There are few in the sneaker industry who have a resume as stacked as Marco Henry Negrete.
At just 33, Negrete has already lent his storytelling expertise to big names including Finish Line and Complex. However, his longest stop thus far was with Jordan Brand, where he spent four years as a global editorial content lead and communications specialist.
“Sneakers have been a part of my life since before I can remember. Thanks to my dad’s sports fandom and growing up in the ’90s, I was wearing Air Jordans or Nikes in every baby photo I can find,” Negrete told FN. “My family’s style influence, combined with my love for basketball, made sneakers a true part of my identity from a young age. Professionally, I got my first shot at freelance writing about sneakers in 2014 for the Finish Line blog. Once I learned that I could turn my passion for sneakers into a profession, I never looked back.”
Today, Negrete is the VP of content and communications at subscription-based sneaker platform SoleSavy. Although Negrete admitted Jordan Brand was a dream job, SoleSavy offered him a different type of opportunity that he couldn’t refuse.
“After seeing the industry from the retail, media and brand sides, I wanted to use that experience to build something that could have a positive impact. SoleSavy’s mission to serve the everyday sneakerhead and help put passion before profits are something I believe in deeply,” Negrete said. “Throughout my life and career, I’ve seen this industry and culture grow to unimaginable heights. Unfortunately, much of that growth has prioritized profits and greed, which has squeezed out many of the people who helped make sneakers so special. SoleSavy felt like the natural next step for me to contribute to positive change and feed my entrepreneurial spirit.”
The company is still young, having launched in 2018, but Negrete believes it has already had a profound impact on ardent sneaker collectors.
“Launching the Collect app marketplace is at the top of the list [of my best SoleSavy moments]. Every marketplace prior has been built for the seller first. Reselling has always been part of sneaker culture, but there are more than enough resources for people to do that physically and digitally. We wanted to create the first platform where sneakerheads could showcase their collection, connect with others and buy, sell and trade without increasingly high fees per transaction,” Negrete said. “Building technology and resources for the everyday sneakerhead has been rewarding because, if the cost of participating in sneaker culture was this expensive when I was growing up, I likely wouldn’t have discovered my passion.”
Although accomplished himself, Negrete is quick to champion the work of his peers.
“Hunter Muraira is a fellow Mexican-American and one of the best people I’ve met in the industry. Now at eBay, he had an incredible 20-year Nike run that included building Nike SB and leading major Jordan Brand campaigns like reintroducing the Air Jordan 1 Low,” Negrete said. “Some other notable Latino peers include Damian Rodriguez and Albert Ceniceros, who play major roles on the Jordan Brand marketing team; Drew Ruiz, who is doing incredible work at Weiden + Kennedy; and Luis Torres, who is the youngest editor in chief in the industry at Nice Kicks.”
Looking ahead, Negrete hopes the broader footwear industry keeps its eyes open for new, Hispanic talent — and recognizes the community’s experiences as valuable.
“For many of us, we are the first generation afforded the opportunity to explore higher education and careers in fields like this. That means very few of us had any blueprint to follow or connections we could leverage on our way. That guarantees that those who pursued this career are passionate and had to work extremely hard to get there, and that journey in itself is a value to any company,” Negrete explained. “When you combine that with being experts in our respective cultures and the increasing buying power of the Latino population, it’s more important than ever for our voices to be represented in this industry.”
