It’s an early Friday evening in December and the Hudson Yards mall on the West Side of Manhattan is packed with people squeezing to get in front of each other. No, they’re not just frantic holiday shoppers looking to get the perfect, last-minute Christmas gift; they’re here to meet one man. No, it’s not Santa Claus, either. It’s Mark Wahlberg, and he’s doing a meet-and-greet at the pop-up space for his Municipal brand.
Municipal, which was founded in 2019, is an athleisure brand that creates the sneakers, sweats, shorts, underwear, T-shirts, and sweatshirts you’ve probably seen Wahlberg wearing on social media from head to toe.
It’s a surprising move for Wahlberg, who’s well-known in the sneaker world as a friend of Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand, even receiving his own Air Jordan 4 in 2018 that resells for over $25,000.
But now he’s a Municipal guy, championing the brand’s Origin sneaker, an athleisure-targeted model that resembles a running shoe with a wide, flat sole. Something Wahlburger wears in the gym.
“He’s fanatical about giving his fans and the people the very best,” says Municipal CEO and co-founder Harry Arnett, “The shoe for us is a massive step forward. Get it? Massive step forward, because it’s an incredibly competitive category and we didn’t want anyone to look at our shoe as like, ‘Oh, you guys are doing the same thing they’re doing.’”
It’s still too early to gauge the longevity of Municipal. But Wahlberg is all in on it. And he wants it to be his lasting legacy. I had the chance to talk to him briefly at the pop-up. The interview is below.
I know you’re a big sneaker guy, you’re a Jordan sneaker guy. But now you have your own sneaker brand, so how do you make the transition from one to the other?
It’s a very comfortable transition. Let’s just say that. Look, I’ve been a shoehead since I was a kid. I would get hand-me-down shoes. I begged my sister to buy me my first pair of Converse, Chuck Taylors; remember my first pair of Shell Toes. I was a size 1 when I got my Chuck Taylors, I was 2.5 when I got my first pair of Shell Toes.
I always wanted a shoe that had three main things, right? The look, the feel, and then to be able to have a performance shoe as well because you have something that’s super comfortable. But then you can’t run in it, you can’t exercise in it, and then you can’t do any kind of lateral or dynamic movement.