In the 1970s, the Adidas Superstar was built for one thing: basketball. It blew up across the NBA as players ditched stiff Chuck Taylors and basic Converse for a sneaker that finally offered comfort, durability, and real performance. But what no one knew then was that the Superstar’s biggest impact wouldn’t come on the hardwood. Its legacy was waiting on the streets of New York.

By the early ’80s, hip hop was exploding out of Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. It wasn’t just music. It was style, identity, rebellion, and culture. And no group embodied that shift more than Run DMC. They didn’t follow fashion — they created it. Black hats, black jackets, thick chains, and Adidas from head to toe.

And the Superstar? That was their signature.

They wore them unlaced, straight from the block, exactly the way kids in New York did. No stylists. No brand deals. No marketing. Just authenticity. That authenticity turned into something bigger the night they performed “My Adidas.”

At Madison Square Garden, Run DMC told the crowd to hold their Superstars in the air. Thousands of sneakers went up at once. No one had ever seen anything like it. It was a message that Adidas couldn’t ignore.

Within weeks, the brand made history. They signed Run DMC to a one million dollar endorsement deal — the first major sneaker partnership in hip hop. It wasn’t just a deal. It was the moment music, fashion, and culture fully collided.

From there, the Superstar became unstoppable. It left basketball behind and became a symbol of hip hop’s rise, street style, and the power of cultural influence long before social media existed. Run DMC didn’t just make the Superstar cool. They turned it into a movement.

Decades later, the Adidas Superstar is still one of the most iconic sneakers ever made. Not because of a marketing campaign. Not because of an athlete. But because three MCs from Queens turned their everyday style into a global phenomenon.

Run DMC didn’t just wear Adidas.
They changed what a sneaker could mean.