1 on 1 with Under Armour’s Dave Dombrow

Earlier this week, we unveiled the release date for the upcoming Under Armour Cam Highlight Trainer. Today, we go 1 on 1 with Head Creative Footwear Designer of Under Armour, Dave Dombrow. Dombrow has been involved with sneakers for a number of years and worked closely with Cam Newton on this soon to be released trainer.

Nice Kicks: Dave, what is it exactly that you do for Under Armour?

Dave Dombrow: I am the Head Creative Footwear Designer of Under Armour and the Lead Designer of the Cam Highlight Trainer.

Nice Kicks: Have you always been with Under Armour?

Dave Dombrow: I’ve been with Under Armour for a little over two years, but before that I have worked with Puma and Nike Basketball. I’ve obtained experience in designing both fashionable and high performance sneakers, so I’ve been the game a while, you could say.

Nice Kicks: Did you work directly with Cam Newton on this sneaker?

Dave Dombrow: Yes, we did! He flew up to Baltimore, we discussed what we wanted to do, and then we flew down to his home in Charlotte.

Nice Kicks: What was the process like?

Dave Dombrow: We wanted to get all the aspects of Cam’s life into a sneaker. So, we checked out his closet and saw high-end sneakers from Prada. The direction we wanted to go was to have a high-performance sneaker while keeping very fashionable aspects.

Nice Kicks: Was it difficult at all working with Cam?

Dave Dombrow: Cam is very invested into Under Armour. Cam was very opinionated, and a part of the whole process, from beginning to end. We wanted to put his “GQ style” into a sneaker, while creating a unique trainer that no one has seen before, because Cam wants to do big things on and off the field.

Nice Kicks: What about the performance aspect of the sneaker, because we all know much of a “freak athlete” Cam is on the field?

Dave Dombrow: Actually, him being the athlete he is has helped Under Armour a lot. He’s a quarterback with the build of a Tight End and speed of a Wide Receiver. So all of those aspects test the full capabilities of our design team in creating a sneaker that can handle all of those characteristics. The wear testing ultimately lead to a highly durable trainer that can weather any athletic prowess.

Cam Highlight Trainer Sketch

Nice Kicks: What was the inspiration behind the Highlight Trainer, and what were Under Armour and Cam aiming for?

Dave Dombrow: The inspiration was from a Ferrari. The carbon and diamond-like pattern on the trainer were made to?imitate?the outside and interior of a Ferrari and Bugatti. The suede vamp on the forefront of the shoe is inspired by the seats of the Ferrari. We wanted the sneaker to look “quick,” durable, and stylish and that’s what we ended up with.