Yahoo Finance ‘Euphoria’ Star Storm Reid on Her New Balance Campaign, Sneaker Obsessions and First-Time Producing
“Euphoria” star Storm Reid is best known for her work on television and in movies. Most recently, the 18-year-old actor played Tyla in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad.” Coming up, she’ll not only star in 20th Century Studios’ upcoming “Darby Harper Wants You to Know,” about a woman who can see ghosts, a film that will also mark her producing debut through her production company, A Seed & Wings.
Earlier today, it was announced that Reid has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with New Balance. Along with the premiere of a video to kick off the new partnership, Reid will be featured on billboards emblazoned with the slogan, “Storm Wears New Balance.”
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I caught up with Reid, who just began her freshman year at USC, on Monday over the phone.
Did you ever think a company like New Balance would come to you one day and say, “We want you to be the face of this company?”
No! It’s wild. Since I was a little kid, I have always been obsessed with fashion, but specifically sneakers. One of my greatest joys as a young person is getting a pair of new sneakers or seeing new sneaker collabs come out. So to be able to be in partnership with New Balance, that is a dream come true.
Courtesy: New Balance
How many pairs of sneakers do you own?
The last time I counted, it was about 85 pairs. So you can say over 80 pairs.
So how did the collaboration come about?
It was really organic. I think they saw that I was very inspired by and love fashion and sneakers. They reached out and we started having conversations. And what I admire about the brand so much is they really tried to get to know me before presenting any type of deal. They just wanted to know who Storm was as a person and as a young person in my philanthropic endeavors. So that meant a lot to have a brand not just want to come to you for you to be the face of a brand, but they really wanted to invest in me and get to know me first.
How great is it to know that young people will look at your ads and think, “If she could do it, I could it?”
I always say, “If you don’t see yourself, how can you feel as though you can succeed?” So I think all people, but specifically young people, who see the work I do with New Balance and will see all the things that we plan to do down the line, I think it can be really inspirational. They can feel like what I do is attainable, that it is not out of reach, and that they can fulfill their dreams, and that they can be a young person who does a lot of things and cares about a lot of things.
You’re not only starring in “Darby Harper Wants to Know You,” but also producing. Are you nervous?
I’m not. I think it’s a right next step in my life and in my career. I wanted to produce “Darby” because it’s a coming of age story about two young girls really trying to figure the world out. Their circumstances are a little weird, a little odd, but that’s what makes it fun. With the brand partnership with New Balance or the things that I’m producing or the things that I act in, it’s about being a part of projects that are purposeful and that have messages and that are multifaceted and really represent the world as a whole and represent all situations in all people in a real way.”
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