Patriots quarterback Tom Brady traded his cleats for boots on Tuesday night.
Brady, a three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL MVP, was on hand to help open the UGG For Men store in Midtown. Brady has been the spokesman for UGG For Men since 2010, but the superstar quarterback has been an UGG supporter for a number of years.
“I had the slippers for a long time, all through college. It’s a California brand so being a California kid, I know something about them,” Brady said. “As you can see when you go in there, there are so many different styles, so it is a cool brand. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of something that’s grown as much as it has over the past few years.”
Often perceived as a women’s brand, Brady’s involvement with UGG has helped to change that misconception. The involvement of a high-profile athlete and the opening of the men’s store help push the men’s brand further into the spotlight.
“I think men needed more permission,” Connie Rishwain, President of UGG, told The Post. “The perception is that it was a women’s brand and I think that Tom brought a lot of attention to the brand and eyeballs on the brand. It worked immediately. We had men’s product all along and it was an awareness issue. [Tom] brought that awareness.”
Rishwain also suggested that both factors, Brady and the Men’s Store, were key to drawing in the male consumer.
“Whenever we advertise digitally or on Tom in print, we have a positive reaction,” Rishwain said. “[As far as the store goes] Men want the dedicated space, they don’t want to walk into the women’s store and it’s crowded, there are lines outside, this way they can come into their own dedicated entrance.”
If there is anywhere that Brady has raised UGG awareness, it is in the Patriots locker room, where he frequently wears the brand and has even gifted some to his teammates.
“I wear them all the time. I certainly have a lot of variety. I wear them to the Stadium, to work,” Brady said. “Especially at the football stadium, a lot of my teammates, I’ve given away a lot of slippers to them over the years too. When you walk in the morning and half of the team is wearing the slippers you gave them, it’s pretty cool.”
Even though Brady pushes the Men’s brand, and has never been turned down when giving away the footwear, players are still looking for something to bring home for the ladies.
“I’ve never been turned down by anyone where they say ‘Oh no, I’m cool,’” Brady said. “They’re always like ‘Oh man that’s cool but can you get me some for my wife?’ They don’t want to go home without a gift for their wife.”