Jeff Staple is Helping Launch Brooks First Lifestyle Shoe
Published
Jeff Staple’s journey through sneaker and streetwear culture didn’t begin in a boardroom or with a high-profile collaboration—it started in the late ‘90s with a single t-shirt and a stroke of luck. What began as a college screen-printing experiment led to the creation of Staple Pigeon, a brand that would define a new era of streetwear. But in 2005, with the release of the now-legendary Nike SB Dunk Low Pigeon, Jeff cemented his name in sneaker history. Inspired by New York City’s ubiquitous bird, the shoe sparked mass hysteria, long lines, and even police intervention—forever changing how sneaker releases were viewed and conducted.
Since then, Staple has collaborated with some of the biggest names in footwear, from New Balance to Puma to Clarks, each time bringing his signature design language and cultural insight. Now, he’s setting his sights on an unexpected new partner—Brooks Running.
Sneakerheads may not be paying attention to Brooks, but the brand has quietly become the #1 running brand by market share in the United States. Despite its deep-rooted legacy in technical footwear, the brand has never thoroughly explored the lifestyle and sneakerhead market in the same way as competitors like New Balance, Asics, and Saucony, which have all leaned into the recent trend shift toward techy mesh runners and budget-friendly, comfort-focused sneaker. That changes now.
What started as Jeff personally testing Brooks as a runner turned into an organic connection with the brand, evolving from Instagram DMs to boardroom meetings to a fully-fledged sneaker release and more projects. Digging deep into Brooks' archives, the pair are about to revive a silhouette from 2002—the Adrenaline GTS 4—that, to this day, is still the brand’s best-selling franchise.
Ahead of Jeff’s take on the silhouette launching on March 13th, we spoke with him to uncover the story behind the collaboration, the challenges of bringing Brooks into the lifestyle space, and why this project is more than just a one-off drop.
How Jeff Staple x Brooks Came to Be
Staple admitted he was never a natural runner despite being deeply entrenched in sneaker culture. "I'm not a fan of running really, you know, didn't really like it, didn't like the way it made me feel. And I think for a lot of people, it's a pretty laborious thing," he explained.
Like many sneaker enthusiasts, he obsessed over finding the perfect shoe—buying multiple pairs, testing them all, and returning the ones that didn't cut. Through this process, he landed on Brooks, a brand he had never previously considered. "As I was experimenting with different shoes to try to run in—I get pretty obsessive with this stuff, to be honest—I tried a bunch. And when I put on a pair of Brooks, it was honestly the only shoe that I actually enjoyed running in," he said.
At the time, Brooks' slogan was "Run Happy," and to Staple's surprise, that's precisely what he felt. As he continued wearing the shoes, he noticed they weren't just reserved for running. He wore them throughout the day—whether brunch, shopping, or hanging out with friends. "More often than not, people would ask me, ‘Yo, what are those on your feet?’ Because people in the lifestyle street culture world weren't really familiar with Brooks."
Seeing an opportunity, Staple began tagging Brooks in his posts, organically putting the brand on the radar of sneakerheads who had likely never given it a second thought. Eventually, the brand reached out, and what began as casual DMs evolved into Zoom calls, meetings, and trips to Brooks’ headquarters. "One thing led to another, and I look back at the DMs—the first message was in 2017. So we're a good seven, eight years in now.”
“It actually took quite a bit of conversation and really trust-building to get to a point where we are today—finally launching archival products that Brooks had never brought back before,” said Staple. The first step in this journey? Finding the right sneaker to bring back. That’s when Staple and Brooks started digging through the archives in search of the perfect model to reintroduce to the world.
Bringing Brooks’ Archive to Life
Unlike many brands that have spent years tapping into their archives, Brooks waited to consider bringing back past silhouettes for the lifestyle market seriously. While competitors like New Balance, Asics, and Saucony have successfully revived their retro runners to align with the current sneaker trends, Brooks remained hyper-focused on innovation and performance rather than nostalgia, awaiting the right moment to tap into their vault for a lifestyle market intentionally.
That's exactly what made this project such a unique challenge. Staple knew that working with Brooks to dig into its archives was uncharted territory—both for the brand and for sneaker culture. "Even though at this point, Brooks was fast on their way to becoming the largest running brand by market share in America, which they are now, without a lifestyle category—it was like mind-boggling to me," he explained.
