Superstars like to wear new iterations of their signature line each year – Stephen Curry did something radically opposite.
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Almost every single athlete likes to move forward in their signature line of sneakers. Some might occasionally pull out a one-off rare sneaker from their previous hits, but never for long stretches. Stephen Curry however did something not many would do. The Golden State man is a very superstitious fella, and when he finds something that works, he sticks with it until it doesn’t.
The Curry 4 FlotTro is a Frankenstein of a shoe. An upper of a Curry 4 that was made shifted onto a new sole tech (Flow Foam) because the Curry 8 uppers were still not perfected. While testing out the tech, Steph loved them so much, that he almost held the American Sportswear brand hostage. He wanted every single shoe that was released after the test to have Flow Foam in it, else he was taking his talents elsewhere.
Until the Curry 7, the shoe used the then flagship tech HOVR, and while they were good, they hurt his knees. He had to keep icing his knees after every game, which put a lot of pressure on him to recuperate. The Flow Foam, however, has made life easier for his knees, and he’s been playing at a much higher rate. The tech has been around for quite a while, so what makes one shoe stick out like a sore thumb?
Also Read: Under Armour is risking $14 billion by not promoting 4x NBA champ Stephen Curry
The FloTro for Stephen Curry has to be one of the best decisions made by Under Armour
The execs at UA made the right call bringing in their makeshift sneaker while testing to the market. The FloTro first debuted in the public eye against Portland. They made an instant impact and it was only an upwards upturn from there. Once the fans got a whiff of him being unbeaten in the Lilac versions of the FloTro, there was no stopping the resell market then.
Steph is clearly the biggest name Under Armour will ever get, and keeping him happy means more business for them. The Curry 4 is a firm fan favourite, so this one seems like a retro of sorts. The huge upturn in searches forced the brand to release it to the public, and it is a genius move.
The Black pair is already out, and the fan-favorite Lilac pair is to be released on August 5. This one shoe is a fine example of “Give the customer what they want”.
