College Park Skyhawks guard Langston Galloway has flat feet. The nine-year pro and former All Atlantic-10 guard while at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia always worried about how the shoes he played in were going to fit and feel while he was on court.
So Galloway and his wife Sabrina, the couple who have been married for seven years, decided to start Ethics, their own footwear brand, in January 2022. A little over a year later the company also sells sweats, socks and hats.
The name for the brand comes from his work ethic and road to this point in his career.
Galloway, an admitted sneakerhead, said Ethics sneakers are for “The underdogs. If you are an underdog then this brand is for you.”
Undrafted following a stellar career at St. Joe’s, Galloway fought his way to the NBA and has played for seven teams during his career, along with spending time in the G League. During his career he was able to afford any sneakers he wanted, but always wanted to have his own sneaker. Then he thought, ‘Why not just start our own company?’
“It took about three years, but when we first got the sample shoe it was mind-blowing,” he said.
New pair about to drop
The College park Skyhawks are currently 15-14 and 6-4 in their last 10 games. In their most recent game a lot of the team wore the new black Ethics LG Twos. Galloway gifted pairs to his teammates. “I wanted to build something for people like me, and though the sneakers are being worn by players, they are also for people in the community,” Galloway said.
A gray and white pair of Ethics LG Twos were also recently worn by Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving. Galloway had sent Irving a pair and was surprised when he saw on Twitter that Irving was wearing them.
“I was shocked,” he told The Atlanta Voice during a recent interview. “For him to rock them like that was cool to see.”
The Ethics LG Twos will be available for purchase in April, according to Galloway.
Affordable and fresh
Growing up in Baton Rouge Galloway’s family didn’t always have the money to buy new sneakers so he wanted his sneaker brand to be as close to affordable as possible. He also wanted to create a basketball show that would last and be able to be cool on and off the court.
Ethics are $120 per pair and are available via the company’s website. There are various color ways, such as the 1gOne Homecoming that come in Galloway’s hometown Southern University’s team colors. There is also the all-white 1gOne Launch Edition, 1gOne Super Gumbo ($150), which comes in a rainbow color way and the 1gOne Frozen Coral which comes in a combination of Black and coral with a white base.
“I wanted to build something that was reliable and that was built to last for people that grew up like me,” Galloway said. He mentioned the moms and dads that wanted to be able to buy their kids new shoes but had to be selective because of the prices.
“I remember growing up and not being able to get new sneakers,” he said.
Now he has his own sneaker brand.