We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Wesley Alston a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Wesley, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

Last summer I was accepted to attend a 5-week course named “Futuresole, Powered by Nike!” hosted by my 2nd HBCU PLC-Detroit. I was so nervous heading into this experience as I knew I had what it took skill-wise but like, this was an opportunity that I had dreamed of my whole life. Like, I even told my dad in a conversation prior to going, “This is ‘IT’!” I was immensely excited but just the curiosity of the unknown you know? New city, new people and a major shot at having your work seen on the front lines by not just Nike, but hands-on industry leaders and instructors, and tons of other companies and designers from all over. It was definitely a lot to pull together and I knew I had to adapt fast. But once I got engaged with my classmates we all became like family, which the staff said was an interesting rarity they had seen in the program. They had us all on 5 different teams but that did not even make a difference. Those were more like platoons because once we left, we were one big army! This made the workload all that much more at ease. What I truly gained from this was that more than any amount of responsibilities, money or accolades that you may acquire on your journey it truly makes it worthwhile time and time again to understand that the people you share these moments with can really make the biggest difference and impact on your experience. I was happy to have had this experience with my PLC Family and I wouldn’t trade them or this experience for anything in the world. Not even all the money for the greatest shoe in the history of mankind!

Wesley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So when I was a kid I was pretty good at basketball (still am, but stay with me haha) and this was credited to my dad being a basketball coach. I saw a lot of basketball growing up and I truly fell in love with the game almost from birth. He took us to a lot of games and when I was about 10 we attended the annual local Christmas tournament that we have here in Greensboro, NC, formerly known as “The Little Four.” There was one team that always stood out amongst the rest. The Panthers of Dudley High School. The highest-flying, fastest high school basketball players that I had ever seen but I did not know what I was seeing at the time. Not only could they play well, but they did it in style! They had 4 different uniforms and always wore the latest retro Air Jordans as Nike sponsored them at the time, as a high school team! I did not know what I was witnessing, but I loved it. I loved it so much that I began drawing my own jerseys for high school basketball teams with different colored Jordans to match. I had been drawing since about 6 years old inspired by my brother. So I just kept drawing basketball players and the latest sneakers, all inspired by these concepts and also the whole Michael Jordan effect itself of which I was immersed in every day. It was kind of like a lifestyle. Fast-forward to one night when I was 14 years old, I walked in a Barnes and Noble and I saw a magazine named “Sole Collector” that I had never heard of, but there was a big red Jumpman logo on it. I had to have it. I read it and it detailed the Jordan brand as well as how every Air Jordan was designed, and even who designed them. The stories, the nostalgia, the information. This moment turned on the brightest light bulb as I thought to myself, “Hmmm, basketball, drawing and shoes. I WANT TO DESIGN BASKETBALL SHOES!” It was simply a no-brainer for me and I have pursued it ever since.

There have been many creative avenues that I have ventured through on this journey and it has been a ride for sure, but I have always kept this at the center of what I am aiming for, at least for now. I have even connected with a lot of the people that I read about years ago in that magazine which has been so unreal to me. Most of them and even my teachers now always reiterate to me that it does not always have to be about Nike and shoes. Being creative has so many different outlets so continue to explore and discover yourself. I stay true to that more than anything.

With my work, I aim to provide creative design services for any client who is looking to add a quality sense of style and a bit of flavor to whatever it is they do. Mainly with footwear, I aim to obsess over the details and really nail the specifics of what my target consumer needs. As well as make the shoe, to a tee, speak the visual language that they aim to communicate. This is my purpose with all my designs and artwork as well. To 1, communicate visually, a language that either is directly or indirectly spoken to an audience. Usually, that language exhibits a simple joy for what I do. 2, to make the design or artwork socially impactful at the end of the day. These are the main concepts that I carry in my work and the reasons why I create.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Like I imagine many creatives would say, the best source of new clients for me has been through Instagram. I have received a lot of traffic by posting my work there. But I would like to add that a lot of this traffic is also generated by getting out and promoting myself and my page. Most of these people do not even know whose work it is unless they have met me in person. For example, I have attended the Black Footwear Forum in Detroit, (also held at my HBCU PLC-Detroit) twice now and I have generated business inquiries by just showing my face and exchanging information or Instagram handles with people who may want to potentially work together. Sometimes they actually come through and sometimes you just follow each other. But nonetheless, I am one-hundred percent sure that I have a better chance at promoting “myself,” and then, my page, versus just waiting for it to happen through social media alone. It may work differently for other people, but this method definitely works better for me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

What’s funny about this whole creative journey (and I see this happen with a lot of designers) is that in the end I still want to be creative, but I really want to be able to give back to by community in Greensboro, NC and other communities alike. This involves a plan that I have for what I have been telling people, I call a “design farm.” I have a mental health diagnosis as well and years from now I would love to provide sneakers, uniforms and creative products for my community, but I also want to have a firm or an organization that provides mental health counseling or advice and inspirational and motivational insights for youth and even basketball leagues or just free pickup games for youth as well. Along with this we would provide health and wellness advice and maybe even grow our own food and so many other things. I am still learning how to make this all work but trust me the vision is BIG! and in the works.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wesleyalston.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_prime.99/ | https://www.instagram.com/wes.coast_/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesley-alston-8a6921177/