Apollo x Centre: The $40,000 Sneaker Design Contest
Apollo's first sponsored contest series, run with the Dallas athletic retailer Centre in autumn 2022. Artists competed to customise Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.
The format
Accepted artists received a pair of all-white Nike Air Force 1s and were free to paint, draw, cut, emboss or otherwise transform them. Contestants were split into three rounds, each worth $5,000 to the winner:
| Stage | Dates (2022) | Top prize |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Sept 13–19 | $5,000 |
| Round 2 | Oct 4–10 | $5,000 |
| Round 3 | Oct 25–31 | $5,000 |
| Finale (All-Stars) | Nov 29 – Dec 5 | $25,000 |
Beyond the money, Centre offered the finale winner a contract to showcase and sell their work and a display at its Dallas location, according to the launch press release published on August 24, 2022.
Outcome
The series ended on December 5, 2022. The finale was won by an artist who had also won Round 1, and who took the $25,000 first prize. Each round also named second and third places. The project called it its first collaborative, sponsored contest and presented it as a model for future brand partnerships.
Why it mattered
The Centre series was the only time Apollo's prize money came from an outside brand rather than token mechanics. In hindsight it pointed to a more sustainable funding route than transaction fees, but no similar partnership followed. See why Apollo Crypto failed.