We Crashed Rich Paul's Birthday Party to Ask About His New Balance 2010 Collab. He Was Unbothered.

I’m jealous of Rich Paul. This feels like something that should be out in the public for everybody to see before they read this interview.

It’s not because he just launched a new collaboration with New Balance called Unbothered featuring the new 2010 silhouette. It definitely has nothing to do with being in attendance for the launch party which also doubles as a birthday party, complete with an Unbothered New Balance 2010 cake. It certainly isn’t because he just started a new podcast on The Ringer with Max Kellerman that, according to him, doesn’t really take up a lot of his time. It’s not even about the guest list, which featured exactly who you would expect to attend a Rich Paul birthday party, regardless of brand affiliation. Nope, it’s none of those things.

I’m jealous because, on the Game Over podcast he recorded earlier in the day, Rich talked about being one of the first people in the world to step inside the Lucas Museum of National Art, a sprawling 11-acre campus that will be home to a 200,000 square foot building focused solely on visual storytelling forms like film, paintings, and even comic books. The museum is scheduled to open in September of 2026 and Rich not only got to step inside the campus but the one and only George Lucas gave him a tour. Just like his co-host Max, I too would like to visit the Lucas Museum of National Art before it opens to the public with a tour hosted by George Lucas. Hard to be unbothered by that, honestly.

And that’s how I introduced myself to Rich Paul: someone who wanted to ask him questions about a museum. But it was not meant to be because he was the man of the hour, which he handles quite deftly for someone who, save for a few appearances on sports media over the years, was known for his work behind the scenes until recently. Now, he’s in the spotlight, with sneakers and collaborations and a podcast and lavish parties and interview hits–which included Sole Retriever, hence why I was rolling in the deep at this soiree.

Taking place in West Hollywood’s Fleur Room, the party was exactly as chill as you can probably imagine. The people were beautiful, the music warmed the heart of this 90s kid, the finger food was excellent, and the sneakers - including a friends and family exclusive colorway - were on display at the bar. Sadly, I was not able to share a glass of Screaming Eagle wine with Rich, which he has used to describe this Unbothered 2010. Like any other sneaker journalist, the sneakers are the thing, but given the chance to drink some Screaming Eagle, I would have adjusted accordingly.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Juan Martinez: You've been with New Balance for a minute, has this been everything you thought it would be in terms of the partnership?

Rich Paul: Yeah, I think it's been everything and more. You know, growing up as a kid, only athletes get to have these types of opportunities. I never thought I would be in this situation, but being here now and having a partnership with New Balance, how they welcome me with open arms, the relationship I have with Chris Davis and Jim Davis as well, but also just the entire team, it's something that is priceless. I couldn't pay for this, so I'm still a kid in the moment enjoying it. And the shoe came out pretty fly, so I think everybody's enjoying it.

JM: The 2010 is fairly new. What was the thought process behind picking that silhouette?

RP: Every time I go to [New Balance] HQ, I'm just like a kid in a candy store. I happened to stumble upon the 2010 and I was like, oh, I want to do this. So, it started from there. It was a new silhouette. I think it was a combination of a couple of legacy silhouettes from the past. There's a lifestyle component to it, a sleekness, comfortability, and then ABZORB. I thought it was a pretty cool silhouette to do at that time.

JM: When people talk about New Balance, they think of the 900s. You have talked about wanting to work up to those. Is that still the plan?

RP: Well, you know, I think you got to start at a certain place, and I think I'm getting to a place now where I might be able to do one of the 900s. But, it's just me having respect for the brand and respect for those that do this every day. That's part of it, but then the other part of it is definitely wanting to reach back into the vault. Like, there's so many cool silhouettes within the vault that I want to be a part of. But, you know, [we’ll] just be patient with it.

JM: Personally, for me, I look at James Worthy's signature shoes back in the day, like the P740. Those are one of my favorite New Balances. Have you ever given thought to something like that?

RP: Yeah, I did the 550, so I would definitely do the Worthys. Do something around the energy and nod to them, for sure. I love Big Game James, so I talk to him a lot when I see him, so that'll be great.

JM: When we look at the landscape of sneakers right now, there's a lot of people with signature shoes in terms of the variety of different athletes, entertainers, and you're the first of your kind, being an agent. Do you feel like right now there's too much, too little?

