Brandon knew nothing about skateboarding. He hadn’t even thought about jumping on a skateboard with his treasured shoes. He barely liked to walk on the pavement in them.
One of the young women reps answered his question. “Well, my little brother’s into skateboarding, and he said that low tops allow you to focus more on maneuvering on the actual board, whereas high tops are clumsier and would get in the way. He also said they like thick rubber soles for the same reason. You want to make sure your feet are flat on the board without any foam or extra stuff on the soles that may trip you up. So basketball shoes just don’t work.”
Simba nodded. “That all makes sense. Basketball shoes have a lot of extra straps and stuff on them, and the soles are all crazy for cutting hard and using angles on basketball floors.”
“I can see that,” Leon agreed. “And then when you’re jumping and landing on a skateboard, you don’t want to float up in the air with lightweight shoes either. You want to make sure you come back down on the board. So they like their shoes heavier.”
“But they don’t like them too heavy,” the young woman rep assured him.
Brandon’s simple question had informed them all. He shrugged and said, “Okay. That settles that. Now we know. But why do their shoes have to look so ugly?”
Everyone at the table laughed.
Natasha attempted an answer. “I think they’re more interested in their fancy skateboards than the actual shoes. I don’t believe they think about the shoes as much.”
“Well, we need to get them to think about the shoes. That’s our job,” Daniel, the events coordinator, told everyone. “We’re not just a sponsor. We design and sell shoes. So he’s our top priority.”
Brandon heard Daniel loud and clear. He sat there at the table and began to mastermind ways to make skateboard shoes more attractive, while everyone else focused on their menus. Brandon also thought about promoting The Beast Team to skateboarders.
>>>
By ten that evening, the guys had finished dinner at Applebee’s before calling home to Arizona to assure everyone they were fine and heading back to the hotel to check in. Natasha caught up with a luggage-bearing Brandon at the elevators.
“So, you’re all in for Adidas now, I see.”
She smirked and was all up in Brandon’s grill. He had to swallow hard to compose himself as the mint flavor of her breath hit him square in the nose, enticing him.
Man, her breath even smells good after dinner, he noted with a sly grin. She was so close that he wondered about his own breath.
“Yeah, Adidas had to grow on me,” he answered. “Nike has a lot more shoes. And they’re more into basketball.”
“That’s why I was surprised to hear you say that. You’re trying to butter us up now?”
“No, I mean, I’m working. I’m here to work,” he insisted.
“Yeah, okay, Mr. I’m-Here-To-Work. I’ll be watching you,” she countered with her raspy voice and a smile.
Brandon was actually interesting to her—in an eccentric genius kind of way. She realized that he was smart about marketing. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, which made her want to figure him out. On the other hand, Leon and Simba were both obvious—a loud-mouth attention-getter and a loyal follower, respectively. That made Brandon the real prize with a mind of his own.
“All right. So be it,” he told her.
When she walked away to join Adrienne, who was watching skateboarders in the parking lot, Leon stepped up and teased him again.
“Yeah, and you’ll be watching her too, right?” he whispered to Brandon.
“Stop it, man,” Brandon barked nervously. He wanted to appear cool and above it all.
“Whatever, man. She didn’t hear me.”
Simba chuckled as they climbed onto the arriving elevator and added his two cents. “It looks like she might like him.”
“Yeah, in a little brother kind of way. She’s only teasing this boy,” Leon argued. “Girls love teasing him because you’re so freaking anal.”
“Whatever. You’re just mad that she’s watching me and not you,” Brandon shot back.
“She did say that,” Simba agreed.
Leon smiled, shook his head and ignored it. “Are you going back out in the parking lot?” he asked. “Those skateboarders are everywhere tonight. You could ask them more questions.”
Brandon shook it off. “Nah, you guys can go. I’ll see them all tomorrow. We have to get up early, and I want a chance to think about this.”
Leon laughed. “See that. You’re anal. Well, you can stay inside the room all you want. I’m putting my luggage down and going right back out. I saw a lot of big sisters out there who are bored with all of this skateboard stuff. And Adrienne is bored too.”
