I Designed a “Gary Vee” Sneaker Every Day For 2 Weeks (And Here’s What Happened)

My relationship with Gary Vee officially began November 12th, 2017, two days before Gary would turn 42 years old, and two days before Gary’s debut of his soon-to-be collector’s item sneaker (in collaboration with K-Swiss).

It was a lovely Sunday morning, enjoying my morning espresso with sun shining over my shoulders.

I pressed send.

Gary Vee and What Really Happened

I was sitting on my couch at home, with my wife still asleep upstairs.

I’d finally completed my sneaker design for my new book, Brand Intervention: 33 Steps to Transform the Brand You Have into the Brand You Need.

Very simply, Gary had inspired me with his new sneakers coming, I thought, “Damn, if Gary is coming out with a sneaker, my book’s gonna get a sneaker.”

Less than 15 minutes later, Gary replied with three words, “I want it.”

The Tweet That Started it All:

I was stunned.

So I replied asking Gary Vee his shoe size. I never heard back.

Now, get this: this was a prototype.

Here are the various designs I had been working on:

The color choices for the sneakers were deliberately in your face and consistent with the cover I’d designed for the book.

Early feedback on the book cover outstanding, and impossible to confuse with any other book. Plus it looked great when displayed small when shown on Amazon and online uses. (Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve already seen it, but just in case, here it is at right.)

“Unless You’re Running Fast, You’re Dead”

The above Gary Vee quote inspired my next steps.

Gary opened the door, and I was going to step in.

So, after investigating the cost to produce a prototype of sneakers, I chose a plan B.

The plan B had a number of steps:

1. How to get something to Gary Vee? One of my colleagues and his wife live and work across the street from Gary office. Done.
2. What to get Gary? Ooh, I had an inspiration, something that would leave a lasting impression. Done.
3. How to package this in such a way that it would be impossible to ignore? (Since I am certain Gary has a shitload of things sent to him all the time.) OK, I worked that out. Done.
4. Now, to get this on Gary’s radar. OK, I worked that part out with an email and tweet drip campaign. Done. (To see my amazing colleagues hand-deliver it to Gary’s offices, scroll down.)

Here are the elements.

The top of the box to remind Gary of our Tweet encounter:

The Short Side of the Box (this was the perfect Gary quote to include as part of the box design accompanied by a well know shot of Gary on his phone “wearing” my sneaker.):

The Box Before it Shipped:

What Gary Would Read Upon Opening the Box:

Just so the contents (shown below) of the box makes sense, I had the finest coffee roasted as part of my book launch as well as designing chocolate that was engraved. Here are what the coffee bags looked like:

Lifting the Cover Letter up, Gary Would Unveil his own Signed Hardcover Edition of my Book, two Brand Intervention Coffees, and a Cure No. 34 Laser-engraved Chocolate:

So, the real question is, is Gary going to invite me over to his NYC office to hangout together, shoot the shit, and share this hustle with the world?

Gary, I’m ready when you are.

Special thanks to Michael and Denice Duff for making this possible and ensuring “the eagle has landed.”