RP: You know, I think it's every athlete's dream to have a signature shoe. So I never want to be the person to be a Debbie Downer there. I would say, though, you know, having a signature shoe is how we grew up. We follow the superstars that had signature shoes. But then there's a business aspect to it. So I think you have to have a balance within your signature shoe portfolio. And also not being limited to just the signature shoe and what vertical that's within. In that case, it would be basketball. And I really want to explore the whole ecosystem of New Balance. I think there's several different verticals which have a lot of richness to it.

JM: When you talk about your cadence with your 550 collabs and the 2010, there’s been a couple of years in between them. And we're also seeing with other signature shoes where they're taking their time with it. They're not the yearly cycle where it’s like, new NBA season, new signature shoe.550 collabs and the 2010, there’s been a couple of years in between them. And we're also seeing with other signature shoes where they're taking their time with it. They're not the yearly cycle where it’s like, new NBA season, new signature shoe.

RP: Well, no, they're not taking their time. They would put out a signature shoe every year if they could. But the reality of it is it's hard to come back with a hit. So if you find one, they ride it out, they do a low. They at least ride it for 18 months.

JM: So, Tyrese Maxey is one of your clients, have there been discussions about him getting a signature shoe with New Balance?

RP: Maybe, maybe not. You know, we'll keep some things a little bit surprising, but I think he's working his way to earning that, so we'll see what happens.

JM: Interesting. maybe there's something there in the future. Silly question, but have you seen Shohei Otani at the New Balance offices? Ever considered recruiting him?

RP: [Laughs] No, no. I'm a big Shohei fan, but never seen him. No.

JM: Moving back to Unbothered. What exactly was the inspiration behind the sneaker?

RP: The storytelling behind it started from a place of being a kid coming home from school, having your juice box, and then being an adult coming home from work, having a glass of wine. So the foundation of it was those grapes. And then I went around this thing where it's like, you want to be unbothered, but I was trying to find a different word for it. I just kept coming back to unbothered, but it's like, unbothered by what I'm bothered by. You know, there's a lot of distractions out there in the world, and so I think in order for people to be able to persevere and be defiant and determined and be motivated, you have to be unbothered by everything that's in front of you.

JM: Do you feel like that's a problem right now, though?

RP: It's a lot of distraction. You know, it can easily be discouraged. You can easily be distracted. And so, you know, you have to continue to believe in yourself, and things may not work out the way you want to in the timing that you want to, but if you stay at it, I'm living proof that you can burst through.

JM: Speaking of bursting through, you have your podcast now.

RP: Yeah.

JM: I feel like it's perfect timing, too, because I spoke with [a New Balance Product Manager], and they were talking about how they had thoughts about releasing this shoe a little bit earlier to help debut the 2010, but now with the podcast, the timing lined up.

RP: Yeah, that's what it's about, the timing. But the podcast is great. I'm getting better. You know, I'm a rookie. Max is a vet, and so I think I'm better in episode four than I was in episode one. But it's something I look forward to, and it's cool because it doesn't get in the way of my day job, so it's really interesting. It doesn't get in the way of any of my stuff.

JM: I noticed that your cadence is like three times a week. I thought it was gonna be like a once a week thing.

RP: I'm happy it's three times a week. Don't get in the way of my scheduling. So it's good. I work out, I do my pod, I go to the office.

JM: What has been the thing that shocked you the most about doing the podcast? Has there been a challenge you didn’t expect?

RP: Just a rhythm, really. Getting a rhythm. But Max is great. Max is able to bring me along, and so he's been really good. And you know, I try not to put limits on myself, and so it's something I enjoy doing.

JM: It’s been really interesting to hear and very cool to see, somebody who’s new to the game work with somebody like Max who has been in it forever.

RP: Yeah, I'm loving it so far.

JM: What is next for Rich Paul with New Balance? What can we look forward to?

RP: I don't know. You know, I'm gonna keep open minded and we'll see what happens. You know, I'm going to be very organic with my approach about things, so we'll see what happens. I'll let this one simmer a little bit, then turn my focus on something different.

Party Images Courtesy of Georgia Breit

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com