Adidas & Shake James celebrate life with the new "Twilight" collection

For more than 30 years, Eric “Shake” James has been one of adidas’ most prominent ambassadors. He has used his love of sneakers and basketball to inspire and impact his hometown city of Milwaukee.

In 2014, Shake opened his first sneaker store, Clicks, a lifestyle boutique that celebrates the marriage of clothing and sneaker culture. Shake also established J.A.Y. Academy, a nonprofit organization that offers back-to-school giveaways, Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas toy drives, and scholarships.

For his latest collab, Shake and adidas are releasing the “Twilight” Mad IIInfinity Mule and the “Crazy” IIInfinity shoes which are inspired by basketball and the parallels the sport draws to real life when striving for success.

To celebrate the launch, Shake and adidas Cornerstone Community will host a full slate of community-first events including a “Friends & Family” basketball game on March 1, featuring all-star cameos from Brooklyn Queen, and Bizness Boi, with a special halftime performance by That Girl Lay Lay.

Sports Illustrated's Kicks On SI spoke with James about when he first developed a love for sneakers, designing the “Twilight” collection, and his favorite adidas of all time.

Red and black adidas shoe. — The adidas Crazy IIInfinity. | adidas

What is one of your first sneaker memories?

When I was younger, we grew up super poor and my mother worked at Woolworths. She saved up her money to buy me a pair of shoes for my birthday.

So we went to the store and she must have talked to the guy because he already had sneakers ready for me. I was looking at the shoes, and they were cool. When I went to pick them up, I walked past those shoes that she had picked out for me, and I picked up a pair of Adidas. And the rest is history.

Going from your pair of adidas to now having several releases with the brand, how has this journey been for you?

I just spoke at Marquette University. I was telling them I’m from the same city they come from. This is real math. I've been a partner with adidas for 30 years, I had a store for 10 years, and it took me eight years to get my own shoe.

Sometimes my friends would say, 'Bro, when are you going to get your own shoe?’ But I knew that timing was everything. I had to wait for my turn. Also, I have such great relationships. Just to see Bun B wearing my sneaks on Drink Champs and I didn't pay him to do that.

Or for Usher to put the shoes on and I couldn't even afford to pay him for that. It was just the love that it was like, all these people wanted to see me win.

Red and black adidas shoes. — The adidas Mad IIInfinity Mule. | adidas

Last year, you and adidas dropped the adidas x 414 Day in honor of Milwaukee's 414 Day. How did all that come together?

I bumped into that one by accident. I saw an ad on Instagram that Detroit had “313 Day.” So I talked to this guy who worked at Adidas named Tony Holmes, and I was like, “Why has there never been a 414 Day? That's big out here.”

He said, “Because you never designed it. I was like, “Well, let's get to it, right?" We got to it and the Bucks ownership signed off on it. Immediately. They believed it was great for the city. Plus, we now have Dame Lillard. I wanted the message to give youth pride in our city.

We had a sneaker fair for the kids and they got a chance to design their sneakers. I want them to see that there are so many avenues to get into the sneaker industry.

The IIInfinity “Twilight” Pack is your latest collaboration. What was your vision behind the release?

With the Twilight pack, I worked again with Alexander John. I wanted to reinforce to kids that they shouldn't be afraid to shoot. It’s about shooting your shot and that's why I picked a basketball shoe for this drop. It’s all about shooting your shot.

It just doesn’t solely apply to kids but to adults. If you feel like you deserve a raise, or you see a girl that you've been liking and you want to get a number, you gotta shoot your shot. It’s about having that confidence. It’s more than just another sneaker but the attitude you need to have in life that inspires you when you wear them.

Lastly, outside of your own designs, what are some of your favorite adidas?

Wow. My number one all-time favorite would be the adidas Mercury. adidas did a collaboration with Kendrick Lamar a few years ago. It was a boot they made and Kendrick was behind it, wearing it, and promoting it.

They were a black and brown pair. I still have both pairs. The crazy thing about it is the boots are so nice that I never wore them because I didn’t want to mess them up. They were rare and limited. Next is the adidas Goukana and the 97 Kobe's, the Crazy 1s.

Then it would be the Pharrell x NMD. Pharrell was going crazy with the NMDs. have the burgundy ones but I love them all.

The “Twilight” Mad IIInfinity Mule retails for $80, and the Crazy IIInfinity for $140. Both silhouettes will be available starting March 1 in-store and clickskicks.net.

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