Hav A Sole Photos
“The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.” - Jim Carrey
Every mile driven, every minute on the road, (over 3,500 miles and 3,300 minutes) - It was all for moments like this, to simply put a smile on young boys and girls around the country. To let them know they deserve love. Thank you to everyone that helped support this mission that impacts so many. We couldn’t do it without you! #havAsoleEIGHTfor8 X @bgc_indy
A friendship defined by a photo. #havAsole
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - LA to Philly. We did it for Kobe. Huge thank you to Dan Cohen in Chicago for giving us the opportunity to share our story!
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 in the books!! Did you have a favorite moment?
Also, huge thank you to everyone that supported us each step of the way! There is a long list of people that helped make this happen!!
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - LA to Philly. We did it for Kobe. (The 8th pair went to the @acesbasketball team)
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - After a blowout victory in the playoffs the entire Lower Merion Varsity squad signed the back of my Kobe shirt. Huge thank you to these young hoopers and the amazing staff for making it happen. @acesbasketball - Photo by @jessica.foster
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - We park the van, get out and walk toward the front door of Lower Merion High. There’s a tall gentleman with a school lanyard standing just outside. Dash introduces himself and I follow. He tells us his name is Mo. I’m slightly nervous and take a deep breath. “Ok long story short, we drove from LA...” “Say no more, let’s go!” Mo says, cutting me off. We begin walking and as we round the corner we come to Bryant Gymnasium. He opens two sets of doors and we proceed into the gym where Kobe played and scored 2,883 points. We finished our quick tour at this beautiful mosaic. For Mo to be standing out front as we pulled up was truly a blessing for us. He didn’t have to but he really made our trip extra special. We’re coming back tonight to watch their playoff game.
True story - two gun shots rang out in 1991 as I slept on this couch here. I was woken up by the LA County Sheriffs but wasn’t sure why. I learned that my mother while in a drug related psychotic break, shot the woman my father was cheating with. Non fatal injury. My mom went to jail and we lost the apartment. I was forced to live in a car with my dad and the other woman at age 9. Through all the ups and downs this was among the most challenging. 28 years later on Mother’s Day, Mother Load by Wendy Adamson came out. (That’s my mom!) Last year my father read it. He called her and said he loved it. He called me and told me that he wished he had been a better father. All is forgiven. If we can make it, you can too. Mother Load is now on Kindle. Give it a read. Link in @2jedi ‘s bio.
Back at the all star game with our dearest friend, Steve Simon of the Indiana Pacers. He has supported #havAsole since 2014. Huge thank you to Rachel Simon for the tickets!
8 for 8 - last day in Chicago. Next up, Philly!
“Do you know whose shoes these are?” I asked. “Yea I play basketball, they’re Kobe’s.” She replied. We drove from LA to Chicago and our first pair of Kobe’s went to this young hooper. I encouraged her to keep balling and do it for Mambacita. #havAsoleEIGHTfor8
#swipe through - Jermaine, a young Chicago boxer that just started his career but is already training younger kids in the neighborhood to keep them off the streets. He’s a great young man and a huge sneaker head. After I shared my story with the Covenant House youth he approached me and jokingly said.. “when you come back bring a pair of boxing shoes for me!” A light bulb immediately went off in my head.. “I brought one pair of the Creed II Nike’s that @michaelbjordan and @steelobrim donated.” I thought to myself. I asked Jermaine to follow me and after I found the pair hidden under our winter coats I opened the box and gifted them to him. His reaction on the 3rd slide is priceless and I will never forget it. He told me that he actually warmed up to the same song as Mike did on Creed II for his first fight. #havAsoleEIGHTfor8
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - LA to Philly for Kobe.
Let me tell you about Jervey. He has an org called @wecareforyou.inc based in South Carolina that gives sneakers to kids. For the second year in a row he has traveled to meet us, simply to volunteer on our #havAsolefulTrip. We are so thankful for his huge heart!
LOVE YOURSELF - yesterday we met Journey who has the biggest personality ever! She walked in with UGGS and left with pink @jumpman23 - 1’s. Beyond obvious that these sneakers were made for her! Huge thank you to @finishlineyf, the @pacers and the @bgc_indy for showing #havAsole so much love while we’re here in Indy! #havAsoleEIGHTfor8
After getting brand new J’s we decided to do a little light flexing for the camera. In all seriousness this is why we drive across the country every year. Each minute of every mile leads us right to these incredible moments that we’ll never forget. Uplifting our youth is our mission! #havAsoleEIGHTfor8
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - LA to Philly for Kobe. This is day 8 on our 8th road trip. #havAsole
#swipe - Today we met some amazing students at Douglass High in Memphis. We gave out close to 70 pairs. Huge thank you to @nike and the @grizzcommunity for coming to volunteer and make sure all the young men and women got some sneaks they really loved! #havAsoleEIGHTfor8
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 this one is for Kobe - Dallas is a wrap, next up - Memphis. HUGE thank you to my Aunt Penny who always hosts team #havAsole while we’re in Dallas. You and the family are such a blessing to us. We love you and already miss you guys!
Difficult to put today into words.. let me try.. we partnered with Derrick Battie and Douglas Grace who are doing incredible things for South Oak Cliff High in Dallas. They held a Tied to Success event where they gave all the young men new dress shirts and ties. #havAsole gave out 75 fresh pairs today however over 70 kids didn’t get sneakers. We leave for Memphis tomorrow but our Dallas Nike family along with @otc.show have agreed to collect the remaining sizes and deliver them to the young men that missed out. The @dallasmavs, @mavscare and the @maniaacs also showed up to help. After the event, they invited us to tonight’s game where @tamarajolee gave us an amazing tour! We even got to meet the incredible Cynt Marshall. Thank you Dallas - we feel so loved. #havAsoleEIGHTfor8
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - LA to Philly for Kobe. #havAsole
This is #havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - LA to Philly for Kobe. Huge shout out to @mygymfoundation for gifting us $1,000 today for our journey!! #havAsolefulTrip
#havAsoleEIGHTfor8 - meaning our 8th #havAsole road trip is for #8 - we dug through our inventory and found these 8 pairs that will be going to Philly. It’s the least we could do to honor the mamba and mambacita. Swipe to check which pairs are coming.
UPDATE - our hearts are heavy and they’re telling us this. We are extending havAsolefulTrip #8 to #24 days and taking eight pairs of Kobe’s to his high school in Philly. Kobe was fighting against youth homelessness and we feel we can at least try to carry the torch. If you have a pair you’d like to send with us please DM us. #havAsoleEIGHTfor8