Trainer guru Gary Aspden, who counts Roy Keane and Liam Gallagher amongst his fans, has certainly put his hometown of Darwen on the map. As a lifelong fan of Adidas, Gary used to lead the Adidas Entertainment Team worldwide and came up with the idea for the brand’s Spezial trainer range in 2014.
Over the last decade, the range has launched a variety of products which pay tribute to the hometown, from the Feniscowles jacket to the Intack SPZL trainers and the Sudell tracksuit. In 2019, Gary’s team hosted a large-scale Adidas exhibition in nearby Blackburn, attracting Spezial fans from all over the globe.
Gary’s team also introduced the LG2 SPZL shoe with Liam Gallagher at a small charity concert with the star at Blackburn’s King George’s Hall. In 2021, Gary persuaded C.P. Company to celebrate their 50th anniversary in a converted underground car park in Darwen, drawing many famous faces to the town, including Dynamo the Magician, Goldie, and Shaun Ryder.
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These events combined have helped to raise life-changing funds for local homelessness charity, Nightsafe – a charity Gary has been passionate about and supported for many years. The trainer enthusiast is soon set to host a free exhibition called ‘DECADE – 10 years of adidas Spezial’ in Darwen which span 10 days across two weeks from May 17, with a full programme of events being planned, reports LancsLive.
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Announcing the new exhibition, Gary said: “Blackburn with Darwen is regarded as the birthplace of Spezial – graphic designer Gary Watson who works on the range with me is also based here – so it feels appropriate to celebrate its 10-year anniversary here in my hometown.
“I have a connection to Darwen that I find difficult to explain or verbalise. When I’m creating Spezial collections, I often draw on my personal experiences in my youth as a source of inspiration.”
Gary explained: “Darwen and Blackburn – where my mum is from – in many ways have made me into the person I am. I like to celebrate the area and I’ve often used locally relevant names for Spezial products. I suppose by hosting this new exhibition here in Darwen, it’s my way of saying thank you.”
The last adidas exhibition in the borough marked the launch of the much-celebrated Blackburn SPZL shoe with Blackburn with Darwen Council helping adidas to secure the legal rights to be able to use the name. There are plans in place this year to release an anniversary version of this now highly collectible shoe.
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The adidas Spezial team has worked with a number of famous faces for their marketing campaigns, including on films for recent collections with actor Stephen Graham and footballer Roy Keane.
Gary, a die-hard Blackburn Rovers fan, added: “People often question why I’m so keen to keep doing things locally when these exhibitions could be anywhere in the world. I just hope that the projects help show what can be possible with a bit of investment and imagination.
“This new exhibition will once again attract thousands of people to Blackburn with Darwen and we’re looking forward to running it over the same weekend as Darwen Live the largest free music festival in the whole of the UK.
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“I have a huge amount of respect for the people who are involved with that event as I believe it’s been pivotal in transforming Darwen into a great town for a night out boosting the nighttime economy in the process.”
The exhibition is set to be hosted in Darwen town centre in an empty shop space recently leased by Blackburn with Darwen Council as part of its £120m regeneration plans for the town.
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