Kobe Bryant Announces New Signature Sneaker, the Nike Kobe 360

Nike and Kobe Bryant announce the Kobe 360, a new signature model.

Kobe Bryant Paris 2 Oct 2017
Publicist

Kobe Bryant Paris 2 Oct 2017

Kobe Bryant Paris 2 Oct 2017

A special guest during Nike CEO Mark Parker's Investor Day address, Kobe Bryant not only spoke about his continued role in innovation, but joined Parker in announcing a new signature sneaker.

"It's called the Kobe 360," said Parker. "As Kobe continues to push us, this product represents a breakthrough in how shoes are designed and made."

Nike isn't quite ready to unveil the latest model of the Mamba lineup, but the buzz word for the day was lightweight.

"It's really a challenging duality," said Bryant. "How can you create something that is so lightweight, so minimal without compromising stability? Without compromising the performance of it?"

A passionate Bryant, who is spending his early retirement years perfecting the craft of storytelling, did his best job of hyping the Kobe 360 without giving too much away.

"From an emotional perspective, how it relates to myself as an athlete is 'how do you have this balance between love and fear?' When you're playing a game, you're playing a game that you love, but you also have that fear that you just may miss that game-winning shot. It's about balancing those two things that gives an athlete perspective or helps you reach your fullest potential. How can we bring that through product? How can we create something that is so minimal, I mean like feather light, but gives you great strength and stability? With the 360, we managed to pull it off."

Since retiring from the NBA, Bryant has led different variations of the Kobe A.D. Expect to hear more about the Kobe 360 in the coming months.