Brooks' lack of presence in the lifestyle space was both an opportunity and a risk. Unlike working with New Balance or Nike—where retro models are already embedded in sneaker culture—this was a blank slate. Staple wasn't just working on a sneaker; this was part of a larger Brooks initiative to step into lifestyle, and as the first vault release, he understood that this could be the start of introducing an entire generation to a brand they had likely only associated with marathon runners or their parents' footwear choices.
"It's risky. Look at like New Balance and Asics, right? Like Salomon and the competitors, it's really easy to now just, in hindsight, play Monday morning quarterback and be like, 'Yeah, let me do a Gel Lyte or a 990.' But imagine the brand didn’t have a thing out yet. And now you're literally dipping your arm into a black hole of like, nobody knows yet. And whatever you pull out, the public has never seen this before."
But that challenge is what drew him in. After multiple visits to Brooks' headquarters, Staple and the Brooks team combed through decades of silhouettes, narrowing their search to models with aesthetic appeal and historical significance. The result? The Adrenaline GTS 4, initially released in 2002—a model that had quietly become Brooks' best-selling shoe but had never been reintroduced to the market.
"We were digging in their archives for many visits. I remember narrowing it down to like maybe literally 50 styles in a room at one point. And I think part of my job is like, I'm almost like maybe like a chef in a sense where like, if you bring into a room, like just a bunch of meats, fishes, and vegetables, that's great. But someone's now got to like make something of this, like make a meal of this."
While starting with the first Adrenaline model might have seemed more obvious, Staple took a different approach.
"It would have been maybe the more common-sense thing to start with, like the Adrenaline One, right? A lot of brands start at the One. But the One to me wasn't the right moment yet in this particular time slot."
What drew him to the GTS 4 was its design potential. Even in its original form, specifically a pair with yellowed, aged details buried deep in Brooks’ archives, Staple saw the diamond in the rough.
"When I saw the Adrenaline GTS 4, it resonated with me from a style standpoint. It obviously didn't look like that—I was looking at a literal relic, like a 20-year-old version of it that was all yellowed and stuff. But I could just sort of see past the dust and see the diamond in the rough there."
With the sneaker selected and the foundation laid, the next step was modernizing it for today’s audience—without losing its soul.
The Revival of The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 4
Reviving a sneaker from the archives is one thing—making it relevant in today's sneaker culture is another. With the Adrenaline GTS 4, Jeff Staple had to reimagine this technical runner for a new audience, though playing it safe wasn’t an option. Rather than following the current trend of muted, earth-tone runners, he wanted to make a statement.
"Now is not the time to be subtle. You know what I mean? Like if your mom and dad are wearing Brooks and driving their minivan, and then I'm dropping a Brooks and it's subtle… now is not the time. Now is the time to like really beat your chest."
That mindset led to an aggressive design approach, pushing Brooks beyond its usual performance-focused aesthetic. "I wanted to put a stake in the ground and be like, ‘We're here. We opened up the archives. This is the Adrenaline GTS 4. We're the number one running shoe in the country, and this brand is damn proud of it.’"
But beyond the visual identity, Brooks remained committed to functionality—even for a retro sneaker. Unlike Nike or adidas, where older silhouettes often return unchanged, Brooks insisted on modernizing the GTS 4 for today's standards.
"They were like, ‘We just now have to run this through like current-day running metrics and feel specifics and re-engineer it.’ And I was kind of like, ‘No, you don’t have to do that. Like, no one’s playing basketball in Air Jordan 1s.’ And they were like, ‘No, we do.’ And I was like, ‘Wow.’"
This led to a full-scale remastering rather than a straight retro. The sneaker maintains the original look and feel, but Brooks re-engineered the midsole, outsole, and foam cushioning to meet today’s performance expectations.
"The beautiful thing about these is you take them off, and you feel like you're wearing a 2025 performance shoe. But they have that look of a retro runner. So you get the best of both worlds."
With the sneaker's foundation complete, the next step was to figure out where it fits within the bigger picture—not just for Staple but for Brooks' future in sneaker culture.
Brooks’ Lifestyle Push
“The brand has all the ingredients. It’s a century-plus-old brand. It’s got an incredible archive,” said Staple. “It’s got an incredible R&D future-facing line as well. It’s got real pinnacle-level athletes. It’s just got all the right ingredients. It’s a U.S.-based brand, which is also sort of refreshing nowadays."