“Yeah, I knew you would get around to that,” Simba said. “She seems more like your type anyway. She’s willing to argue with you.”
Leon grinned. “I know, right. And she’s pretty.”
“Anyway, I’m just gonna relax in the room and set up some things for tomorrow,” Brandon said.
“All right, suit yourself,” Leon huffed.
As soon as they stepped off the elevator and onto the fourth floor, young skateboarders were running up and down the hallway.
Simba chuckled. “It doesn’t look like you’ll be getting much sleep tonight.”
Brandon sighed. “Skateboarders.”
SKATEBOARD NATION
BRANDON WAS THE first up to shower and get dressed in the morning, wearing a black and white Beast Team T-shirt and hat, topped off with the red and white event credentials badge that they were given for the Columbus Skateboard Championships at the Flow Skate Park. Events were being held all weekend from the Friday afternoon placements to the Sunday afternoon championships.
Simba looked at Brandon’s choice of clothes and paused. “Don’t forget, they want us to pick out some Adidas gear this morning.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’m not wearing it,” Brandon insisted. “I’d rather give it to the skateboarders in the crowd. And I’m gonna keep the stuff that I want in the room.”
“Brandon, I’m pretty sure they want us to wear it. I mean, we are here for Adidas, right? This isn’t a Beast Team trip.”
“Why isn’t it? That’s why they have us out here, because of The Beast Team. Otherwise, we’re just a bunch of nobodies.”
Simba shook his head. “Dude, you’re asking for trouble.”
“How?” Brandon held up his badge and credentials. “We’ll have Adidas all over us. Nobody has these but Adidas people. And we’re all wearing their shoes.”
Brandon walked over to his bag and unraveled the D Rose 4.5 Zebras from a box. He showed them off to Simba.
Simba’s eyes grew as he took them in. “Oh, my God. I saw those online. You bought those? How come you didn’t tell us?”
Brandon grimaced. “Come on, S.K., you know my rules. I don’t tell you guys everything I buy.”
“So, you’re wearing those today?”
“Definitely. I need something to stand out in.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed to put them on.
“You’re a piece of work, man,” Simba said.
“That’s why I’m the Sneaker King,” Brandon boasted playfully.
“Aren’t we supposed to be wearing skateboarder kicks?” asked Simba.
Brandon shook his head defiantly. “I’m not doing it. I’m not wearing ugly skateboard shoes. These are Adidas,” he said of his D Roses. “That’s close enough.”
>>>
Inside the hotel conference room on the ground floor, the guys looked through some of the Adidas gear. It wasn’t all bad. They had boxes full of skateboard-themed T-shirts, wristbands, headbands, socks, water bottles and visors to compete with the promotional items of many other sponsors who were there. The boxes included several different pairs of low-top shoes that none of the guys were particularly excited about.
“Well, if I had to choose one of these, I guess the bl
ue and black suede doesn’t look that bad,” Simba commented.
“I like the red and black suede,” Leon admitted.
Brandon looked at the low-top Adidas shoes and had his own ideas about how to make them more attractive.
“What about you, Brandon? Which pair do you like?” asked Daniel Baker. Michael Avery stood next to him with the other Adidas staff members, all wearing company gear.
Brandon grinned and played coy. “I have a few ideas, but I want to run them past some of the skateboarders first.”
“Yeah, we see you have the new D Roses on this morning. Those things are hypnotizing. I feel like I’m out at the zoo or the jungles in Africa somewhere,” Michael joked of the zebra-striped shoes.
The guys laughed it off.
“What about the T-shirts? Are you gonna grab one of those to wear?” Daniel pressed Brandon.
Brandon continued to play coy as his guys watched and listened closely. “Well—”
Natasha and Adrienne walked into the room before Brandon could finish his comments.
“—I kind of want to approach Jay Stewart with my regular Beast Team look. Without it, I would be like James Harden playing basketball without his beard. I mean, it’s my signature look.” He wore his black and white TBT hat as well.
