About the Press

Bronx- born, Florida-raised Omar Bailey had a dream. Named “the shoe guy” in art school, who knew that his sketch book of sneaker designs would evolve into the businessman he is today? He did! Bailey manifested his dreams and transformed them into notability and prominence! From a teen, he laid the blueprint brick by brick, building a future path that led to Yeezy Innovation Lab at Adidas and, then, his FCTRY LAb in the Arts District of Los Angeles. Bailey, who admits to owning at least 500 pairs of sneakers,  is not a self-proclaimed “sneakerhead” by a long shot! It is his love, passion and fervor for shoes that keeps him trailblazing to innovate and bring his vision to the world of shoe design.

Bailey is altruistic by nature and creating opportunities for others is his majesty. And he’s just getting started. Most recently, FCTRY LAb wrapped its activation at All Star Weekend in Utah and received some high profile industry support around the first prototype, Knight RNR, out this month and sold out in its first few hours.

You are an industrial design engineer with over two decades of expertise. Were sneakers always a passion or happenstance?

Bronx- born, Florida-raised Omar Bailey had a dream. Named “the shoe guy” in art school, who knew that his sketch book of sneaker designs would evolve into the businessman he is today? He did! Bailey manifested his dreams and transformed them into notability and prominence! From a teen, he laid the blueprint brick by brick, building a future path that led to Yeezy Innovation Lab at Adidas and, then, his FCTRY LAb in the Arts District of Los Angeles. Bailey, who admits to owning at least 500 pairs of sneakers,  is not a self-proclaimed “sneakerhead” by a long shot! It is his love, passion and fervor for shoes that keeps him trailblazing to innovate and bring his vision to the world of shoe design.

Define your interpretation of a “sneakerhead.”

People have always assumed that I was a sneakerhead because I was in the shoe business. I have my favorites but I am not a walking encyclopedia on sneakers, or well-versed on the history thereof like some of these sneaker sellers in their early teens. The way I would define a sneakerhead is someone who is truly tapped into the culture of footwear, sneakers, and its history. Most sneakerheads, from what I’ve gathered, can ultimately be defined as “Nike-heads.” Nike is pretty much all that they are collecting whether it is different versions of “Dunks,” “Air Force 1s,” or “Air Jordans.”