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Stephon Marbury had a tumultuous basketball profession. He went from being hailed as a franchise savior in New Jersey to being lambasted as a scapegoat by his hometown New York Knicks. This all occurred transferring abroad to play in China, the place he turned revered like a god.
However all through all of the ups and downs, one factor remained in keeping with Marbury — his means to market himself. From Brooklyn to Beijing, the Coney Island child has at all times carried a novel swagger and stayed in contact along with his roots.
He turned the primary NBA participant to endorse avenue ball model AND 1, and launched the corporate into a brand new stratosphere of cultural relevance along with his flashy play model and bravado. He turned his iconic nickname, Starbury, right into a bona fide model, dominating headlines in 2006.
Now, as chief model officer of Chamelo Eyewear, Marbury is channeling that very same cultural clout and enterprise savvy into a brand new area.
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Futuristic imaginative and prescient
Chamelo’s aren’t simply any previous sun shades. They do not simply block UV rays or make you look cool — you possibly can alter the tint, swap colours and even hearken to music or take calls. Whereas the tech itself is not model new, Chamelo has leveled it up, slicing the shade-change time down to simply 0.9 seconds, in comparison with so long as eight minutes on different platforms.
“What we’re doing is thrilling as a result of it is one thing new to the world,” Marbury says. “We have Prismatic lenses that shift between 4 totally different colours. No one’s ever seen that earlier than. And whenever you’re a part of one thing that is by no means been executed earlier than, and it is a win-win for everybody, that is particular.”
Marbury was first launched to Chamelo’s tech on the Jockey Membership in Hong Kong, the place he met founder Fenghua Li, an avid basketball fan.
“Inside the first 5 minutes, he confirmed me the glasses, and I used to be like, wait — try this once more,” Marbury remembers. “I might by no means seen something prefer it.”
Sensing the chance, Marbury instantly expressed curiosity in serving to Chamelo increase into the U.S. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the 2 reconnected in Malibu and commenced constructing the enterprise.
Li sought out Marbury not only for his advertising and marketing prowess, however his legendary standing in China, the place he gained three CBA championships for the Beijing Royal Fighters, turning into one of many nation’s most beloved athletes.
“He figured doing enterprise with me in America could be simple,” Marbury says. “I stated, look, it isn’t necessary for individuals to know my position — it is extra necessary that we construct this up and present those that the following wave of future know-how is right here.”
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Collaboration and teamwork
Although Marbury desires Chamelo to carve out its lane within the eyewear business, he additionally emphasizes the significance of collaboration.
“We need to be pals with all people so everybody can make the most of our know-how,” he says. Since becoming a member of the corporate as chief model officer, Marbury has led a number of artistic advertising and marketing initiatives, together with a limited-edition “Knicks Aura” sun shades assortment, a cope with China Responsibility Free Group, and a partnership with New York Mets legend Jose Reyes.
“It was love at first sight,” says Reyes. “Their model and lens color-changing know-how jogged my memory of how I used to play. I’d completely put on them in a recreation.”
As Chamelo’s first official ambassador, Reyes labored carefully with the model to co-design a brand new sun shades assortment set to debut all through 2025.
“I used to be hands-on with the design, paying shut consideration to the small print,” he says. “My model might be amplified on this assortment.”
An entrepreneurial previous
Chamelo is not Marbury’s first enterprise into client merchandise. Almost 20 years in the past, he launched Starbury, a footwear model that made headlines for its $15 sneakers and dedication to affordability.
“Starbury was an ideal crash course,” Marbury says. “I received to study the American market at a difficult time.”
Regardless of early buzz, the model pale after its unique retail accomplice, Steve & Barry’s, filed for chapter through the 2009 monetary disaster. The expertise taught Marbury a useful lesson about management: “It is higher to have all the pieces in place and construct a enterprise the place you could be vertical,” he says.
Whereas Marbury’s aim with the Starbury sneakers was to make high quality footwear extra accessible for youths, some critics misinterpret the low worth level as an indication of low high quality. With Chamelo, he is taking a extra strategic strategy, following a “good-better-best” pricing mannequin.
“I at all times attempt to have one thing for everyone,” he says. “Our subsequent step is creating an reasonably priced pair of glasses so children can expertise and experiment with the know-how.”
In his quick time as chief model officer, Marbury has infused Chamelo along with his signature swagger and unmistakable New York edge, serving to the model stand out in a crowded market.
“We really feel privileged and grateful that when individuals stroll into sure shops and see Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace, and Prada, in addition they see little previous us,” he says.
With latest partnerships alongside the New York Knicks and Jose Reyes, Chamelo’s future is just getting brighter. Good factor the shades are adjustable.
Stephon Marbury had a tumultuous basketball profession. He went from being hailed as a franchise savior in New Jersey to being lambasted as a scapegoat by his hometown New York Knicks. This all occurred transferring abroad to play in China, the place he turned revered like a god.
However all through all of the ups and downs, one factor remained in keeping with Marbury — his means to market himself. From Brooklyn to Beijing, the Coney Island child has at all times carried a novel swagger and stayed in contact along with his roots.
He turned the primary NBA participant to endorse avenue ball model AND 1, and launched the corporate into a brand new stratosphere of cultural relevance along with his flashy play model and bravado. He turned his iconic nickname, Starbury, right into a bona fide model, dominating headlines in 2006.
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