In calling out the Mavericks and Disruptors that live in and around football, the chance to speak to Gary Aspden offered a fresh perspective on a culture that is blessed by a holy trinity of music, fashion and football.
The curator of the adidas Originals x SPEZIAL range, Gary Aspden is a source of great inspiration. From humble beginnings to personable influencer, his roots run deep. In understanding his path to curator and creator of a side to adidas that adds the value to the trefoil, it truly is a fascinating insight to from a man that has lived the three stripes at his own all-out infectious pace.
A fan as much as the rest of us, his early memories of the brand and it's connection with football, started on the feet. “My first boots were Beckenbauer Super and I guess things were very different back then. The Beckenbauer Super’s were black with white stripes and red studs and I remember immediately wanting to take the red studs out and replace them with aluminium studs ‘cos I didn't want to look flash”.
An astute lens on the game and it's surrounding cultures, he's experienced football at it's most raucous as well as ritious. “I think a lot of people have rose-tinted glasses when it comes to football in the 80's. There were so many things about it that were great; muddy pitches, players dodging dog sh*t, training on a park just up the road from the ground but there was a dark side to 80's football too."
"I remember going away to Derby with Blackburn and coming out of the ground and me and a mate of mine got separated from the Blackburn fans. It was pretty terrifying. It was like being behind enemy lines. It was scary. There was something about 80's football that was great but sometimes people don't talk about the nasty right-wing stuff that was going on which I didn't have a lot of time for.”
Talking football and fashion, it's a lesson from a master; especially if you're an appreciator of the subtext that is written in the terraces. Proper appreciation. You can read the full article in Issue 4 of the SoccerBible Magazine.
Get your hands on a copy here.
