Entertainment
Woodie White takes tennis style off the court – Andscape
The term lifestyle is usually seen merely as a marketing pitch for products or brands, but when applied to a Chicagoan Woodie Whitestays a much simpler concept: get out and do exciting things. The first time I saw him was inside a series of videos on YouTube he did it with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes. He starts by visiting the team’s facilities and learning about the every day lifestyle of skilled hockey players. But soon, he adds ON protective equipment, jersey, skates and ice heads. By the end, he watches the Coyotes play live and is totally absorbed in the motion. “Man, I had so much fun,” White recalled excitedly. “I think that’s what I’m looking for in life. It’s always nice to pick up new things, like new hobbies and new interests, and that’s what I do. Just what interests me.”
Sam Macon from Oyster Tennis Club
White founded the brand Oyster Holdings in 2014, with a business ethos of “Travel is Sport” and offering a wide selection of styles to wear while traveling. Over the next decade, Oyster expanded to incorporate the Oyster Expedition, a mountain climbing and outdoor adventure group, and the Oyster Tennis Club, a weekly gathering of individuals playing tennis on public courts. The goal is to extend the number of individuals, especially Black people, usually participating in these sports and activities. Now Oyster Tennis Club has began cooperation with the Swiss sportswear company On Roger Clubhouse Properformance-ready sneakers designed for tennis and on a regular basis life.
The clean and restrained design refers to the history of the sport. The ivory and evergreen color scheme pays homage to the grass courts of Wimbledon, where the sneaker’s namesake, former tennis player Roger Federer, won a record eight times. The same CloudTec performance features that make the brand beloved by runners also point to the way forward for the sport, making the model playable on multiple surfaces and worn in quite a lot of contexts. “For me, these are performance shoes. But they feel like a modern shoe that you want to have,” White said. “It means when I leave in the morning, go to work and run, and then on Wednesday at 6pm we have the Oyster Tennis Club match, I’m in the same shoes.” The Clubhouse Pro also comes with extra cushioning along the midsole. White is hesitant to call the lifestyle shoe collaboration On. “I do not really imagine on this category of lifestyle footwear. For me, lifestyle is something you reside, not something you create in terms of product.
Sam Macon from Oyster Tennis Club
Sam Macon from Oyster Tennis Club
Sam Macon from Oyster Tennis Club
Sam Macon from Oyster Tennis Club
Tennis sneakers have a deep cultural history, from Adidas’ legendary Stan Smith shoes and the cool Rod Lavers that debuted in 1970 to the brilliant neon Nike Air Tech Challenge shoes worn by Andre Agassi and the Reebok Court Victory Pumps worn by Michael Chang, each in the Nineteen Nineties. However, the sneaker’s place in the cultural zeitgeist has as much to do with how extraordinary people wore them each day as with their athletic achievements. Tennis can seem confined behind the tall hedges of country clubs or the closed doors of prohibitive training complexes. U.S. Open finalist Francis Tiafoe was only introduced to the sport through his father’s work as maintenance chief at a suburban Junior Tennis Center outside Washington, D.C., where he and his family sometimes slept in a warehouse.
A well-known theme in fashion, especially black fashion, has been to take the traditionally elitist aesthetics of country clubs, Ivy Leagues – polo shirts, button-down oxfords, striped rugby shirts, tennis shoes – and transform them right into a more democratic, accessible and classy look. Changing the different canvases on which clothing is presented – from suburban to urban, private to public – can completely change the context of the garment and its wearers. Roger Clubhouse Pro is each a part of this tradition and separate from it. “It’s like we took the green and white aesthetic of a country club, put it on a professional tennis model and then brought it to the park,” White said. “It’s the same aesthetic of luxury, but now you can see it in a park with cracked courts.”
Oyster Tennis Club is attempting to further this subversion by changing the context around where equipment ought to be worn, who’s playing and where it ought to be played. “The social part and my involvement in spaces that are not traditionally ours was just an interest of mine,” White said. “I’ve had experiences in some neighborhoods where people have come up to us and asked if you live here,” White said, recalling events at the Oyster Tennis Club. “Because you are playing tennis on a public court in Pacific Palisades, but the attitude is, ‘What are you doing driving through the hills in search of a tennis court?’ And you then realize that you just should not welcome there.
The next time I see White, I’m on a Zoom call. Due to a little bit confusion about time zones once we planned our chat, it was early for him. But he’s punctual and able to talk as soon as he drinks his coffee. He’s in quite an excellent mood. “I was just looking at the gram and saw (footage of) the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Roger Federer pulled up and I thought, “Oh, great.” He’s at the Rolex Masters. He is a Rolex athlete. He jumps out of the car and what is he wearing?: Oyster Clubhouse professionals,” he said with a smile. What’s next for Oyster Tennis Club after its sneaker collaboration made waves around the world? “More tennis. We wish to expand to Atlanta. We wish to keep the free urban tennis movement alive, attract people and construct community.