The three colorways of adidas FOCUSBREATHEIN all take inspiration from the ‘chakras’ – the points in the body through which energies flow – as a further celebration of these different types of energy and the qualities they inspire. These include:
- Root Chakra Red, which is linked to life force and stability
- Solar Plexus Yellow, which is linked to happiness and optimism
- Third Eye Blue, which is linked to intuition and peace of mind
Source: adidas FOCUSBREATHEIN Designed for Running Remedy and Re-Energizing a Personal Best Mindset
At the end of 2016, the culmination of a two year learning experience that saw me lose over half a million dollars, I had to learn how to run a business, but more important I had to learn to stop, focus, breathe in and exhale. In 2017 I discovered meditation. I utilized books and would sit in silence listening to YouTube videos that aligned my chakras via tones and colors associated with mandalas.
Typically in a post on this site I would focus on the fact that this shoe utilizes 3D construction and Bouncelite showing a shift from BOOST and how this is important to adidas regaining momentum and interest. This time I’d like to focus on this video below and explain that the name alone could drive people to understand the benefits of meditation. Note that I said “could”.
Now that the happy feelings from watching this video have subsided, I will get into my hope that adidas places just as much energy into this campaign and footwear as they will into Ivy Park. In the African-American community we have a tendency to work ourselves to death. This comes from the completely absurd stereotypes of Blacks as lazy and the idea that Black success derives from affirmative action and quotas. We fight so hard to be accepted we kill ourselves. Those of us not killing ourselves are so afraid to drive or simply live… we stress ourselves out to the point that, “Before age 50, African-Americans’ heart failure rate is 20 times higher than that of whites, according to the study.”
While adidas has made Ivy Park the marketing push, they have at their disposal something that could create a connection with African-Americans in a much stronger way. This shoe should be the start of a targeted branding experience by adidas that aims directly for people like me. On my YouTube you can see clearly the aging that took place from 2016 to 2017. My beard is completely grey now and not because of age. I was under so much pressure that my wife told me it seemed as if I went grey overnight. It wasn’t until I discovered that stopping and breathing was just as important to my health as lifting weights. There is opportunity here and with every color of this model an introduction to the chakras should arrive.