West has spent the better part of the past week airing his grievances with shoemaker Adidas and its board members on social media. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Jason Persse

West has spent the better part of the past week airing his grievances with shoemaker Adidas and its board members on social media. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Jason Persse

Kanye West may be looking to partner with a San Antonio-based shoe manufacturer — at least according to the mercurial rapper and fashion designer’s latest flurry of social media posts.

West has spent the better part of the past week firing off grievances about shoemaker Adidas and members of its board, claiming the German-based sneaker giant has been swiping his designs and “releasing old shoes.”

On Monday, the hip-hop artist took to Instagram again, this time saying he wants to move on from Adidas and find a shoe company that would put him in the driver’s seat.

“What shoe company will give me control? I need to be the head of the board and the chief decision maker,” West wrote in the post.

Hours later, the rapper posted a picture of the San Antonio Shoemakers (SAS) company logo but provided no other information.

Founded more than four decades ago, Alamo City-based SAS focuses on comfortable footwear, including shoes for diabetics. The company’s popularity with senior citizens makes a partnership with Yeezy seem like a stretch, especially since the rapper’s fashion line focuses on ultra-modern designs.

Even so, some Instagram users seemed excited about the possibility of West taking control of the Alamo City business.

“Let’s go 210,” Instagram user @thodoges02 wrote.

Others poked fun at the prospect. Instagram user @eliza123go commented that SAS was her “grandma’s favorite brand.”

West first began working with Adidas in 2015, using it to launch his Yeezy shoe line. The rapper has also partnered Louis Vuitton, Nike, and most recently, the GAP.

Adidas hasn’t publicly reacted to West’s Instagram posts, according media reports, and SAS didn’t immediately respond to the Current‘s request for comment.

However, the San Antonio-based company did provide a brief statement to the Express-News.

“We sincerely appreciate the interest Ye (Kanye West) has expressed towards our company and look forward to continuing the conversation around a potential collaboration,” an SAS spokesperson said in the emailed statement.

Perhaps in next few days, we’ll see whether West’s SAS overtures are any more grounded in reality than his short-lived 2020 presidential campaign.

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This article appears in Aug 24 – Sep 6, 2022.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...