Reebok VP Todd Krinsky Wants To Inspire People With New Kendrick Lamar Partnership

Reebok shook the sportswear industry last week after announcing their partnership with Grammy-nominated artist Kendrick Lamar. K.Dot will be featured throughout Reebok's global campaign ads and in the fall of 2015, the TDE artist will launch his very first limited edition collection with the brand.

The partnership between K.Dot and Reebok will also help develop programs designed to keep kids off the streets and help inspire the youth for a brighter tomorrow. Todd Krinsky, Reebok's Global VP of Lifestyle and Entertainment Marketing, has worked closely with Kendrick during the process of the partnership and has gotten to know the hip-hop superstar very well, even learning a few things from the Compton MC. Krinsky and the Reebok brand share the same values as Kendrick on the partnership. "It's bigger than just creating some product together," he says, "it's a different relationship and partnership than we are used to."

XXL sat down with Krinsky from Reebok to speak on the partnership with K.Dot, his favorite Reebok sneakers of all time, and what he's learned from Kendrick during the partnership. —Roger Krastz

XXL: When did the talks between Reebok and Kendrick begin?
Todd Krinsky: I think we started talking about doing something with Kendrick over a year and a half ago. He was touring, so there was a lot going on, so it took some time for us to come into fruition, but I think we really started getting into serious conversations about three months ago. We met and started talking about where his head was at, what he was trying to do, and what we were trying to do. He doesn’t do a lot of deals as you know, so it was kind of understanding why he doesn’t do a lot of deals and what the motivation is behind his next five years.

I think at the same time our brand has been repositioned a little bit. We’ve been kind of shifting to a different space in terms of not really signing every elite athlete, but more, we’re talking about this idea about fulfilling your profession, being the best you can be at whatever you want to do and it’s incredibly similar to what Kendrick is trying to say. He is trying to inspire people right now, you know what I'm saying? The video that we did was in Compton, but he’s trying to inspire people all over the world to whatever it is. Whether it may not be rhyming, but you have other skills and you should be trying to fulfill your potential, so it was crazy when we started talking that we shared this real strong value to do this, and it's bigger than just creating some product together. It's a different relationship and partnership than we are used to.

Why did Reebok choose the Ventilator as the footwear of choice for Kendrick's campaign?
The whole kind of Reebok old school running is very relevant to Kendrick and his past. Whether it be the classic nylon, the classic leather or the Ventilator—all these are shoes that he knew coming up, so we wanted to keep it in that space. We have a big launch of the Ventilator in 2015 because it’s the 25th anniversary of the shoe so we felt like this would be a good synergy. He’ll certainly be wearing other product, but I think the other reason why we were really excited about doing this is because—and he’ll tell you—he had a real love for Reebok when he was growing up. In sixth grade he got his first pair of Reeboks, and he had a whole bunch of Reeboks in seventh grade. In Compton it was a real popular shoe back then. He was inspired by the Hot Boys and the stuff that was going on in New Orleans—Girbauds and white tees. There's a real connection between Kendrick and us, so the Ventilator is one of those shoes from back in the days.

Is there an exact date already for the release of Kendrick's limited capsule collection with Reebok?
Yeah, I mean for right now he’s going to be wearing some of the product that we call "in line product." It will be in ads and things like that. But yeah, we're starting to collaborate, we're starting to get in the lab together and figure out what we want to do. We haven’t figured out exact launches yet. You know, with Kendrick it's like, when the music is done, it's done, and stop asking when the album comes out. [Laughs] I’m kind of learning that from him now all these years in my career. He's working with the design team and learning how it works, but we haven’t really figured out exactly. I mean we really are interested in this whole "inspire" idea. Product is important, no question, but I've never spent so much time with an artist talking about non-product things. So it's cool and refreshing. We’ll inspire people, we’ll make some cool product and some time next year the product will come out, just not sure when yet.

What's been the overall feedback from sneakerheads, media and Reebok fans on the partnership?
I mean it's funny, we were talking about this earlier today. All these people that have 5 million, 10 million Instagram followers—half the people that respond to their pics are liking it and half are killing it because it’s the world that we live in. So we expected to get a lot of mixed feedback just because that’s the way the world is built. But I'm so surprised; if you go on the comments and read what people are saying, people are really celebrating this because we as a brand took a back seat and we created this really gritty expression of inspiration in Compton. It's Kendrick leading this message and there's very little Reebok promo in it. I think you see one Ventilator in three minutes and the Reebok Classic logo at the end.

We don’t really talk that much [about] just putting the artist in the forefront about this expression of inspiring people, so the feedback we’ve been getting has been really cool because there's been people acknowledging that and understanding. We did it in a way that we didn’t talk about Reebok or the Classics or the shoes. We just really put on a clean message in a cool way, and I think it has been received very well. I've never seen so much positive feedback on one thing from us in a long time. So it's exciting.

You've been working closely with Kendrick doing this partnership and you've gotten to know him a little bit more as an individual. What is something you've learned from Kendrick?
Man, so much. But I think one of the things is his life experiences really have molded who he is. He talks about going to school in Compton and how everyone always told him just value who you are no matter what you do, and I think this is the thing that he talks about all the time, just being the kind of man he is today. He’s always been able to have people around him that have made him feel like he is somebody, and this is why I think he’s so confident in his place right now. I'm just learning that a lot of people don’t have this structure around them, so if we can provide inspiration to the people that don’t that's a beautiful thing.

I’ve also learned that he’s the closest thing, I think, to Kobe Bryant when it comes to music. In the sense that he’s relentless with his preparation. He’ll spend 22 hours in the studio. One of my favorite things he was telling me today is that when he found out about his first Grammy nomination a few years ago, his first inclination was to go back to the studio—not to go and pop bottles with his friends. And it's kind of like this whole idea that he's got. This incredible drive, this incredible motivation. He understands where he is right now and I think he's not willing to let anything get in his way to be the best artist he can be. So that’s pretty cool, to be around a young person that has his drive and has this real understanding of who they are.

What's your favorite Reebok sneaker of all time?
Well, for me I have two. One has to be the Question because I was a young kid in 1996. I met Allen Iverson and before I even met him we started creating the shoe. Then the shoe came into fruition, we signed him and we were together the first time we saw somebody buy the shoe. So for me, '96 was a really special year in the industry and in my career. Now, my son just turned 13 and he's playing AAU [basketball]. He wears the Reebok Question. So the whole thing has come full circle for me,0 so that’s cool.

And then the other one is definitely the Classic leather because it's timeless. Everyone has a pair in their closet. Everyone has a memory of what that shoe meant at a certain point of their lives, whether it be a song they heard or a friend or grade they were in. So it's nostalgic, and there's a lot of authenticity to that.

Filed Under: Allen Iverson, Feature, Kendrick Lamar, partnership, Reebok, Sneakers, TDE, Todd Krinsky, Ventilator

Categories: Lifestyle, Sneakers