By Omari Foote

New Balance has collaborated with media brand HYPEBEAST to acknowledge the impact three East Coast communities have made on New Balance.

They are showcasing exhibits titled “Sounds of an Icon,” with galleries curated to explore Philadelphia, D.C., and Baltimore’s ties to New Balance. 

The exhibit will make its final stop in Baltimore on March 2. 

D.C. Sounds of Icon panelist and sneaker collector Abdul Fouzi said New Balance was always his neighborhood’s sneaker brand of choice. 

“When you went out of town, you could see someone in New Balance and know they were from here,” Fouzi said. 

Fouzi said the support for New Balance has existed for decades in D.C. but is reciprocated sometimes. 

“Now it’s time to give us something back,” Fouzi said to a predominantly Black crowd at the gallery. 

In 2016, the Boston Globe reported that New Balance owner Jim Davis donated $400,000 to Donald Trump’s campaign. 

New Balance followed up with a statement saying they did not tolerate bigotry. 

The controversy of that moment eventually fizzled out.

Despite Fouzi’s assertion that New Balance shoes have always been fashionable in D.C., it took the rest of the country some time to buy into them. 

New Balances were referred to as the “Dad Shoe.”

The term came from multiple memes that depicted worn white New Balance shoes that dads couldn’t wait to “trim the lawn in.” 

However, in 2023, the chunky look was in, and fashion outlets like Conde Naste Traveler talked about New Balance and how to style it. 

People were tweeting about New Balance making a comeback, with one X user and fashion designer Luchi TheDesigner posting, “Black people really saved New Balance.” 

Some Black DMV natives responded that they didn’t know the shoe “needed saving,” alluding to the popularity of the shoe in their city. 

Fashion media outlet Highsnobiety deemed New Balance one of streetwear’s most “hyped brands” in 2023.

HYPEBEAST reported that in this same year, New Balance saw a 23% increase in revenue.

In 2022, they reported $5.1 billion in revenue. By the end of 2023, they reached $6.5 billion in U.S. sales. 

New Balance and HYPEBEAST arrived in Philadelphia on Jan. 27, then in D.C., and now in Baltimore. 

The exhibit focused on Dom Adams, a D.C. native who owns the retail store and cafe Somewhere and is described by HYPEBEAST as a “local legend.”

Adams served as a panelist for the exhibit along with Ian Callender. 

Callender is a serial entrepreneur who owns Sandlot, an event-hosting space with multiple locations throughout D.C.

Callender and Adams emphasized how important it was for them to stay in D.C. and cultivate their companies. 

Adams said it would have been much easier to put a distribution center in another state and ship out thousands of sneakers. 

However, he said staying and investing in the city was essential. 

“We wanted to provide people with the opportunity to cultivate community,” said Adams.

Sounds of an Icon D.C. told the story of the city’s cultural impact on New Balance, with Adams at the center of it. 

Images of Adams eating blue crab by the water or sitting in a gray pair of New Balance 990s in Somewhere’s Navy Yard location appeared in the gallery. The boxy space walks viewers through a tour of DC through Adam’s eyes.

The next Baltimore installation will have Shan Wallace at the center. 

Instead of a panel, they will feature an artist workshop. 

HYPEBEAST described it as an “immersive gallery” with a workshop from 12-3 pm  Saturday.

David White, HYPEBEAST Account Executive, said he was one of the people who pitched the initial concept of Sounds of an Icon. 

“This event is so important and is just the beginning of a long relationship,” said White.