Matt Weiss, the head of lifestyle at Brooks, told Fast Company in January, “We could have done this four to five years ago, probably, but I think what’s exciting about this is the entire company and product engine is aligned to doing this the right way. For us it’s about, ‘let’s get the customer really excited here,’ partner with the best retailers in the space to get them excited. It’s about giving a broader offering to our consumer so they can embrace our brand in different places and ways.”
Staple recognized that Brooks was one of the last remaining untapped sneaker brands with a legitimate legacy and cult-like following. While Saucony has spent years building a lifestyle segment, Brooks was still untouched territory. The challenge wasn’t just about creating a great sneaker but expanding how people perceive Brooks as a brand. Yet, Staple doesn’t see himself as making Brooks “cool”—instead, he views his role as getting people to pay attention.
"I don’t have the power to make Brooks cool. I don’t. I have the power to make people take a look at Brooks, but they could still determine that what we did is whack. I don’t have the power to force them to think this is cool, right? I could do my best, but I never go into a project thinking like, ‘I have the Midas touch magic wand, I’m just going to make shit cool.’"
When Brooks unveiled their lifestyle collection during Paris Fashion Week in January, including the Staple collaboration, the response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. While sneakerheads can often be quick to dismiss anything outside of their usual sphere, the Staple x Brooks Adrenaline GTS 4 defied expectations.
"Since we've launched it—and we didn't launch it yet, this is the teaser moment still—it launches March 13th, but now that it's sort of been leaked out there and it's getting out into the sneaker sphere, the reception has overall been really, really tremendous."
Future for Brooks and Staple
This reaction was a game-changer for a brand that has traditionally lived outside the sneaker culture conversation. However, Staple remains humble about his role in the process. While some may view him as "making Brooks cool," he insists that consumer reaction determines success.
"The consumer still has to F with it. That’s where the power of marketing stops. We did our part, but the people have to resonate with it."
With momentum, Staple and Brooks are already looking ahead, proving that this collaboration is the start of something bigger. While the Staple x Brooks Adrenaline GTS 4 serves as the gateway, their work together is far from over. Staple has already been working with Brooks on future releases beyond the archives, exploring heritage revivals and next-generation performance models.
"We already have other models coming out that play not only in heritage product but also in performance—completely cutting-edge performance stuff that doesn’t even exist today yet. So we’re happy that they not only let us play in the vault but also let us play in their future innovation department as well."
That kind of trust isn’t built overnight. Staple knows that Brooks is taking a risk, but he is too. Positioning a running brand within sneaker culture is a long-term play. When asked about the future of his relationship with Brooks, he told us,
"I don’t like to count my chickens, but I think we have trust in each other, and I think everyone’s really happy. So why not? Let’s keep going."
Brooks may not have the built-in lifestyle presence of brands like others in the footwear space, but with the proper guidance, it could carve out its niche. Just as Teddy Santis reshaped New Balance’s Made in USA line and Jae Tips introduced a new audience to Saucony, Staple can do the same for Brooks—helping the brand establish itself as a legitimate player in sneaker culture.
Release Information
The Staple x Brooks Adrenaline GTS 4 is set to officially release on March 13th, 2024, on Brooksrunning.com. The shoes will also be available at 21 Mercer in New York City, a location steeped in sneaker history that will now be home to Jeff Staple’s Staple flagship store. Once the space for Nike’s legendary NikeLab and Bespoke Studio, 21 Mercer has long been synonymous with exclusive, forward-thinking footwear. Now, for the first time, it will be the stage for a Brooks sneaker collaboration.
"To see someone walk out of 21 Mercer with a Brooks shoe in a bag? That’s something you would never expect."
For Staple, this collaboration is about more than just a sneaker—it’s about contributing to Brooks’ introduction into the lifestyle space as they open a new door into sneaker culture. While the Staple x Brooks Adrenaline GTS 4 is the starting point, the impact of this project could be felt for years to come as Brooks finds its footing in the lifestyle space and launches more lifestyle shoes and collaborations throughout 2025, each telling a story from Brooks’ 110-year heritage.
Brooks is intentionally stepping into the lifestyle space with a rich archive, a commitment to innovation, and an evolving vision. And with the Staple x Brooks Adrenaline GTS 4 being its first major foray into sneaker culture, the question isn’t whether Brooks can make an impact—but just how far it can go.
Download the Sole Retriever mobile app to stay updated on the latest releases, raffles, news, and more from Brooks, Jeff Staple, and the sneaker and streetwear world.
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
