For the first time in footwear history, adidas created an online experience triggered by their exclusive collection of sneakers, the adidas Originals AR Game Pack. Using AR technology combined with your computer, the adidas Neighborhood will come to life, unlocking an introduction from yours truly:
I filmed this in the UK last fall and it’s finally up and rockin’ at the adidas Originals website. It’s great to be a friend of adidas – they sent me two boxes of sneakers/clothes and also took very good care of me at the shoot.
This month, adidas also partnered with GlobalGrind.com to promote the adidas Originals Neighborhood. To commemorate the collaboration, I’ll be providing four video updates to Global Grind. Here’s my first entry in that series:
That’s right – you heard it first – hit me with a tweet telling me what you’re doing to make your community better and I’ll be picking 2 of the best answers to give away a free pair of kicks or a jacket from me, adidas and globalGrind.com. Make sure to tag your tweet #RyanAdidas. You can also leave longer answers in my comments here or on my globalGrind blog entry. I’ll be reading and I look forward to hearing about how you’re doing your best to make your world better.
When I made the “Diamond Girl” movie back in 2007, I was doing exactly what I’ve always done: making the best use of my resources to bring a creative vision to life. Imagine my surprise and excitement upon hearing that the creative team at Lexus had interest in using the film as a reference for their latest campaign focused on the all-new, seven-passenger GX460:
Look closely and you’ll recognize the Moschino suit from my performance at the BET Honors, illustrating a creative seamless integration of the campaign’s kickoff with the television special (the ad begins just as I’m walking off stage). I posted this to encourage you all to be fearless. Taking on the challenge of executing your creative vision can be intimidating, especially when you are passionate about the message you wish to convey. At times, you may get caught up in the numbers. How many people are watching? I encourage you to consider that what really matters is who’s watching. In this case, the time and energy invested in making a short film have indirectly influenced a transition from the web to the small screen in the form of this amazing branding partnership. For a behind-the-scenes look at the deal, check the video below:
At this moment, I truly have to give it up to all of you – especially those who have shared my videos with your friends and families. Your support of my creative endeavors is the reason that the Lexus brand has integrated me in their messaging. I appreciate all of you and I’ll be working with Lexus to provide a chance for someone to come and test drive the car in NYC with me. Stay tuned for details.
So I had this video for a while and was ready to blast it until Universal asked me to hold back since MySpace music featured it today. Ah, the politics of exclusive content! In any case, Here it is, the Anthony Mandler directed visual interpretation of “You’re Not My Girl”:
I’m currently at the “Burning Man” festival in Nevada so I have limited internet here in the desert. In the meantime, pass the video on and feel free to ask anything you’d like to know regarding styling location, the girls, etc. and I’ll respond in the comments later.
I’ve received many questions about this song, including one today while I was answering tweets from 30,000 feet on my flight to LA. “I-R-I-N-A” is the spelling of my friend Irina Shayk’s name. Google her. Before I made my James Brown inspired video, I produced and shot this “Diamond Girl” campaign with her:
I enlisted my very good friend, photographer Pieter Henket to shoot the elaborate photo story. Over the course of two shooting days about a week apart, I worked with a team of professionals and interns to shut down the 30th Street Heliport in New York City and a massive suite at the historic Pierre Hotel on 5th Avenue. I became fast friends with Iri and the song is really about the excitement of getting to know someone new that inspires you the way she did me. The lyric “I might not speak your language” in the song refers to the fact that when we were shooting, she was still learning English as she’s from Russia. You can hear her accent when she speaks in her Sports Illustrated videos. She’s an amazing girl and we’re still great friends. Here are a few photos from the story (you can click to enlarge):
I learned so much from this experience that I could write a few pages about the lessons! Hit me if you have any more questions and thanks to Brittany Hall and everyone else who’s asked about ‘I-R-I-N-A’ for inspiring this post.
So much to write about this video. First, I had a concept that I shared with Shiv and the two of us fine tuned it into a treatment. I shopped it to some directors and when they told me how much they expected it to cost ($200K), I decided to direct it myself to give my staff an incredible learning experience. Two weeks into the planning and production process, I ran into Tyson Beckford at the G-star fashion show and invited him to direct the video with me. I could write a book about the production of this video – scripting, rehearsal, styling, filming, editing, sound design, color-correction… Instead, I’d like to focus on three themes:
1. You can do anything you decide to do as long as you have the resources and relationships to do it.
2. Don’t worry about your figure, outward appearance, or financial status with regards to your personal relationships. If someone loves you – they will love you as long as you are a good person on the inside. That goes for friends and lovers alike.
3. When you have something good, it’s inevitable that people will want what you have, and some will even try to (and succeed at) taking something you’ve worked hard to achieve. Your response? Achieve higher heights and greater success.
This is a big one for me. God bless and much love!
When I arrived in New York in 2003, I moved into a one bedroom apartment in a brownstone in Harlem. NextSelection eventually spread out to occupy the entire brownstone and though I recently took up a residence in Hollywood, I’d always promised myself that I wouldn’t leave the apartment in Harlem until my album came out. Well it’s coming out in less than a month, and I have an amazing new place close to Central Park. It’s empty except for a special piece I’ve always wanted:
Steinway makes a great piano so when I decided to get one, I visited Steinway Hall on 57th street in NYC. Before I made my final selection, Evan got nervous filming, so we missed the beautiful Kewazinga Bubinga instrument I chose from the Crown Jewel collection. “Distinguished by its red color streaked with dark purple, and its conspicuous pores, Kewazinga Bubinga is highly valued for architectural and design woodwork, and fine cabinetry.” I’ll play for you sometime.
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