Review: ‘Who is Stan Smith’ firmly posits a sneaker’s namesake in the Black History books
Most of the people watching the film, Who is Stan Smith will ask the same question that director Danny Lee in the title. The 50-year-old Adidas Stan Smith shoe line is well-known. One of the interviewees in the documentary, DMC of the rap icons known as Run DMC, said it best. “People today only know Stan Smith as a sneaker.”
Lee’s film is thus a revelation as deconstructs the name Stan Smith. Who is Stan Smith moves unfolds the name from the object (the Adidas shoe) to the objectified man (the tennis great) to the man. Lee goes beyond humanizing Stan Smith to leave the audience with the knowledge of a person whose legend is as great as the shoe line, who has strong, unapologetic, yet humble ties to the Black community.
Yes, ties to the Black community.
Most Black people would wear Stan Smith shoes to a cookout. The brand is heavily ingrained into hip-hop culture. The documentary features not only DMC but also modern hip-hop artist Pharrell, who has collaborated with Smith and Adidas on a signature shoe. Journalist Cari Champion talks about Jay-Z featuring the shoe line in a song. Many other artists wear the shoes on and offstage. There is even a photo of Naomi Campbell in Stan Smith Adidas.
While most Black people will agree that the shoe is a part of the culture, few would know that Stan Smith himself, whose name and face are emblazoned on the shoes, is even more important to Black history. This seems to be the biggest reveal or plot twist in “Who is Stan Smith”.
As the film unravels the Smith’s background to show how the man and shoe came together, the audience will notice several places where Smith supported and became a humble part of Black history. He was a challenger to and close friend of Arthur Ashe. So close that Smith is visibly emotional when speaking of the late tennis great.
Ashe’s wife speaks about the importance of Smith after Arthur's famous announcement of his AIDS diagnosis. She said that so many of their friends called with questions about contact. Some stopped associating with the family. However, Stan, his wife, and their children never questioned or changed their very close relationship with the Ashe’s.
Another close relationship that Smith cultivated was with a black teen in apartheid-bound South Africa. Smith befriended the teen and even took the boy to lunch in a whites-only club. The teen, now a bestselling author and father to his own kids, said Smith opened his eyes to a power that was greater than apartheid. Smith inspired the boy to aspire to freedom beyond the bounds his people suffered under. The boy would go on to write one of the most influential books in America, Kaffir Boy (1986) by Mark Mathabane. In Who is Stan Smith Mathabane answers, “Stan Smith saved my life.”
Then, there is Smith amongst inner-city kids trying to learn tennis, outing his time and money into bringing the sport to people it was never meant for. John McEnroe sits in disgust describing how elitist tennis was during his rise in the sport. However, 50 years after he reigned in tennis, Stan Smith is trying to open a door to players who do not look like him and who would never have a chance otherwise.
Who is Stan Smith opens with a monologue from a sneakerhead, but it quickly turns into a social history of tennis that no one expects. The social justice roots of the Stan Smith shoe namesake add a bit more weight to the shoe itself. In humanizing the name, director Lee introduces a new generation to an ally whose humble place in Black history needs to be remembered.
Catch Who is Stan Smith in theaters on May 3. For more information, check out WhoIsStanSmith.com.
