For someone who didn’t really know what he wanted to do in life, Brandon Thornton surely scored an epic gig.
Growing up in Virginia, Brandon played a lot of sports but also had interests in art, design and drawing. When it was time to go to college he opted for an engineering degree but that didn’t set his socks rolling. He switched to computer science but that didn’t vibe either. He debated whether college really was for him so he took a semester off and took some marketing classes at Virginia Tech. He was hooked. He started taking an advertising class and his teacher could tell he had a knack for understanding a market and pushed him to focus on advertising so he went to VCU Brandcenter, one of the top advertising graduate schools in the country. He always had been a fan of Nike and kept an eye on the company throughout his education.
After school he got an internship at the prestigious advertising agency, Wieden + Kennedy and he has been working up the ladder for the past three and a half years.
Today he is a strategic planner at Wieden + Kennedy and works on the Nike account (how about that!) in the basketball and golf divisions. Thornton comes up with ideas and direction for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Nike Basketball category. He does consumer research too, traveling to Shanghai, Las Vegas and New York City among other spots to check out top high school basketball players. In the golf division he works with Tiger Woods and Rorey McIlroy to name a few. “It is fun and challenging at the same time,” Brandon told us over the phone from a very rainy Portland, not his favorite part of his new home town, but he’s not complaining.
Brandon took us through the brands he loves and why:
Shoes: Of course I am a Nike and Jordan fan. The Jordan 1 is my favorite. I will pair them with a pair of APC jeans or Khakis. I also have Doc Martens, Clarks, Timberlands, Floreshiem’s wing tips and Sperry Top Siders.
Pants: APC, Publish jogging pants, Kith NYC (a store in NYC) that releases a pant every Monday called The Mercer Pant, Zanerobe from Australia too.
Shirts- I dress up a bit more in the fall. Supreme gets a little too much of my money (laughs) and I love Gitman Vintage and Soulland too. I also shop at Goodwill and can get some good finds. I grew up in the 90s so I appreciate starter jackets and things like that. Need Supply Company is great too. I do some modeling for them sometimes and really love the clothing.
Outerwear- Full length overcoats are my thing. Mostly they are hand-me-downs from my dad. I like the big lapels I can pop up. I am a big camo fan so the army surplus stores are awesome for me and I can mix them up with wing tips. Supreme Coaches jackets in nylon are another favorite.
Hats – Supreme or New York Yankees baseball caps. I’ve been watching Pharrell recently and he has been into flight jackets and full length coats paired with fedoras and bowlers. I like that.
Suits- I don’t dress up much because of the work environment I am in. You get a weird look if you wear a suit where I work! But I have a J.Crew Ludlow suit which I love. I want a navy tux from J.Crew for the Christmas party.
Accessories- I don’t spend too much on watches. I have a gold Casio and G-Shock that is all black with red numbers. I like wearing a blazer with a sporty watch. I have the Timex military watch and mix out the wrist bands from J. Crew for good variety. I wear Warby Parker glasses.
Favorite piece of tech? My Mac Book Air!
Favorite App? Right now I use Fantasy Basketball the most. We have an office pool and last year I lost by one category so I am working on redeeming myself. I also like my Tumblr and Supreme and the Wave App, it never gets me lost! Instagram of course @IMBJT
Next tech buy? Next thing I want to get is the XBox One at the end of the week. I’m not a big gamer but I just like to have it!
