Booting Around: Mario Balotelli’s PUMA Spear 1.0+ Boot

In our previous installment of our Booting Around series with Industrial Designer Dongwoo Shin, we paid homage to Thibaut Courtois’ Nike “The Wall” Boot. We now look at what it means to decipher an individual’s personality and flare of that player. Where better to start then Mario Balotelli? The 23-year-old has created quite a reputation for himself on-and-off the pitch with his various antics but his raw talent is undeniable. Having played a critical part in the victory against England, the Italian now turns his attention to Costa Rica who won 3-1 over a Suárez-less Urugay.

The initial introduction of Booting Around talked about how it is impossible to support a single player, but can Balotelli be the one to break that mold? Yes there are times when his actions face heavy scrutiny such as when his outrageous show boating tricks don’t pan out, but name another player who has the confidence to do that time and time again on such a big stage, and few if any come to mind.

For a concept that adapts to Balotelli’s technical abilities and character, the boot looks towards PUMA‘s Compression Gear for the first point of inspiration. Although it is deceptively simple, it has everything you need in it. Furthermore this inspiration was interpreted to produce a grippy layer on the boot to allow for greater control and turn a world class touch into something out of this world. Notwithstanding his personal aspects, the boot has to be a reflection of who Balotelli is, which is why the sharp and exotic shapes on the back represents his attitude to the game. Yes he is living in his own world but there is no denying that his world is football.

Booting Around is a four-part series that explores the concept of signature model football boot design in collaboration with Industrial Designer Dongwoo Shin. This is a work of art using the Compression Gear of the PUMA franchise. This art is unofficial, intended for non-commercial use and is not intended to take advantage of any profit from PUMA. HYPEBEAST does not claim any copyright over PUMA and its product attributes.