During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump decided to launch a shoe. The Never Surrender shoes, named after the infamous moment in which the former and now current president survived an attempted assassination, came from a collaboration with Culture Kicks, a Pennsylvania-based sneaker company that has exploded onto the scene.
It proved to be a monumental decision in Trump’s eventual victory. He connected with a segment of the electorate that he hadn’t before. I sat down with Culture Kicks co-founder Alex Lotier to discuss the Trump shoes, what’s next for the brand, and more.
How Culture Kicks Landed Donald Trump
It is certainly possible that Culture Kicks never lands a partnership as magnanimous as the one they pulled off with Donald Trump. That’s not to say they won’t have big crossovers or haven’t in the past. They have, and Alex Lotier confirmed that there are some more big ones in the works. It’s just that working with a former president and someone in the middle of running for a second term to lead the most powerful nation in the world is as big as it gets by most definitions.
This wasn’t something he and his co-founder Chase Young had specifically sought out. “I wish I could sit here and tell you that we had a plan to collaborate with [Trump],” Lotier said. Bill Gunn, President Trump’s business partner, presented them with the idea in January 2024. “We jumped at the opportunity and knew that it was something that could be a really large event, an opportunity for the sneaker industry, but also an opportunity for us as a brand and entrepreneurs trying to grow our overall footprint,” Lotier added.
Donald Trump put a lot of effort into earning more votes this time around. His goal was to win the Electoral College and thus get back into the White House, but he made a concerted effort to campaign even in Democratic areas to make sure he got more overall support. That included Philadelphia, a place near and dear to Culture Kicks and somewhere that Democrats have historically dominated Republicans.
Kamala Harris won more votes there, but the Sneaker Con in Philadelphia where President Trump debuted his Never Surrender shoes was a valuable moment nonetheless. As for whether or not they expected Trump to do so well after the convention, Lotier said it wasn’t a thought they had.
“It’s easy to say, I guess, now looking back on it, that it would have swayed politically and helped him overall, but I think for us in the moment, just trying to, you know, remember at the time we had probably one hundred (4:48) thousand followers across all social platforms,” Lotier said. “Within 12 months while this was all kind of rolling out, we gained over three million followers across all platforms.”
Why They Chose Philadelphia
Lotier and Young knew it was a big opportunity. It ended up playing a part in what was dubbed the most important election of our lives, but their goal was to grow the brand and not to influence voters either way. Lotier added that they were “humbled” to even get the chance to work with such a well-known figure. “The Philadelphia Sneaker Con, where a lot of this was really centralized, ended up being really significant for this whole thing, both with the shoe and the growth of Culture Kicks and in terms of Donald Trump eventually winning the election,” he added.
As mentioned, Philly is a place near and dear to the company. While it is historically one of the most important places in a big swing state, it was all about being close to home for Lotier and Young. “We actually got to choose the city that Donald Trump was going to come to to release his sneaker,” Lotier revealed. “That’s how kind of engraved we were in the consultation of this entire thing… If we’re going to do this, we want to do it in our home city in Philadelphia, where all of our friends and family and day one supporters will be able to come to the show.”
What This Means for the Future of Politics and Shoes
This could one day be a bit of a landmark politically. President Trump performed better than expected with the youth of America. There was a lot of effort, be it on TikTok with videos or in doing things like the Culture Kicks collaboration, to make him more popular with younger voters. Putting out a signature shoe like he’s a Nike-brand basketball player was one of them.
Athletes that have their own shoes, from LeBron James to LaMelo Ball, connect with young fans in a way others don’t. Trump’s shoes, a fittingly golden pair, may have achieved a similar goal. If nothing else, it opened the door to show that politics doesn’t have to be boring or mainstream. This was certainly unconventional, but it worked.
Lotier believes that’s a lesson that could be learned from all this. “I definitely think everybody could agree that it was a successful use case and people outside the sneaker industry can yield positive impacts based upon what they do within the sneaker industry,” he said. He thinks there could be some interest in trying to replicate this phenomenon in future elections.
Conclusion
There may never be another presidential candidate like Donald Trump again, so there may not be a campaign like his before. It was certainly unorthodox that he debuted a shoe while trying to win the presidency. But as Culture Kicks said, it’s actually quite fitting for Trump. He had Trump Tower completely golden in New York. He’s sold an NFT before. He is who he is, and who he is meshed perfectly with the Never Surrender shoes.
As for Culture Kicks, this is only the beginning. They’ve been on an upward trajectory, and the Never Surrender shoes only added to that. They have several celebrities already involved, including Philadelphia Eagles legend Brandon Graham. They have some more big collaborations planned, and the sky is the limit.
