did you think you would have to work on comedic timing and all that for commercials?

Irving: Nah man, I have a very dry sense of humor, so it's good I get to showcase it. Sometimes dry humor doesn't always work, but comedic timing is very important.


B/R: It seems like it's working because people know you by these commercials and Uncle Drew. Has it been fun doing all that stuff now?

Irving: It's been awesome.


B/R: There have been rumors about an Uncle Drew movie. Any information on that? Or any appearances anywhere?

Irving: It's in the works. It's in the works, man. I don't know if I'm necessarily allowed to say it as a complete real thing...something is definitely in the works of a movie type.


B/R: Did you think it would take off as much as it has?


Irving: No, I didn't. I was just hoping that it would just get some good reviews, be a good YouTube video that would just be on there forever. But it ended up turning into a mass crave for Uncle Drew.
 This alternate identity became part of my identity. It always was, but now I got to showcase it on a bigger scale. It's good.


B/R: So, Week of Greatness usually means holidays are around the corner. Growing up, for Christmas did you ever ask for sneakers? Do you have any stories about either getting them on Christmas morning or not getting them?


Irving: Yes and no. Once I started getting older I kinda stopped asking for sneakers for Christmas. I wanted to actually go out and buy them for myself. That's when I started asking for money so I can go out to the stores and be a part of things like Week of Greatness that Foot Locker offers to kids now. 

It's just hot shoes coming out.
 As a sneaker collector—I consider myself a sneaker collector now—it's also good. So many different old-school colorways come out, or an older shoe comes back out and reappears always around holiday time, so it's always a good time.


B/R: Any specific sneakers you remember as a kid? Like hoping to get for Christmas? What were your favorite signature shoes growing up?


Irving: Kobes, man. My favorite signature shoes. Kobe's line came a little bit later, but yeah, Kobe's line was probably my favorite.


B/R: I know you have your signature, but do you ever hope or wish you could rock a pair of Kobes in a game?


Irving: Yes, I do. As well as other shoes as well. I have pairs of Kobes, pairs of 'Brons, pairs of Jordans, that I wish I could wear, that I would have worn in high school if I was still able to wear all those shoes and be able to play in them.


B/R: So I've noticed you write "whiplash" on your shoes from time to time
.

Irving: Not time to time, every time.


B/R: Do you think maybe on future models you will straight up just incorporate that as part of the actual shoe on all of them? Or do you like writing it, and is there a reason you do that?


Irving: That's not far off, that's actually a good idea. Put that idea in my head of something in the shoe would be pretty awesome…
but I kinda like to use my shoe as a canvas for other people as well, whether it's a Sharpie or whether it's something you put on the back of the shoe.

The shoe offers just a very broad perspective on what you wanna create, whether it be on NikeID or whether you're writing things on your shoe.


I kinda just wanna leave it out there. It's my mood and how I connect to it. I don't wanna put it on a shoe if everyone doesn't necessarily connect with it. It would kinda violate individuality a little bit if I put "whiplash" on every shoe or what meant to me on every shoe
.

B/R: It's a dope movie, though!


Irving: No, it's absolutely a good movie. It's under-viewed ... it didn't really resonate in the public scene as much as I think it should have
.

B/R: When you watch that movie, whom do you resonate with more? Miles Teller or J.K. Simmons?


Irving: Oh, Miles Teller. I actually had a fan moment with Miles Teller in L.A. during the ESPYs. I took a picture on my Instagram with him, and it was one of the best moments because little does he know what his work actually does for me on a day-to-day basis. It's a true inspiration for me, that movie, and how it connects with my life.


B/R: Feel free to not answer this: A lot of players around the league are rocking your shoes. When you see a guy coming up defending you wearing your shoes, do you feel like you sorta have an advantage, or does that give you a little bit of a confidence boost?


Irving: Oh man. The answer to that question is like you don't want to say the wrong thing or you don't want to come off too humble or too arrogant.
 For me, it's more or less of a respect thing; I enjoy it no matter what.


It's a personal choice on what you want to wear. I feel like whether it be NikeID or shoes that come out for team colors or whatever, if they rock ‘em, cool! I'm down with it. It doesn't stop me from competing at a high level or make you feel like I have an advantage. I'm just gonna still be the same way no matter what.


B/R: So with the Kyrie 2, I noticed more of your apparel started coming out that coincided with each colorway. Are we going to see more of that? Are you going to be more involved with apparel coming out in the future as part of your line?


Irving: The change is coming probably around Spring 2017, which in Nike days which is like January, February, March 2017. That's when a lot more apparel will come out for fitted fashion sense that really has my imprint on it
.

The shirts are great. The sweatshirts are great. Now the further it gets, the bigger I wanna grow. It comes with socks, more to offer with the shoes, more to offer with the shirts, jackets, and just offering a wider range of what you want in terms of clothing. Right now you can only get a certain amount of shirts, certain amount of things. 
But that'll change over time
.

B/R: On the Kyrie 1, you didn't have a strap. On the 2s, you have a strap. What do we have to look forward to on the 3s? Are we going to see the strap incorporated?


Irving: No, there is no strap on the 3.


B/R: Did you have any reason why you wanted the strap on the 2? I think it's such a big, iconic part of the shoe, especially with the patterns and also the support frame.


Irving: It goes back to just the canvas. It offered another piece of the shoe that could be iconic and from a first-person eye view you can see the shoe and the strap stands out. A shoe with a strap will always be a looker no matter what. I wanted to have a strap that actually made sense. I didn't wanna have a strap that didn't coincide with the making of the shoe or just didn't make sense.

We had different choices, different ways that we were going to strap it up, but I figured going across and going pretty high with it was pretty simple. 
I like to break down the shoe when I'm designing it with our shoe team so the creative aspect and creative behind it can understand why the strap is on there and why it can be iconic
.

Nike

B/R: Last question. As a sneaker collector, what's one thing that hasn't changed since you were a kid up until now?

Irving: The thing that hasn't changed for me is the respect for the culture. I feel very, very proud of being born in the '90s and having been able to see the Pippens, Kobes, Jordans, things happen over time, watching guys go from different sneaker brands and create another shoe, different colorways that have been iconic that have stood out for me that have changed the culture over time.

I always try to follow that. I feel like I want to set trends within the culture. I always wanna have things that can resonate not only with people born in the '90s, but also past generations and as well as future generations. And now, what's crazy is that the future generations that are seeing shoes now, when they see the colorways and the storylines behind the shoe, they can really only go based off that shoe unless you really lived during that time.



That's another aspect I really try to tap into. I try to cover all the generations when I come out with shoes and storylines and things that can resonate with so many other people. I try to really put my hand in so many different cultural backgrounds and try to connect that way.

That's the thing that's remained the same.

It's just beautiful to see, shoes coming out and how they're designed, the background of it if you care about it. If you're seeing a shoe for the first time, then what's your first reaction? What do you think about the shoe? How does it connect to you? What color? Sometimes purple can mean something to a certain person.
 Well, that actually makes sense for that shoe, and I try to remember it and try to imprint it on my life and give it to everyone else.