In November, Reebok announced a contest where fans could go on YourReebok.com and design a pair of ZigSlashes, John Wall’s new signature shoe. Wall would then choose the best design and wear a pair of those shoes on the court during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Drum roll, pleeeeeease ... Via Twitter, Wall announced the winner last week: “Want to say Congrats to Dylan Stratton on designing the winning shoe that I'm gonna be wearing all-star weekend!”
I had the chance to speak with the sweet and humble 19-year-old Stratton over the weekend while he was in Los Angeles for the All-Star festivities. It was among the perks he received from Reebok as the winner of the contest.
Stratton decided to enter the contest after his buddy in their hometown of Bardstown, Ky., had already submitted a design. But Stratton thought to do some research before devising his design, and that resulted in his outsmarting the rest of the field.
“I went with an All-Star theme with the colors, I knew that Wall would appreciate that," Stratton said of the design. "I looked at the other designs and tried to make mine different, I took inspiration from the Washington Bullets.”
Stratton is a dedicated fan, to say the least. He used to travel from Bardstown to Lexington to watch Wall play for the Kentucky Wildcats last season. His passion and attention to detail paid off.
“I’m a big fan of Wall, and through the years, when I watched him play he always wore patent leather and suede; I knew that was his thing," Stratton said. "That is why I made the two main sides of those materials, and it worked.”
It worked all right, Stratton received accommodations at the All-Star hosting hotel and a round-trip flight to LA, tickets to the rookie-sophmore challenge -- Wall was the game's MVP -- dunk contest and skills competition.
“At the hotel I kept running into the whole Reebok Staff, LeBron, Carmelo, Bosh, Durant and Garnett," Stratton said. "It was pretty cool.”
Reebok has some of the best strategic online marketing plans lately by combining stars and adoring fans with ease.
“Reebok also set it up where I got to meet John Wall, and he was a real cool guy," Stratton said. "He autographed the shoes and gave them to me. I brought my Wall jersey from when he played at Kentucky and his NBA rookie card, he signed both those too. It was a great day."
I could hear him smiling on the phone.
You can follow Dylan on Twitter @dylanstratton, and if you need a shoe design to make your own, let him know because he clearly does the best job.
