SCADpro Fund laces up with Q4 Sports
“We founded Q4 to change the shoe game,” says Quintin Williams (B.F.A., industrial design, 2011), chief global designer at athletic and leisure apparel company Q4 Sports. “We are building something that will fundamentally revolutionize how athletes and influencers work with their brands.”
Williams and co-founding business partner Aaron Sokol launched Q4 Sports in 2016. Today, SCADpro Fund has committed to providing investment backing and creative business consultancy for the young company. “Quintin is a next-level designer who understands what makes shoes desirable and functional at the highest competitive level,” says Ray Crowell, SCADpro Fund managing director. “For us, partnering with Q4 means backing an entrepreneur whose business mind and values make him a pioneer in his industry.”
At Q4 Sports, Williams works with athletes, influencers, and entertainers to create distinct, highly functional products that reflect the individual designer. “We cultivate true partnerships,” he says. “We want to help our athletes monetize their full potential, and we are here to help them capitalize on their extraordinary talent.”
Williams grew up dreaming of one day playing in the NBA. Standing at six-feet-seven-inches, it’s not difficult to imagine the life-long Chicago Bulls fan gliding up down court, draining seventeen-foot jump shots, wearing his favorite pair of Q4 495 Lo SP White Streaks. “I always wanted to play. Designing sneakers was my hobby when I wasn’t on the court.”
As a SCAD industrial design student, Williams participated in an internship with Simple Factory Group (SFG). “Michael Mack, who was at SFG and is now a SCAD accessory design professor, helped ignite my entrepreneurial spirit,” Williams explains. “He showed me that designing my own shoes was achievable if I learned the business.”
In 2010, as a SCAD junior, Williams was selected to participate in the inaugural Pensole Footwear Design Academy. “I was one of twenty-three students from across the nation to work with D’Wayne Edwards, the design director of Brand Jordan, and godfather of sneaker design,” Williams says.
Shortly after graduating in 2011, Williams won Power Force Apparel’s Design the ‘YOU’ Shoe competition and took home the twenty-five-thousand-dollar cash prize. “After that competition I got offers to join all of the big brands; Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Ballance. I turned them all down to lead the design team at Power Force. I wanted the challenge of establishing something new.”
Williams spent the next five years fully immersed in every aspect of the footwear design industry. “I lived in Dongguan, China for a time, meeting suppliers, learning the machinery process, researching where the materials were produced, all in the understanding that it would lead me to where I am today.”
Williams and Q4 Sports currently partner with two NBA stars, E’Twaun Moore and Langston Galloway, both of the Phoenix Suns. “Working with E’Twuan and Langston has been special,” Williams says. “They have design input from the colors of the shoes to the special touches to the box the shoes come in. These are their shoes, and we work hard to make sure they see themselves represented when they hit the court.”
Williams is committed to building his brand from the ground up. As a Black entrepreneur in a space not traditionally rich in diversity, Williams says, “I’m thankful to SCADpro Fund for the commitment to Q4 Sports. I understand the importance of allies in this space, and the SCADpro team have been incredible.”
Register here to tune in to Quintin Williams ‘Guests and Gusto’ happening Thursday, Feb. 18, 2 p.m. The virtual talk is free and open to the public.
Written by Robert Almand
