Nice Kicks: Your shop, Burn Rubber, has now been serving the Metro Detroit sneaker enthusiasts since 2004, and this is your first major collaboration with a sneaker brand. How does it feel to have New Balance, one of your personal favorite brands, collaborate with you for your first major joint effort?
Rick Williams: It’s amazing. It’s almost unreal. I was talking to somebody the other day and just telling them how it is such a blessing. So many people want this opportunity, and for us to be blessed with it is amazing. We are definitely grateful for the opportunity, and we’re grateful that people loved it. It sold out pretty much everywhere. It’s just a real good situation. It feels real good.
Nice Kicks: In addition to this Burn Rubber x New Balance MT580 release, you also involved your brand in a major campaign called Detroit Riots earlier this year, which was inspired by the city?s Riots of 1967. Which opportunity will leave the biggest impact on the Metro Detroit area?
Rick Williams: I think they were two different things. I think they both have a big impact in their own way. The Detroit Riots gave us the opportunity to get with a company (Acapulco Gold) that we respected and love, and we wanted to bring light to an event that happened in Detroit. Not really bring light to it but raise awareness. This shoe, in contrast, was more about Burn Rubber and will introduce Burn Rubber to the world. Not everybody knew about us, but now many more people know about us, seeing as though the shoe released worldwide, not just in the US.
Nice Kicks: As we all know, Chuck Taylors are worn excessively on the west coast and Foamposite sneakers are seen heavily on the east coast. Are New Balances worn a lot in the Metro Detroit area? If not, do you think your collaboration will increase the popularity of this brand in your demographic?
Rick Williams: New Balance is worn but, of course, we all know Nike kind of has the lion share of the market. So this was an opportunity for us to help raise awareness of the appeal of New Balance in the Michigan market and the Metro Detroit area.
Nice Kicks: Now that this release is behind you, what other collaborations or future projects do you have in store for the sneaker community?
Rick Williams: Well, we’re working on some more things, and I’m sure we’ll do more work with New Balance in the future. We have some other things in the works. Follow us on Twitter (@BurnRubber) and visit our website. We’ll let you know all of that stuff.
Click here to view detailed photos of the Burn Rubber x New Balance MT580.
