Kobe Bryant: Building The Perfect Shoe

words & interview_Nick DePaula
images_Tom Luedecke

Kobe Bryant doesn’t think like other athletes. He’s maniacal about every facet of his game, every facet of his daily routine, and yes, even every last detail of his footwear. In working with the Nike Innovation Kitchen and designers Eric Avar and Tom Luedecke, they’ve developed a relationship over the years that’s allowed them to continually push performance that’s quite frankly leading the industry. They’re willing to push the cuts of collars, the heights of midsoles and the degree of outriggers where nobody has gone before.

As part of a detailed conversation that touched on his latest signature shoe, the Zoom Kobe V, as well as the feedback he’s been getting from around the league and much more, read along for select excerpts of Sole Collector’s interview with Kobe Bryant. You can find the full-length interview in Issue 32, available now at Foot Locker stores and on Eastbay.com.

Nick DePaula: Based on the fact that you wore the Hyperdunk even with the IV bottom on it early last year, you were really feeling the IV. What were some of the things you planned to improve on for the V?
Kobe Bryant: One of the things that we wanted to add was more responsiveness in the shoe, in terms of the flexibility. For example, if you bounce on your toes up and down, you want to feel like the shoe is more responsive and a quicker response. We also wanted the shoe to be lighter, and play even closer to the ground. Also, there’s always a constant source of improvement from shoe to shoe, to be able to shave down seconds in your change of direction, so that the foot is not sliding within the shoe. We’re constantly looking to improve on how the shoe is molded onto the foot itself.

The V is even lower than the IV. How low can you go, or are you in a zone with this one that you’re really pleased with?
It’s not necessarily about going low just for the sake of going lower or to see if we can top this or top that, it’s really about functionality and about doing something that makes sense. It’s not just about having a shoe that’s low to the ground for whatever reason, but having something that’s functional, and we felt like we could cut out an ounce and significantly lower the weight by going lower and we’re not losing any of the functionality or comfort in the shoe.

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