Stan Smith: 40 Years of Sole | Hypebeast

Emerging as one of the early stars of the professional tennis scene in the 1970′s, tennis player Stan Smith’s playing days have long-ended yet he still maintains an unmistakable piece of both the adidas and sneaker landscape. Given the chance to meet a living-legend upon his appearance in Hong Kong for the adidas Originals 60th anniversary, we jumped at the opportunity to discuss the towering figure’s storied involvement in one of the most recognizable signatures shoes ever. We touch on some interesting topics and differences between contemporary and past professional endorsements alongside some of the shoe’s developments which have inevitably become iconic characteristics of the timeless classic for almost 40 years.

Interview with Stan Smith

Stan, how did you get your start in tennis? Was it the first sport you picked up?

No, my first sport was actually basketball. I played baseball, football, and track & field. Essentially a lot of different sports.

You were pretty multi-dimensional in that aspect. As a youngster, did you ever figure you would turn tennis into a full-time career?

No not at all, because there wasn’t a PTA Tour like there is now. There were a few, maybe four to eight professional players playing head-to-head matches. What they did for a while was have two guys play head-to-head matches around the world, eventually developing into an eight guy thing. There wasn’t much opportunity at the time so I graduated from college and at that time was when tennis officially became open, in 1969. A natural evolution for me was to go from amateur tennis in the summertime into a full-fledged professional.

Its good to hear doors opened up at the right time. Regardless of sport,making the jump to professional sports is incredibly tough and having the opportunity to play a sport you love as a profession is unparalleled. Not that many people are ever going to have that opportunity.

You’re right, I was playing tennis and then all of a sudden the Tour was launched. It wasn’t as organized as it is now with purses perhaps totaling only $25,000 and the winner getting $5,000. Today, the winner might get $800,000 for their efforts.

The progression of the sport has come a long way since your original playing days. What are your thoughts on Tennis’ transformation over the years?

I think it has been great. It’s really a matter of supply and demand which is a pure economic thing. The more people have interest in Tennis, the more sponsors get involved. In turn, the more outlets like TV get involved, the bigger the sport becomes.