Take San Diego Style Back to the Street With Pony

The current athletic shoe industry is an incredibly competitive market with Nike seemingly set as the head honcho, but that has not always been the case. When Nike was created during the early '70s another athletic shoe brand was also opening its doors.

Pony, meaning Product of New York, was a superior product that leapt out into the market at a racer's pace. In its heyday such talents that sported Pony merchandise were Muhammad Ali the boxer, Mary Lou Retton the gymnast, Pelé the soccer star, Spud Web the basketball player, and Tracy Austin who won the Wimbledon in 1980 wearing a pair in white and royal blue.

While speaking with Pony Public Relations Director, Colin Brickley, I quickly realized I knew very little about this brand, as I am not exactly a sports spectator - to put it kindly.

At the San Diego Pony offices, I was introduced to Rod Benson who played for the Dakota Wizards last year and is currently being scouted for the NBA. A Torrey Pines High School alum, Benson was stopping by to have a chat with his fellow graduate, Brickley, and to pick up his custom made Pony sneakers.

As I held his impressive black high top with the electric blue words, "Boom Tho," scrawled across the side, I asked Rod what it meant. "It could mean a lot of things," he said, looking casual and cool in jeans with a green and yellow political tee. "Is it a noun or a verb?" I pushed, "Could you use it in a sentence please?"

"Sure," he answered kindly. "I just boom thoed all over you." Although vulgar sounding, he explained that a ball player could use the phrase in this manner when he cleverly scored on an opponent.

Besides clothing professional athletes like fan favorite Rod Benson and New York Knicks first round pick Wilson Chandler, Pony has actively been pursuing new and inventive ways to reclaim the glory that once was.

The overhaul of Pony's product and image began in 2006 when Infinity Associates LLC purchased the brand. Immediately after gaining ownership, Infiniti appointed athletic shoe veteran Kevin Wulff as Vice President and Chief Executive Officer.

As CEO, Wulff's first order of business was to move Pony's world head quarters to San Diego, to embrace the beach culture and hire on all new employees, including Kelly Pulli as Vice President of Design. Pulli, winner of six Red Dot awards, put an end to Pony's stagnant production and focused on "simplifying an over-complicated industry."

During the nineties Pony stopped progressing and instead paid too much attention to passing trends and recycling old ideas. Presently, Pony's staff has been shrunk to a passionate few, producing big results.

Hand-picked by Wulff for one fantastic reason or another, each employee was enticed away from Adidas, Reebok or Nike and brought to Pony to create the best and lose the gimmicks. As a result, the design room is full of fun innovative energy, a brilliant array of sample shoes, and sporty-stylish men; not one looking a day over 35 years of age.

The San Diego fashion market is undergoing a push to the upscale, pioneered by the recent launch of high-profile designer boutiques at Fashion Valley Mall and throughout the Del Mar and La Jolla areas. However, with the rise and fall of summer heat waves, it is refreshing to put the glam aside and embrace the revamped Pony label. In addition to high performance sports shoes, Pony is also a major retail source for street style and old school athletic trends.

Pony's vintage collection is especially popular with hip-hop inclined and fashion forward celebrities who enjoy casual footwear with a funky edge. Fergi, Justin Timberlake, Jabbawockees, and Chris Brown have been spotted clad in Pony both on and off the stage. In addition to musicians, actors like Josh Duhamel have too been seen in many a pair.

My favorite Pony picks for San Diego style are also from the vintage collection. You can easily picture a local hipster sporting a pair of Pony Men's Darryl Dawkins Uptown with slim fit jeans, a t-shirt and a straw fedora. To pull off San Diego street style with a Pony twist is to pair it with the unexpected. Machy-matchy is outdated for the summer. Have fun with your Pony and mix your patterns and colors.

When the mood to stray from an outrageous look hits you, Pony provides many subtle cool pairs of shoes for both genders that can easily replace the usual skate shoes or slip-ons. The most impressive aspect of wearing a pair of relaxed Pony's is the many qualities unique to each style.

Pony shoes have symbols on most tongues that indicate which perks the shoe possesses. One trait is called sock-less, which is made with anti-microbial fabric to prevent unwanted scents. Another favored feature is the travel shoe that has removable interiors. Once out, this enables the shoe to be folded into a ball like shape for better packing.

With this philosophy of combining style with function, it is no stretch of the imagination that Pony is on its way back up to the big leagues - especially in San Diego. No longer just a sports brand, Pony is outfitting the trendsetting folk of San Diego on the days when heels and couture just won't cut it.