Adidas Empowers Entrepreneurs at 5th Annual Black Footwear Forum

Adidas empowers Black Entrepreneurs at Black Footwear Forum.

Scenes from the adidas Creator Camp. / LaLea Raymond/@lalearcreative

Adidas is committed to prioritizing wellness for Black women professionals and advancing Black entrepreneurship at the 5th annual Black Footwear Forum (BFF).

Held at the Pensole Lewis College in Detroit, the event brought together creatives, designers, brand executives, and sneakerheads together for their collective love of sneakers.

The event featured the  Black Genius Panel, moderated by i.e. Founder and adidas S.E.E.D. Co-founder Jessica Smith with a panel that included Footwear Designer Daziah Green, Executive Director of Black Being Alli Simon, and Black Ambition CEO Felecia Hatcher, who “discussed strategies for achieving success without compromising well-being.” 

At the BE WELL. BE YOU. Workshop, the session was specially designed for women and non-binary attendees. During the forum, three attendees were awarded grants with adidas and Black Being matching the total, “providing six recipients personalized sessions with career coaches and wellness practitioners of color to further empower their professional journeys.”

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adidas also partnered with Black Ambition for the No Pressure Pitch Competition and gave out $30,000 in prizes for Detroit-based startups from contestants who pitched their ideas in just one minute.

Adidas SVP, General Manager Daniel Cherry III, CEO of EvenScore/Black Tech Saturdays Johnnie Turnage, and Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, Founder of Pensole Lewis College, gave their feedback to the 60-second pitches.

To support the youth of Detroit, adidas curated creative workshops including rapper-singer Kari Faux who visited the adidas Sound Labs at the Detroit School of the Arts and Cass Technical School for a Q&A session about the music industry. There was also a Creator Camp at Cass Tech, “to mentor students in footwear design and to introduce them to industry career opportunities.”

The brand also debuted the adidas Business Track at BFF, a pilot product marketing and design sprint program created in partnership with Pensole Lewis College, to expand access to the sports industry.

In the initiative, adidas professionals will guide participants in marketing, product design, and storytelling, which will give aspiring creators experience. Historical Detroit retailer, Puffer Reds, will be the first to participate, co-creating a special collaborative shoe that will be brought to market in 2025. 

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