Joe Foster co-founded Reebok in 1958 and helped grow the company into a $4 billion company. he saidbefore exiting 1991. (Adidas acquired Reebok in 2005 for $3.8 billion. For sale in 2021.)
Now the 89-year-old entrepreneur is helping launch a new high-tech shoe brand whose slippers fit the bill perfectly 3D printingmeaning they are printed from layers of plastic filament stacked one on top of the other, rather than assembled.
The founder said that this is also the first commercial shoe designed by artificial intelligence entrepreneur.
Image source: Syntilay
This pair of shoes is the first from Synthetic Laia brand advised by Foster. The founder and CEO of Syntilay is a serial entrepreneur Ben WeissThe 25-year-old has previously launched a weekly podcast, an NFT company and a sneaker brand.
Weiss and Foster presented the slides on Thursday to the lucrative U.S. footwear market, which has revenue of about $78 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $104 billion in 2028. Repeat based on run.
The shoe comes in five colors – blue, black, red, beige and orange – and is customized to suit each buyer’s needs.
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Weiss and Foster said they plan to produce about a few thousand pairs, enough to make Syntilay a more recognizable name, and then pivot to creating unique AI-designed shoes that brands and content creators can sell as their own.
entrepreneur spoke with the founders about how they got into the industry, how artificial intelligence contributes to the shoe’s design, and what Foster learned from Reebok.
How did this partnership begin?
Promote: Book [Weiss] Come to us with an idea. I think what inspired us was Ben’s passion. This collaboration has been ongoing for 18 months.
Wes: I just contacted him and a few months later we met in person and had some great conversations. I just explained the opportunity here.
These slides do not come in traditional sizes. How does one get a custom fit?
Wes: Scan your shoes for fit via your phone’s camera app. Our partner Zellerfeld supports this approach. They have a great way of finding the perfect shoe for you, taking your measurements from your phone camera and then specifically 3D printing them.
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Can you tell me more about the shoe design?
Wes: The design is very unique because we used artificial intelligence to generate its shape. This was the inspiration for our build. we drew a sketch [human] Designer, then we used AI to generate the 3D shape. The patterns on the shoes are also all designed by AI; we generated the patterns. We tried many different versions. So it’s very detailed.
Image source: Syntilay
So do you think the shoe was designed by artificial intelligence, or was there more human involvement?
Wes: I would say it’s pretty divisive. This is the most AI-designed shoe we’ve seen to date. It’s very much an artificial intelligence shoe. We still have a human designer helping us make it and guiding it along the way. I think that’s probably the best thing that can be done in the current state.
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printed shoes?
Promote: The advantage is that it can speed up development. You can produce your product in a few days and if there are problems, you can get new samples. So development is much faster. Now, how much you can develop it and what the process is, we’re still learning. The downside is that you can’t do batch 3D printing, but you can get the product on the market and make sure it does its job.
Side profile of red slide. Image source: Syntilay
The upper is orange. Image source: Syntilay
The sole is blue. Image source: Syntilay
What lessons did you learn at Reebok? How would you apply them here?
Promote: We understand that you may encounter problems, you may encounter challenges, but those challenges are also opportunities. Our business started as Mercury Sports Footwear. We couldn’t register it, so we came up with a better name. We also had to change our silhouette because adidas didn’t like our two stripes and a T-bar. We’ll change it to a vector, which you can now see in Reebok. I think that’s what you do with everything. If you’re in a business, you have to be ready to change, willing to change. In fact, you have to seek change. If someone challenges you, that’s a great opportunity.
How would you like to extend Syntilay?
Wes:We’re starting now with this pair of shoes in different colors, but that’s pretty limited overall. We ultimately hope to provide opportunities in the footwear space for many brands and content creators. What we have today is a faster way to make shoes using artificial intelligence and 3D printing. Our approach is to create new and original designs for brands and influencers.
A pair of slides. Image source: Syntilay
What is the ultimate goal of this launch?
Promote:It took me ten years to bring Reebok to the United States. But that changed when we got a 5-star rating from Runner’s World. They wanted us at the time—America wanted Reebok. We gained credibility. In the process, Syntilay will gain credibility. This can be very simple. Probably a person. Now it’s a matter of getting these shoes out and sparking people’s imaginations like, “Wow, this is awesome.”
This interview has been lightly edited and edited for clarity.
