Stria Sport of Chicago, which started out in basketball shoes, has entered the market with G1 Pro, a shoe built for pickleball. Andre Drummond, a two-time NBA All-Star, is co-owner and creative director. The price is $130 (about 19,500 yen at roughly 150 yen to the dollar, as of September 2026). It brings the flash of sneaker culture to a sport born at country clubs, and for Japanese players and retailers, where equipment choices keep widening, it points at a gap on the shelves.
Sneaker culture from basketball arrives on court
Stria Sport carried its basketball shoe engineering straight into pickleball. According to The Dink, the company developed G1 Pro as a shoe that stands up to lateral movement and quick changes of direction. It has a wide, stable contact surface, an internal heel cup, foam that absorbs impact, support around the ankle and breathable mesh, all built around quick direction changes on court.
Building equipment backwards from how the body moves is happening on the paddle side too. In the same thinking asSix Zero's first court apparel, designed backwards from movement, which we covered here in Japan, brands have started building products up from how players use them. What is new is that basketball money from an entirely different field came into footwear, the last area to be addressed, with a dedicated design from the start.
G1 Pro at just over 19,000 yen: what it sells on
G1 Pro's $130 price sits in the mid-to-upper range for a pickleball-specific shoe. It comes in colorways such as Pure and Glacier, in men's and women's sizes, sold on the company's own site and through some retailers. Against the reality in Japan, where many players repurpose tennis or running shoes, shoes sold flatly as pickleball-specific at this price are still few enough to count.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Base | Chicago, USA |
| Origin | Basketball footwear |
| Key people | Andre Drummond (co-owner and creative director) / Gabe Tardio (active pro behind the signature model) |
| Product | G1 Pro court shoe |
| Price | $130 (about 19,500 yen) |
| Colors | Pure, Glacier and others, in men's and women's sizes |
| Sales channels | Own site plus selected retailers |
Drummond is on the side making the product, not fronting the ads
Drummond took a stake in Stria in 2026 and serves as creative director, covering product design, player contracts and the direction of the company rather than acting as an investor alone. It is a different kind of involvement from lending a name. He describes where the company stands as bold without posturing, premium without being exclusive, and serious about performance without losing the play.
Gabe Tardio, the active pro who co-developed the signature model, explains the aim this way: "It isn't about making a shoe that only chases performance. It's about what looks good, what players actually want to wear, and how you bring culture into the sport." Putting looks and culture on the same footing as performance is what separates them from established equipment brands.
NFL players and rappers at the Crossover launch
The Crossover event Stria held for the launch drew faces from outside the sport. Jarvis Landry of the NFL and rapper Riff Raff took part, alongside active pros Jessie Irvine and Chris Crouch. The company also has a contract with rising pro Daniel Townsend. Putting people from different sports and entertainment on the same court makes the intent plain: selling pickleball as culture rather than exercise.
Equipment brands betting on the sport's exposure itself is happening in Japan too. Set alongside our report on a support-gear maker entering the sport,Zamst's year-long PPA Tour sponsorship, it is clear the equipment side has moved into investing in surfaces such as pro tours and famous names to warm up the whole market.
The gap on Japanese retailers' shelves
Whether G1 Pro will be sold officially in Japan soon is undecided, but the entry says a lot to domestic retailers. Pickleball-specific shoes are thin on the shelf, with most stores relying on repurposed tennis and badminton models, and few sales floors are built around dedicated models. Demand from intermediate and advanced players who want a shoe made for lateral movement is steadily growing, led by those who have stepped up from taster sessions.
A dedicated shoe is not just about looks. Pickleball courts are small, with repeated hard stops and sideways slides over short distances, so running shoes built for forward and backward movement cannot always absorb the lateral load on ankles and knees. G1 Pro's wide contact surface and the heel cup that locks the heel in are aimed at exactly that lateral force. The reason people say you cannot go back once you have worn a dedicated shoe comes down largely to this one difference.
Brands from other industries coming into the sport is not limited to shoes. As withTesla's second paddle, the Aurum, released by the EV giant for car owners only, more companies are funneling existing fans into the sport. When it happens with shoes, an item worn every single time, it easily becomes a starting point for repeat purchases.
Concrete ways to move sneaker fans in store
Retailers and importers in Japan have three moves available now. First, set up a try-on corner for dedicated shoes alongside taster sessions, so players who have been repurposing other shoes can feel the lateral stability for themselves. Second, lead with color and design, displaying shoes as something people want to wear rather than a spec sheet. Third, propose them as a set with paddles and support gear in a similar price band to build the average sale.
Stria's move is also evidence that pickleball has entered a stage where equipment is becoming both specialized and cultural. Stores that build a dedicated-shoe section first will be the ones that capture the intermediate and advanced players who buy by name from here on.
Source:The Dink Pickleball「The Disruptor Shoe Brand Bringing a New Swagger to Pickleball」