Natasha looked Brandon over and heard his position, while everyone awaited Daniel’s response. He looked at Michael first for an explanation. But before Michael could speak up, Brandon continued, “How about you let me meet him first as I am, and if I can get him to hang out with us and talk about sneakers and Adidas, then I did my job, right?”
Daniel cringed. “Well, we kind of want you to represent Adidas when you do that.”
Brandon grabbed the Adidas credentials from around his neck again.
Daniel groaned, “Yeah, I can see that, but—”
Michael shrugged and bailed Brandon out. “Well, you know, let him see if he can work his magic first.”
“And we’ll have on Adidas everything right next to him,” Leon spoke. “But Brandon always stands out like that.”
“Yeah, he does,” Simba agreed.
Daniel exhaled. “Well, let’s see what you can do.”
Natasha smirked at Brandon. He continued to impress her with his individualism. His character was stronger than she had first thought.
This boy is something else, she told herself. He’s probably gonna have a bunch of skateboarders surrounding him too. People like him.
>>>
The Flow Skate Park rocked from a crowd of local and national skateboarders with their families, friends and thousands of spectators. The local cable and national sports media were there as well, along with dozens of sponsors—Monster Energy, Flip skateboards, Vans shoes, Relentless Energy drink, Sidewalk skates and more.
“They say this place has fifty thousand square feet of skateboard challenges and ramps. It’s also used for BMX bike events,” Michael informed the Adidas staff when they arrived. They all carried boxes of merchandise, including water bottles, wristbands, headbands and T-shirts to work the crowd.
“Today is only the preliminary round of warm-up runs to get everyone acclimated to the course,” said Daniel. “So it’s probably best to cover as much ground as we can today before these guys get into real competition mode for tomorrow and Sunday.”
Brandon thought of working his way over to Jay Stewart immediately. Meanwhile, everyone split up into groups to work a different part of the crowd.
Brandon looked around the skating park like a hawk and launched right into his action plan. “Come on, guys!” he barked at Leon and Simba.
He spotted the ESPN camera crew and headed straight for them.
“Hey, ESPN. We did a story with you on sneakers a couple of months ago. Who are you guys here to cover today?” Brandon asked the group of seven.
One of the younger cameramen recognized him instantly. He snapped his fingers and muttered, “Hey, ah, yeah, you’re um—”
“Brandon Jenkins from The Beast Team,” Brandon said. “These are my guys, Simba and Leon.”
“Yeah, that’s right. So, you guys are out here too, huh?”
“Yeah, Adidas brought us out. We’re all here to see Jay Stewart,” Brandon commented. He made sure they all heard him.
“Yeah, we’re all here to see Stewart too,” one of the ESPN crew guys confirmed. “Of course, there’s also Ryan Sheckler, Nyjah Huston, Haden McKenna and the rest, but Jay Stewart is the new kid on the block.”
Brandon and his guys had no idea who they were talking about, but Brandon stuck to his script.
“Yeah, that’s why they brought us in, for Jay Stewart. He’s the new phenomenon, and he competes in sneakers.”
On cue, they all looked down at Brandon’s feet.
“Whoa, what the hell are those, Zebras?”
“They’re the new D Roses, special ordered,” Simba answered for his friend.
“And Adidas brought you in?” another cameraman asked. They had three cameras in all, one large and two smaller ones.
“That’s why we have all of this Adidas gear on,” Leon added. “They gave us a summer internship.” Leon was even wearing a headband.
“That’s cool,” the cameramen said in unison. Their crew included a woman reporter, who was straightening out her clothes and testing her microphone.
“Are you gonna interview him today?” Brandon asked her. “You can start talking with us, and we’ll talk about him.”
The reporter’s brow crinkled. Brandon was right there in her face.
“Ah, well—”
“Go ahead and do it,” the young cameraman encouraged her.
“Yeah, we can use it as a warm-up,” one of the older guys agreed.
