IN CROWD: Liuid x Project 375
On Friday October 7th, emerging men's footwear brand Liuid officially released its exciting collaboration with NY Jets football player Brandon Marshall for his non-profit Project 375. Together, they designed a one-of-a-kind sneaker for men and women, with $18 of each purchase (the sneakers are an affordable $80) going to Marshall's non-profit which promotes mental health awareness. Marshall was the star of the red carpet outside of 23rd street while adoring fans gawked streetside and shouting out praises. Wearing his Liuid sneakers on the red carpet, Marshall exclaimed how comfortable and well-fitting he thought they were. We spoke to the creator of Liuid, Stan Hu who told us, " I jumped at the chance of collaborating with Brandon Marshall, as somebody with a military background and know people who struggle with mental health, I can relate to the stigma that surrounds it". The venue SPiN is a revolutionary ping-pong venue which kicks it up to the next level for our #jockofalltrades. The main event was a celebrity ping-pong tournament featuring Marshall's teammates including Eric Decker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Matt Forte, to name a few. The groups were broken down into three teams per court, playing round-robin simultaneously next to each other. Those who were not playing- ourselves included- were served lobster rolls, risotto balls, and bite-size pizzas. While watching football players playing ping-pong, we struck up a conversation with Sammi Giancola who told us she was "playing for the first time, but having fun with it." She also told us that she's a "huge Jets fan, and was most excited to see veteran Boomer Esiason and to come out for such a good cause". At the conclusion of the event, Brandon Marshall gave a resounding speech with this quote to end it off, "Football is my platform, not my purpose.” For more information on how to donate, click here. For more information or to purchase the shoes, click here.