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How the World Cup changed Curtis Brown’s career

Cator Sparks
By

Today we speak to Curtis Brown, founder of Kicks to the Pitch

I’ve been lucky to experience a host of cultures and experiences. I was born in Fullerton, California (North Orange County) and grew up in Southern California but spent some of my high school time on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, as well as some of my college days in Laie on the North Shore of Oahu. I grew up loving sneakers, basketball and Hip Hop.  I am of the Latter-day Saints faith and practice up to this day. My faith is one my biggest motivations and keeps me on track with my daily grind.

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About 12 years ago I had the idea to start my own sneaker boutique in Whittier right outside of Los Angeles. During that same time I co-created Dunkxchange, the first buy, trade and sell sneaker convention in the world. I have always been a secret fan of soccer and it was always a dream to go to a World Cup, so in 2010, my brother and I decided to take the trip to South Africa. While I was in Johannesburg I started to see how many people loved the culture that I came from but also loved football/soccer. I came home from South Africa with a new idea but no time to execute the new concept.

In 2014 I was able to go to the World Cup in Brazil and test my “new idea.” I worked with the world’s largest sneaker and street based art exhibitors, Sneaker Pimps, where I hosted a small art exhibition pairing Adidas World Cup team jerseys with Adidas sneakers and Monster Headphones that matched each team. That was the day soccer/lifestyle hybrid creative force Kicks to the Pitch was born. Kicks to the Pitch is now a leader in the world of soccer culture and has branched out to add a soccer specific creative agency named “The Pitch Creative Group” located in downtown LA. We have executed numerous global events and activities for Major League Soccer and international soccer teams with the intent of fusing the global game of soccer with urban and youth culture. Our mission is to bring the beautiful game to every head on every street corner of the world.

As for my personal style:
Jeans: Levi’s 511s

Shirts: I am big fan of soccer jersey tops and I love basic blank Dri-Fit NIKE SB shirts. The fewer the graphics, the better.

Pants: I like chino pants and the fit of the Levi’s 511 chinos.

Suits: This is a tough one. I don’t wear suits at all, so I couldn’t really give a solid answer on this one.

Shoes: My absolute favorite sneaker is the NIKE SB Koston 1, then the Air Jordan 1 in black/red and black/blue and the Air Jordan 11 in any color. Cole Haan or a basic set of Sperry Topsiders are my other go-to non-sneaker options.

Accessories: I love head wear. New Era is my day to day for a fitted cap and I love Mitchell & Ness snapback hats. I am always in a hat because, frankly, I’m too lazy to do my hair!

Outerwear: Living in So Cal, outerwear is not that common for me. I love hoodies and lightweight jackets. My NIKE US Soccer jacket is my favorite – I get to rep my country and it’s all around nice. A win-win.

Favorite cologne: I used to really like Eternity for Men, but my skin is sensitive so I don’t use cologne anymore!

Your favorite app: I live in LA, so Waze is my most-used and favorite app. And of course, Instagram.

Favorite piece of technology: My iPhone is my absolute favorite piece of technology. I use it almost every second of the day. It’s one of those things that I feel incomplete without. I almost stopped using my laptop because of my iPhone.

Next tech purchase: I am in need of a new laptop, so I think my next purchase will be the new MacBook Pro. Or the iPhone 7 when it drops.

Cator Sparks
Cator Sparks
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Cator Sparks was the Editor-in-Chief of The Manual from its launch in 2012 until 2018. Previously, Cator was covering…
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