As an athlete known for his ability to reinvent himself, Brad Simms took 2020 and made the most of it, gaining the attention of the bike community far beyond BMX. With a recent focus on technical street riding, the two-time X-Games medalist looked away from contests and full-length edits and turned to capturing his daily riding and the results were spectacular: now 2020’s Nora Cup ‘Rider of the Year’ and Vital BMX’s ‘Rider of the Year’, Brad will be following up his accomplishments with a well-earned spot on the adidas 5.10 footwear and apparel team.
The partnership with Brad Simms marks a new chapter for the brand as it enters BMX. When we asked Brad what inspired him to reach out to adidas – a brand that has been absent in BMX for nearly 12 years – he explained:
“It was a no-brainer. I know where I want to go as an athlete, and so I knew I had to dream big. The only way I was going to make something like this happen was to find someone who shared my dream and I soon realized adidas 5.10 had my name on it.”
Five Ten wanted to welcome Brad to the team with a video of spots his fans would recognize and one that would serve as a wrap up to 2020, setting the stage to go bigger in 2021.
Watch Now – Brad Simms Welcome to the Team
“It’s been a lot of fun getting this partnership off the ground and I can’t wait to bring Brad’s ideas to life; his interest in our brand really got me thinking creatively about where our team could go next. With Brad’s help, I think adidas Five Ten can have a positive impact in BMX, and I’m looking forward to putting it alongside MTB on our roster. If anyone could lead this next stage of the brand for us, it’s a rider like Brad Simms.” – CJ Selig, adidas 5.10 Team Manager
Brad will be primarily using the Sleuth Canvas and Sleuth DLX. Inspired by the adidas Samba and made for riding, Brad has been testing them since May and found their thicker heel, EVA midsole, reinforced toe and signature rubber made for great street riding shoes. Brad explained:
“I haven’t bruised my heel once or hurt my toes since I started wearing Five Ten’s. Usually riding street your feet take a beating, I’ve been able to absorb more impact over time. The rubber has made the difference between blowing my feet off the pedals or staying on when doing a trick. I do a lot of high-risk tricks that I only want to do once, so anything I can do to prevent these issues is a huge advantage.”
Five Ten has a become synonymous with flat pedal performance in the MTB world developing the gold standard in grip and with the performance requirements of a BMX shoe being almost paralleled, the transition into BMX is a very natural one.
“Working with Brad made a huge amount of sense from the start. Whilst our focus for the last 20 years has been MTB, the team at Five Ten have always been involved in BMX as fans and riders. Any move into the sport had to be with the right rider and when we had the right products. The development of the Sleuth Canvas and Sleuth DLX meant we had the perfect shoes to enter the BMX market with. Brad’s accomplishments and passion for the sport made him the perfect person to start this new chapter at Five Ten with.” – Luke Hontz, Senior Product Manager
Brad joins the adidas 5.10 team alongside a global roster of the world’s best riders and marks a new chapter in the story of Five Ten.
“I’m looking forward to repping the brand at the highest level, creating projects with other riders on the team and doing my best to embody what it means to be a top athlete and inspire new people to get into BMX.” – Brad Simms, adidas 5.10 BMX Athlete
Discover more about Brad’s shoes of choice the ‘Sleuth Canvas’ and ‘Sleuth DLX’ and the full Five Ten range at adidas.com/Fiveten.
