12 Things We Learned About adidas' Jon Wexler On The Breakfast Club

12 Things We Learned About adidas’ Jon Wexler On The Breakfast Club - Page 3

Yes, Nike is still king of the streets but for the past few ticks adidas has been gaining ground on its rival by leaps and bounds and is even finding itself having a difficult time keeping up with supply and demand. Enter Jon Wexler.

While you may have never heard of the man (maybe you’d be more familiar with his DJ Wex-1200 days), the Chicago native oversees the non-sports related faction of the three stripe brand and is in charge of making sure his company’s products ends up in the hands of some of today’s most influential people.

The Global Director of Adidas stopped by the Breakfast Club where he discussed how Hip-Hop influenced his youth, why adidas aligns itself with so many rappers and entertainers, and why the brand doesn’t mind it when Kanye West goes on his famous Twitter rants.

Check out 12 things we learned about Jon Wexler on The Breakfast Club.

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Photo: Power 205

photo: WENN

1. Run DMC

Run DMC made him fall in love with Hip-Hop when he heard “Its Like That” back in the 80’s. He eventually became a DJ and went by Wex-1200.

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2. Rivals

According to him other sneaker brands have beef with each other based on their affiliations. Though he does state that adidas refrains from bashing other brands because they’re all about The Golden Rule.

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3. Choosing Proper Partnerships

Adidas partners with artists like Big Sean, Pharrell, and Kanye because of the mutual respect and they’re looking for people who drive the culture and who kids want to dress like.

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4. Kanye West

When Kanye was blacking out onstage about Nike about using slave labor, adidas and Ye were already in discussion about a partnership.

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5. Jumping Over The Jumpman

As far as Yeezy jumping over the Jumpman, Wexler simply states that they’re trying to go in their own lane.

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6. Controversy

When it comes to standing behind controversial artists, Jon stands by their creativity but would draw the line at actual crimes. In other words had Rick Ross been down with adidas instead of Reebok, he would’ve still had a sneaker deal.

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7. Yeezy’s

Even though it’s his job to give away sneakers he doesn’t even see the Yeezy’s. Those go directly to Kanye and Kim.

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8. Hip-Hop

He was so knee deep in Hip-Hop music that his friends questioned his love for what they referred to as “just a fad.” Was that you, Gene Simmons?

9. Pharrell

Adidas linked up with Pharrell after collaborating with a Bathing Ape. Bape boss, Nigo told Pharrell how professional adidas execs were and the rest is history.

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10. Yeezy Season 3

The idea of having the Yeezy Season 3 product and album launch was something Kanye brought to the table back in November of 2014 when he saw his first adidas shoe sample.

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11. Creative Differences

Even though Adidas made Yeezy Season 1 apparel with Kanye, they fell back from making season 2 and 3 because Adidas didn’t want to limit his creativity.