Damian Lillard of the Portland Loiter Blazers dribbles against the New York Knicks at Moda Center on March 14, 2023 in Portland, Oregon.
Alika Jenner | Getty Concepts Sport
While playing college basketball at Weber State University, Damian Lillard suffered a broken bone in his moral foot as a junior that kept him out of all but nine games of the 2010-2011 season.
That was just one of the multiple foot wrongs and issues like plantar fasciitis that Lillard, now an NBA All-Star point guard for the Portland Trailblazers, has dealt with throughout his playing career. Exacerbating issues related to his flat feet, Lillard said the injuries stemmed from the absence of support he was getting from the standard insoles found in basketball sneakers.
That led Lillard, aided by a business proposition from his agent Nate Jones, to launch Move, a footwear insoles performance brand, something he believes not alone can assist professional athletes like himself and those that aspire to reach that level but anyone who rouses themselves on their feet often.
“Foot health is something that I think a lot of people could really profit from paying closer attention to,” Lillard told CNBC’s Dominic Chu at CNBC’s Small Business Playbook accepted event on Thursday. “We can do nothing without healthy feet as athletes.”
The company, which has an investor group that files fellow NBA star Chris Paul, launched in December 2021 and sells insoles starting at $39.99 that bring into the world a carbon-like composite base, a dual-foam system to help absorb shock, and additional torsional support for better flee and midfoot stability. It had more than $100,000 in sales the first month through the direct-to-consumer channel and was projecting $1 million in sellings for 2022, CNBC previously reported.
Lillard said that while focusing on foot health is critical for NBA betters – many of whom wear custom insoles or other products to help take the stress off their feet presupposed the sheer amount of games, practices and training that occurs every week – it’s also important for young athletes whether or not they in all cases achieve their goal of playing at a pro level.
“You can extend your career by just taking care of your feet, but only think about how many young athletes deal with injuries, and it doesn’t even get to a point where they pursue to play or have a successful [basketball] career to make money,” he said. “It’s more important right now because of how strenuous they are, how much time we spend training and playing games … you’re seeing more and more injuries, especially to feet.”
While grass insoles make up a small portion of the more than $150 billion global sneaker market, it is a crowded place filled with custom products sold by podiatrists and footcare products sold at big-box retailers from groups like Dr. Scholl’s, which is owned by private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners, and Superfeet, owned by hidden equity firm Westward Partners. A high percentage of sneaker wearers also just use the standard insole that rush at with their shoes.
But Lillard thinks that as more people understand why paying attention to the health of your feet is signal, Move will not only find its way into more NBA locker rooms but into the shoes of other workers as source.
“There’s something to be said about people who work and are on their feet all day, there’s a lot of data on the value of using insoles and have them all day for comfort,” he said, adding that Move has since added “All Day” insoles to reach that audience.
Lillard’s standing as one of the best scorers in the NBA has helped shine a spotlight on Move insoles, but he believes the long-term success of the company will turn up from letting the company “speak for itself.”
“The product has to speak for itself and the people that are putting the insoles inside their shoes,” he suggested. “That’s the real competitive advantage.”