Al Harrington

Speaking of Protege, I got up with the Knicks’ Al Harrington the other day to talk about his sneaker company, the first pair he ever bought and his favorite pair of all-time…

Dime: Tell me a little bit about your sneaker company, Protege.
Al Harrington: Protege is a company I came up with and is mainly about give back. Protege stands for People Reaching Out To Everyone Gaining Everything. And looking at the times we’re in right now, realizing that it’s tough out here for people, and ya know, people can’t afford $100 sneakers no more and stuff like that. We just trying to do our part, you know, with me and the other athletes that are down with the brand, trying to give a shoe company credibility. They see it on TV, they see it on some of their favorite NBA players’ feet, so they’re more comfortable to wearing it than if you just see a shoe that was put out. It’s just about empowering kids, allowing kids to be able to have a shoe that they can afford off allowance money and stuff like that. You know, you don’t need to have your momma take you to go buy these shoes. Hopefully through that we teach responsibility.

Dime: Who else is wearing Protege shoes in the League?
Al: Me, Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest, Mickael Pietrus is about to start wearing them, and we’re working on about three or four other guys but can’t comment until that’s closer to being done. There’s four of us right now and there’s gonna be a lot more to come. A lot of people like the brand, like what it stands for, and I expect a lot of people joining on and jumping on board.

Dime: Growing up, were you always into sneakers?
Al: Always! You know, especially as a boy, you always love shoes. I had my Jordans, I had my Ewings back in the day, you know what I’m saying. So I’ve always been a big sneaker guy.

Dime: What was the first pair of sneakers you ever bought?
Al: The first pair that I can remember, if I can think all the way back was KangaROOS. The ones that actually had the little money patch in the tongue. You could put change or fold a dollar up and put it in and button it closed. KangaROOS was the first pair of shoes I remember having.

Dime: What’s your favorite pair of all-time?
Al: My favorite pair of sneakers of all-time is probably the Jordan VI.

Dime: A couple weeks back, Stephen Jackson had those alligator skin, 1-of-1 exclusive Protege kicks. Are there any more exclusives coming out any time soon?
Al: You know that. I can’t tell you what they are yet, you gotta wait ’til you see ’em. I’ll be sure to send ’em through.