These Shoes Have a Story to Tell

If you were an artist and golf was your canvas, what would you paint? Would you keep things plain and white or would you add your own splash of color?

Golf and, by extension, golf footwear, has largely forced golfers into a shoe-shaped box of expressionless monotony. There’s enough boring footwear out there for all of us.

What if your footwear could be an extension of your personality and love for the game rather than merely the means to help you plod around the golf course?

For decades, golf has been boring. Expressionless. Mundane. Eastside Golf is hoping to change that (and invite more golfers into the fold) with their latest collaboration with NIKE.

Entitled “Everyone’s Game”, the two-shoe collection plays on the blank canvas theme. The all-white shoes come with six different NIKE swooshes so you can make the shoes your own.

If you were an artist and these shoes were your canvas, how would you make them your own?

“I think there’s been campaigns before in the golf industry that have used those terms, whether it was “get golf ready” or “make golf your thing”, and it’s really more of our point of view was like, “you own this!”” said Earl Cooper, Co-founder of Eastside Golf.

“Who are we to define what a golfer is, and who are we to say, ‘Oh, you have to have a handicap to be a golfer’? You could be someone that just enjoys, you know, mini golf, or Topgolf, or watching YouTube videos, or whatever it may be. It’s like, really just wanted to feel like you own a piece of this game, and that bled into the way the shoes were designed.”

Eastside isn’t just selling shoes. They’re selling the idea that no matter who you are, what you look like or what your ability is, you can own a piece of this game.

“I think this is really giving people an opportunity to tell their story, whatever that may be. So I’m more excited about hearing how people wear, seeing how people style it,” Cooper continued.

“Some people may wear one of the swooshes and not the other swoosh. Or wear, you know, two swooshes, but different colors, right? Like it can get crazy. There’s so many different interchangeable ways and styles and point of views.”

The canvas on which golfers can affix their personality is the NIKE Air Max 1 G and NIKE Zoom Victory Tour 3. Historically, Eastside’s collabs have taken place on Jordan Brand shoes, not NIKE silhouettes.

This step in Eastside’s budding partnership with the Swoosh further signifies the growth of the brand, and the potency of the mission.

“We look at ourselves as leaders in this space, but also recognize the responsibility that we have and not just be a cliche, but really have true impact, true change, but also, you know, really just be a legit brand with great pieces and great products,” said Cooper.

“I think more than anything, if someone looks at that shoe and says, ‘You know what, I feel like this game is for me, and that I own a piece of this game’, that’s success.”