When Kicks Lounge hosted the “Seoul, Soul, Sole” occasion in Akron, Ohio, Could 16, Dominque Waters knew he made the correct choice to start out his nonprofit Akron Sneaker Academy proper in his hometown. All over the world, Akron is synonymous with the NBA-great LeBron James and being the capital of rubber. Only a few acknowledge it for its sneaker tradition.
“Akron has an underrated historical past of sneaker tradition. There’s LeBron and PF flyers, but in addition Chuck Taylor. Taylor acquired his declare to fame right here. He performed for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids basketball crew and was a salesman for Converse,” says Waters on Taylor’s affect on basketball and sneaker tradition.
Akron’s Kicks Lounge was one in every of roughly a dozen shops nationwide to obtain the highly-anticipated and restricted Air Jordan 3 “Seoul 2.0,” a shoe that pays homage to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. To rejoice the exclusivity, Kicks Lounge founder Thomas Kim, a Korean-American, launched a cultural playground for the town, that includes immersive experiences and collective storytelling.
Picture Credit score: Mitti Hicks
Inside Kicks Lounge’s reimagined warehouse have been visitors you sometimes don’t see within the Rubber Metropolis. NFL gamers Jerome Baker, a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, and Justin Layne, a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, confirmed love on the occasion. Dusty Ball, the artist chargeable for the six-foot Air Jordan 3 Seoul 2.0 reproduction, in addition to Nike executives chargeable for bringing Air Jordans into bodily shops, have been additionally in attendance.
All these individuals in a single room solidified Waters’ perception that sneakers can create the proper pathway to introduce inner-city youth to STEM packages and careers. Baker agreed.
“It’s necessary for younger individuals to witness one thing like this as a result of it reveals them what’s attainable. A pair of sneakers may appear small, nevertheless it represents laborious work, creativity, and a dream dropped at life,” he advised BLACK ENTERPRISE. “When youngsters see that, particularly coming from somebody who appears to be like like them or comes from the place they arrive from, it will probably spark their very own ambition. It’s about exhibiting them that they’ll make their mark too.”
How The Akron Sneaker Academy Introduces Youth To STEM
Waters is an Akron native and a graduate of a Traditionally Black School or College (HBCU). He graduated from Central State College, the place he majored within the arts. After graduating, he ultimately moved to New York Metropolis and had the chance to work for Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and even underneath Virgil Abloh.
Nevertheless, by way of his nonprofit, Waters needs college students to take a special path than his. He hopes to encourage younger individuals to put money into their communities earlier and present them that there are many alternatives outdoors of main cities, the place the price of dwelling continues to rise and persons are having a tougher time getting financially forward.
Research present an absence of entry to know-how, training, and alternatives is fueling a need for youth to depart smaller communities for bigger cities. With occasions like Seoul, Soul, Sole, Waters is honing in on his level that alternatives in smaller cities are there.
His nonprofit is greater than designing sneakers. Sneakers are the draw as a result of it’s culturally related for a big variety of youth, however his nonprofit introduces younger individuals to design, science, and engineering.
“The town of Akron has a polymer initiative now, which is materials science, however plenty of our children within the internal metropolis don’t know what polymers are,” mentioned Waters, acknowledging that the College of Akron has a top-ranked polymer science and plastics engineering program.
Since Waters began the Akron Sneaker Academy in January 2024, he’s helped greater than 800 college students by way of workshops and summer season camps. He’s simply getting began and already has sights on increasing the nonprofit to serve extra youth. His five-year plan is to create a World Innovation Focus on sneakers in Akron.
For extra data on workshops or the best way to assist the nonprofit, go to akronsneakeracademy.org