Gary Aspden, OB 81-87, a brand expert and specialist designer for Adidas, has been working closely with Nightsafe, a local charity that helps the young homeless people of Blackburn, and has become their very first Ambassador.
Gary provides the creative direction for Adidas’ Spezial range. He is very proud of his northern roots and takes inspiration from the area when designing his collections. For example, he used local names such as Intack and Settend for trainers, Shadsworth for a polo shirt and Pleasington for an anorak.
He has been using his skills to raise funds and awareness for this local charity and has designed a ‘Blackburn SPZL’ trainer in red and green, representing the red rose of Lancashire. The trainer was launched at a recent Adidas trainer exhibition held in Blackburn and the first 200 pairs were co-branded with Nightsafe. The proceeds for these limited edition trainers will go to the charity, along with the proceeds of the exhibition, which made £1200.00 in the first four days, plus all proceeds from a number of local gigs featuring the likes of Goldie, Dynamo and Primal Scream. These funds will go towards providing a full-time member of staff at the new Nightsafe accommodation based at St Silas.
If you would like to support Gary and help the young homeless people of Blackburn please visit www.blackburn-nightsafe.org.uk where you can find more information on the many ways you can provide help.