How Baron Davis Plans to Disrupt the Sneaker Industry

After a successful 13-year NBA career, many would be comfortable coasting on their earnings, silently investing in businesses, and basking in the sun with all of their newfound free time. But not Baron Davis. After stints on the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors, Clippers, Cavs, and Knicks, his post-playing career has been just as packed with different ventures. You might have caught Davis on Dancing With The Stars, in the new season of Beef, or Raiders: Talk of the Nation, a program he hosts for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Even with all of this on his plate alongside his other business ventures, Davis is venturing into the footwear industry with two sneaker veterans, Sean O’Shea and Geoff Deas. Now, Baron is no stranger to sneakers. He was one of the first NBA players to sign with a Chinese sportswear brand in 2008 when he inked a deal with Li-Ning, eventually releasing his own signature sneaker called the BD Doom. He would later team up with Master P to try to buy Reebok in 2020 when adidas was offloading the brand, though Authentic Brands Group would eventually win the bidding.

As for Sean and Geoff, you might be familiar with their work over at ANTA. Sean has made stops at just about every major footwear brand on the planet, from Nike to adidas and Puma, and even in the luxury space at Off-White. Meanwhile, Geoff has spent years behind the scenes across a variety of brands alongside Sean, including stops at AND1, K-Swiss, and more.

Together, the trio is launching ODD and ODD Labs, a new platform designed to flip the traditional sneaker industry model on its head. Instead of an athlete or influencer being the ambassador for the billion-dollar brands, often making a fraction of what they bring in, Baron, Sean, and Geoff want to give them the tools to build and own the brand themselves.

From Corporate Culture to Creator Ownership

The trio of Baron, Sean, and Geoff come from the corporate world, full of endless red tape, meetings with legal, waiting for approvals, and buzzkills around every corner.

“We want to undo corporate in the sneaker space, and we want to amplify culture,” Baron Davis told us. “We want to amplify creativity and then create a business ecosystem where everybody wins. If you look over the history of the shoe business, there are huge winners and huge losers. That kid that comes out of college that signs a $1 million sneaker deal and sells four or five million pairs of sneakers, they’re not benefiting.”

He’s right. Virtually all athletes who work with major brands will sign deals with guaranteed money, but get zero residuals or royalties unless you’re Michael Jordan. MJ reportedly takes 5% of every sneaker sold, but that’s rare.

Sean put ODD’s plan succinctly: “Let's build something where athletes come first, it's not that they're ambassadors to help build our brand. We’re about helping them build their own individual brands.”

What is ODD Labs?

At its core, ODD appears to operate less like a traditional sneaker brand and more like a hybrid creative lab, design studio, and incubation platform for athletes, artists, and influencers looking to launch their own footwear projects. During the conversation, Sean explained that the company is split into two parts: ODD Labs, which serves as the creative and development arm working with outside collaborators, and OverDose, the group’s in-house brand used to experiment with ideas and release products directly.

The exact financial structure behind these partnerships was not fully detailed during the interview, so it remains unclear how licensing, ownership stakes, or revenue sharing would work long-term. However, the trio repeatedly emphasized ideas surrounding creator ownership, flexibility, and removing many of the traditional corporate barriers that have historically limited independent creatives within the footwear industry.

ODD and OverDose’s First Release

Kicking off the brand’s foray into the footwear world is the Easy PZ. The 3D-printed comfort-focused silhouette was created in partnership with the German geniuses over at Zellerfeld. You’ve definitely heard of them at this point, as they’ve worked with the likes of Nike, 2 Chainz and his son, Jaylen Brown’s 741, who actually tapped Geoff and Sean to design his prototype, Justin Bieber’s SKYLRK, and more.

The shoe itself comes with an adjustable forefoot strap to help with lockdown and a runner-esque aesthetic that translates well to lifestyle wear.

Opening the Door for the Next Generation of Sneaker Creators

While ODD and ODD Labs are just getting started, Baron, Sean, and Geoff clearly see the company as something much bigger than a standalone footwear label. Their long-term vision revolves around opening the doors for athletes, artists, influencers, and independent creatives to launch products and brands without needing validation from the traditional corporate powerhouses that have historically controlled the sneaker industry.

As NIL continues to reshape college athletics and creators become businesses in their own right, the trio believes the next generation will care far more about ownership and independence than simply signing endorsement deals.

“This generation, as they continue to grow, is great as far as understanding their sense of worth, value, and ownership,” said Davis. “When it comes to NIL, it could be the next kid out of high school who starts a great sneaker brand and is wearing his own sneakers in the pros and has ownership over it.”

That philosophy extends beyond athletes, too. Throughout the conversation, the group repeatedly referenced future collaborations across sports, music, internet culture, and entertainment, emphasizing that ODD wants to function more like a creative platform than a traditional gatekeeper. Sean described the company as a space for people who “see something missing” and have the energy to create.

Whether that ultimately results in the next great independent sneaker brand or creator-owned footwear labels remains to be seen. However, what Baron Davis, Sean O’Shea, and Geoff Deas are building with ODD feels representative of a larger shift happening in business.

Today, the barriers to entry are much lower in almost all creative and business fields. You don’t have to sign with a music label to get discovered, gain fans, and grow a following. Social media allows you to build a business from the ground up and get your product or service in front of millions. The fact that the trio is trying to lower this barrier in the footwear world is a great sign of where the industry is heading.

Nicholas Vlahos

Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy watching films and discovering music. Follow me on Letterboxd @nickvlah For tips, reviews, or any shoes in a size 13, email nick@soleretriever.com