National League MVP and World Series hero Kris Bryant shined a light on spinal cord research by having three Chicago street artists design three pairs of Adidas Energy Boost Icon 3 baseball cleats for him. Kris wore those on “Players Weekend,” a Major League Baseball holiday celebrated August 25- 27.
Bryant wore one pair each day against the Philadelphia Phillies over the three-day weekend. Each pair also celebrated one of the three cities that have given Kris wings – Las Vegas, San Diego and Chicago. Now they are up for auction to raise money for Wings for Life and spinal cord research.
Read the full story on Kris Bryant's cleats here: www.wingsforlife.com/kbcleats
In the third and finale game of the series, Bryant unveiled his “Game 3” Chicago cleats – designed by artist Max Sansing - who was born in Chicago and has a history with Kris Bryant dating back to Summer 2016 when he collaborated on a stunning mural of the player that is still up in the heart of Chicago’s Wrigleyville. In these Chicago cleats, Bryant had a base hit and run scored. As this would be the first time an athlete had worn Sansing’s design in athletic competition, he focused on highlighting Bryant’s love for Chicago, where he has put down roots and gotten married.
Sansing used colors that he felt embodied the energy that swells up at Wrigley Field when Kris comes to bat. He wanted those Chicago blues to rise up to electric greens to give a dramatic feel to Kris in action. He made sure the wings were prominent on the shoe, as well as the Chicago star as a badge of honor for Kris’ work on and off the field in the city.
“I've never done this before, given that most of my art is large-scale, portrait based,” said Sansing. “I mainly looked up shoe styles that Kris has worn in the past and went ahead putting my spin on it. It's already a beautiful shoe and I didn't want to do anything to clash with its design. I wanted to tread the line of art and sports shoe design.”
“I had the idea of waves of blues representing the people of Chicago supporting Kris, layering waves of spray paint and masking out the wings and color rays,” Sansing continued. “Keeping the masking tight and knowing when to stop adding color was the challenge. It's easy to go overboard.”
Max Sansing was born and raised in Chicago. Art was always in his blood, as his parents and older sister were artists. When Sansing started getting mural jobs in college, he knew this would be his career path. He's a big fan of all sports, especially Chicago teams. In his spare time, he enjoys running, hiking, and playing catch with either a baseball or football.
The Wings for Life Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit that is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury (SCI). This organization is generously supported by Red Bull who underwrites all of the charity's expenses so that 100% of the donations go directly to support cutting-edge medical research projects. Find out more about the charity here: www.wingsforlife.com