L.A. Times: Crossover Kicks

The L.A. Times did a story on the growing popularity of Vans among urban kids. Naturally, The Pack was heavily featured. I liked this paragraph the best. It's a kid commenting on how he was affected by The Pack's song "Vans":

"It's like the song was egging me on" to buy a pair, says 21-year-old Kyle Troupe, who says that until hearing "Vans" he'd never even been in the Vans store near his Santa Monica home. Last weekend, though, he found himself purchasing pairs No. 4 and No. 5.

Look! Not only all the government names of The Pack members, but also their ages!:

The Pack — Lloyd Omadhebo (Young L), 19; Keith Jenkins (Young Stunner), 18; Brandon McCartney (Lil B), 17; and Damonte Johnson (Lil Uno), 17 — can nearly always be found decked out in a pair of Vans, a group style launched by Omadhebo and Jenkins, who have been skateboarding since middle school and wearing the shoes since high school.

And for those of you who think The Pack is being sponsored by Vans, like Charlie Murphy says, "WRONG!":

In late July, when the group visited L.A. as part of a radio tour, the guys were invited to the Vans headquarters in Santa Fe Springs and allowed to look at lines of Vans due out next year. Vans spokesman Chris Overholser says the guys were like "kids in a candy store."

The guys from the Pack each received four or five pairs of Vans when they visited the company's headquarters last month, but they weren't asked or paid to record the song, Overholser says.

This is why I love the kids:

When DJs played the song at high school graduation events in June, he says, "kids would take their Vans off and put them up in the air."

Not a real analytical article, just straight reporting on how the Vans brand is crossing over to urban. It's interesting to me that it makes note of the lyrics promoting Vans, but ignores the attacks on Nike. Oh well, reporters are trained to keep their angles super tight and that really is a whole 'nother story.

Hat tip to Chris for letting me know about the article. Though supposedely there was also a similar one in the New York Post recently and I can't find that.