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On Monday, we caught up with one of the hottest players in baseball, Kris Bryant. The Chicago Cubs third baseman is off to yet another amazing season, leading the MLB in home runs and the team is sitting in good position for postseason play.
Kris is a fan favorite in Chicago and around the nation, sitting at the #2 position in jersey sales, only behind David Ortiz who is in his final season. Kris is also a big sneakerhead and a pretty well documented cleathead. We spoke to Kris in the Blends shop in downtown San Diego about what it was like to come back to San Diego to play, his favorite kicks, what he thinks of cleathead culture, and of course if he had any predictions for the All-Star Game.
Spoiler alert, he called it.
Nice Kicks: Kris, I know you’re originally from Las Vegas, but you played in college here in San Diego. What’s it like to come back here to play in the All-Star Game?
Kris Bryant: I made the first All-Star Team last year when it was played in Cincinnati and was ecstatic to make the team. Not long after playing that game I thought about trying to make the squad the next season to play in San Diego where I played for three years at the University of San Diego. I thought it would be great to play on the big stage at a place I used to call home. It means a lot to me. If it wasn’t for my time in San Diego, I wouldn’t be here and who I am today. I really look forward to making the most of this experience being in the All-Star Game.
Nice Kicks: I checked your Instagram and saw you are following @boostvibes. What is your favorite Adidas Boost shoe?
Kris Bryant: I like the Ultra Boost the most. You can’t go wrong with any of them. You can’t find a shoe that compares to the Adidas Ultra Boost in comfort. And to see Adidas put Boost technology into baseball cleats is really taking things next level in the cleat game.
We play 162 games a year in the regular season and Adidas shows their commitment to their athletes developing and engineering a product and cushioning system that allows me to be the best I can day in and day out, night in and night out. I could be playing a 20 inning game and to walk off the field and not feel the pain that I used to feel makes Boost my favorite cushioning.
Nice Kicks: But, you and the Chicago Cubs aren’t planning on just playing 162 games this year, right?
Kris Bryant: [laughs] No, definitely not. In Spring Training the team got together and set forth our goals for the 2016 season and we all came together and read our goals for each other and as a team and it was to walk off the final game of the year victorious. That of course means that it is our goal to win the World Series.
We got a long way to go with a few things to clean up, but I’ll take our group over any team in Major League Baseball. Any day.
Nice Kicks: I see you’re wearing the Yeezy Boost 350s today. Obviously a pretty popular one. How many of the Yeezys do you have in your lineup?
Kris Bryant: I’ve got them all except for the all-black Yeezy Boost 750s. The 350s are my favorite – you can wear them with practically anything. I wear the heck out of every pair. My only issue is trying to keep them clean because I wear every pair so much. They’re really one of my favorite shoes ever made.
Nice Kicks: Going back a couple of years, how did you and Adidas connect?
Kris Bryant: I got drafted and all of the sportswear and equipment companies started coming after me and Adidas was really the only company that showed me what they wanted that aligned with my vision and they have stuck to it from day one.
Adidas has really been a first class organization to work with. They take care of you as an athlete on the field and off, they take care of your whole family, and most importantly, they really listen to all of the feedback you provide to them. I really can’t say enough great things about Adidas.
Right after I got drafted, they showed me the layout and the plan for what they have coming in baseball for the next several years and they have executed everything in their plan. It’s really cool to be part of the team that is growing and expanding in baseball and to get to be part of that growth.
Nice Kicks: What do you think about the #Cleathead culture and movement that has started to take off recently?
Kris Bryant: It’s awesome. It’s really awesome.
As a player, you really want to express yourself and who you are. We all take the field in uniform with team issued gear, hats, uniforms, and so on, but with your cleats, you can express who you are. I think you see here with the new colorways and the new designs like the Adidas Dipped Collection that this is something that is a new move that is long overdue for baseball.
Nice Kicks: We have seen a few custom cleats out there in the #cleathead community as well…
Kris Bryant: I think custom cleats are really cool. It just adds even more of a custom feel to the game as a player. You see someone’s personality though your shoes. Adidas made me some custom opening day cleats that are my favorites. They sat down with me and talked to me about what is important to me as a player, off the field, my family, and they put it all on my cleats. I don’t know if I will ever wear this pair because they are so special to me. I have them put up as a nice trophy in my house to remember my first opening day as a Major League baseball player. It is really cool to see the brand do something so special and personal to celebrate a major moment in my career and life.
Nice Kicks: Let’s just say that it’s Game 7 of the World Series, and you and the Chicago Cubs walk off the field with the win, what is happening to those cleats on your feet?
Kris Bryant: [laughs] Those are MINE! I am going to walk off the field with those cleats on and I will not let anyone come close to those things. Those moments are the moments you live for as an athlete that mean the most to you and I think you take everything from that day to keep and hold onto forever.
Nice Kicks: Now I looked at Petco and saw that the left field fence is a few feet shorter than the one at Wrigley Field. Any predictions what we’re going to see in the game?
Kris Bryant: [laughs] The Home Run Derby should be an absolute blast to watch at this park. Perfect weather and big hitters in the lineup.
You know, honestly, it would be nice to hit one out in the All-Star Game.