They immediately began to shoot Brandon’s shoes and his Beast Team outfit.
“Okay,” said the reporter, throwing her long, straight black hair over a slightly tanned shoulder. She faced the cameras with her microphone in hand as Brandon and his guys surrounded her.
“I’m ESPN reporter Cassie Morris, and we’re here today in Columbus, Ohio, at the Flow Skate Park, where we’re getting set to cover the first skateboard championships of summer of two thousand and thirteen. And we have Brandon Jenkins and The Beast Crew here with us from Adidas, who are all excited about the new skateboard phenom, Jay Stewart.”
She turned her microphone in their direction. “So, how did you guys first hear about him?”
Brandon said, “Are you kidding me? We saw him on YouTube. Everyone’s talking about Jay Stewart now. So we showed up in Ohio to put him on The Beast Team, because he’s a beast on the skateboard. And he needs to have a beast pair of sneakers from Adidas.”
“Beast Teeeammm!” Simba and Leon yelled.
Cassie went with the flow. “Speaking of beast teams and sneakers, what kind of sneakers are you wearing today, Brandon? What are those, Zebras?”
On cue, the camera angled down to his feet again.
Brandon raised his right foot. “These are the new D Rose 4.5s. And I hope he comes back a beast in the NBA next year. He’s one of my favorite players.”
“And Jay Stewart is our favorite skateboarder,” Simba added.
“Yeah, he’s a beast!” Leon barked into the cameras.
“Well, there you have it, from The Beast Team and not Crew, right guys?” Cassie corrected herself.
“Yeah, it’s all about teamwork. And we want to get Jay Stewart on our team with brand new Adidas,” Brandon announced.
“My God, that was great! We can definitely use some of that,” the older cameraman exclaimed. “You guys are pros. I’m gonna have to look up that story the network did on you.”
“Yeah, you do that. It was all about sneakerheads. And we’ll be here for this whole event for Jay. So you guys can cover us with the cameras,” Brandon suggested.
The camera guys nodded, seeming to agree.
“If you guys can hype up the crowd, then you got yourself a deal,” the senior cameraman told them.
“Oh, well, you better pull out the earplugs. We’ll have this place rocking.”
In the distance, the members of the Adidas staff watched them. They hadn’t been inside the building for ten minutes before Brandon and his guys had charmed the ESPN camera crew.
Michael Avery laughed. He turned to Daniel. “I told you this kid is special. I’ve seen him in action. He just has the ‘it’ factor.”
“Yeah, I see,” Daniel admitted. “Well, let’s see what he does when he meets up with Jay Stewart.” The Adidas rep continued to sound doubtful.
However, Michael chuckled with confidence. “I’m not even worried about it. He’ll have the skateboarder eating out of his hand by the end of this weekend.”
>>>
On another side of the packed building, Natasha and Adrienne watched the ESPN interview as well. Natasha shook her head in amazement.
“Did you see that? If they get on TV, I’m gonna scream.”
Adrienne grinned. “I think you’re feeling him,” she hinted about Brandon.
“Not like that. But I mean, you have to admit that he’s interesting. That’s why he’s the only one not wearing Adidas today. He always seems to have something up his sleeve. But that doesn’t mean I like him.”
Adrienne continued to smile, believing what she believed. “All right, if you say so.”
Natasha eyed her friend and said, “Stop it. He is not my type. He doesn’t even play any sports. And he just graduated from high school.”
“Yeah, but he can represent sports. He’s like a natural business type, and he already holds his ground,” Adrienne noted. “Didn’t they say they were all headed to NYU?”
Adrienne attended Seton Hall as well. They were both rising sophomores.
Natasha continued to blow off her friend’s hints of romance. “Whatever. I’m no cougar. I’m just saying he’s interesting. You never know what he’s up to.”
“You better watch yourself, girl. I can see it coming,” Adrienne insisted, shaking her head. “You can talk that no cougar stuff if you want, but he’s only a year younger than us.”
The Sneaker Kings Page 8