The Final Part of the Footy Boots Interview with Prior 2 Lever Creative Director Greg Lever

Footy Boots today brings you the concluding part of our interview with Greg Lever, the Creative Director behind the world’s first fully customised football boot, the Assassin. If you missed the earlier articles, Read Part I and Part II. In the final instalment we try to find out which professional players wear the Assassin and what players get for their money.

FB: What is the price range for P2L products?
GL: £2500.00 up to the limits that the athlete sets.

FB: What do you get for the money?
GL: You would hope a lot for that price, and you do. A complete boot built around your needs and wants.

FB: How do you justify the high cost of the shoes as opposed to an off-the-shelf pair?
GL: A pro player may earn in excess of £20,000.00 per week (as an example) If that player loses just one week due to a problem caused by the boot, bad fitting or a combination of boot and other parameters, then the club loses, the fans lose and the manager loses. These losses are not only financial but can mean cups, points and even relegation. At elite level I see this service as critical. Pro players are wearing boots utilising comparable technology to you and I that have been designed to fit the feet of the nation.

FB: Is the Assassin boot only targeted to professional players?
GL: Yes, but if a non professional wanted our service we would not treat them any differently.

FB: Do you have any high profile individual soccer players sporting the Assassin?
GL: Yes but I can not say who due to confidentiality

FB: How do P2L go about getting professionals to wear their football boots?
GL: We do not sponsor, so it is up to the player to be proactive in coming to us. Valuing their career and appreciating the boot is the key tool of their trade is the starting point.

FB: Where can we see your boots?
GL: My website is coming online very, very soon so please check back regularly. (http://www.prior2lever.com).

FB: Have you considered producing a high street version of your boot or even a trainer?
GL: Yes, and we may do. Firstly we want to ensure that we can address the fundamental points of why we incepted with elite products and bring this to the masses.

FB: Any special offerings coming up from P2L this year?
GL: There is something brewing which I won’t mention yet but promise to give Footy Boots the heads up first!

FB: What football team do you support?
GL: Don’t hate me, Chelsea. My first game as a kid was when Dave Beasant had that shocker and let three goals in the last few minutes. I stood in the shed with my Dad and could hardly see!

FB: Do you play football?
GL: Not as much now, sometimes the odd Sunday game for the mighty Lama’s. I want to start a P2L team but it is all business at the moment.

FB: In Assassins?!
GL: I do!

Footy Boots would like to thank Greg Lever for his time, his responses and his willingness to answer any question which we threw at him. We look forward to seeing new developments and products from the pioneering Prior 2 Lever team, whose Assassin football boots look set to break the mould on the football field as well as in the field of innovative design and cutting edge technology. Visit the Prior 2 Lever website at http://www.prior2lever.com/.

Missed the first two parts? Read them here at Part I and Part I.

View the latest Prior 2 Lever Assassin football Boots images.

Part 2 of the Footy Boots Interview with Prior 2 Lever Creative Director Greg Lever

Footy Boots today brings you the second instalment of our interview with Greg Lever, the Creative Director behind the world’s first fully customised football boot, the Prior 2 Lever Assassin - if you missed it, Read Part I here. Today, Greg shares some of the secrets behind what goes into making the Assassins and how lasers are used in shaping football boots for the elite players.

FB: What’s the story behind the Prior 2 Lever and Assassin brand names?
GL: The name Prior 2 Lever is simply Trevor Prior 2 Greg Lever. The idea of passing podiatry and biomechanics 2 design, function 2 form and so on. The Assassin name sounded good, it reflected our entrance into the market and caused a few problems in the media which is fun.

FB: How would you describe the Prior 2 Lever philosophy?
GL: Give the athlete what he/she needs as well as what he/she wants. The two are often very different.

FB: What makes the Assassin so unique?
GL: How long do you have?! In short we make the boot from scratch for each individual for both left and right foot. The boot set up is purely bespoke to fit, biomechanics, stud configuration, heel raise, material selection, design, the environment, training versus match, previous injury etc. We can even evaluate the peripheral blood flow of the athletes and design a layering system of materials to control this (handy if one week you are playing in a cold environment in Russia then training in Portugal).

FB: Please explain the process of producing a fully customised, bespoke football boot.
GL:
1. The athlete visits Trevor Prior for a full biomechanical and podiatry evaluation involving lots of computers, science and years of experience + much poking and prodding!
2. We scan the athlete’s feet in a corrected position based on the results of the evaluation
3. We produce a left and right last which is the form the shoe is built on
4. I take the last electronically into my computer and design the upper, outsole and insock with the athletes needs and wants
5. We manufacture all the components
6. The boot is constructed in our factory by a team of highly skilled hand craftsmen
7. The boots are tested in the lab and at the training ground to ensure all the requirements have been met.

This is a good overview of the process without revealing any of our secrets!

FB: Please explain how selective laser sintering helps in this process.
GL: Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) of Stereolithography Apparatus (SLA) is a process that allows you to manufacture things without a mould; effectively it is 3D printer you can plug into your computer. Because the system builds in layers, it allows us to make very precise individual designs with precision such as moving and placing studs, building intrinsic structures to dissipate peak forces, adding heel raises, changing fit from left to right etc. We can also build different players outsoles at the same time. Injection moulding can take 8 weeks where as SLA takes 1 day and allows us to react to players needs, quickly and effectively. It is star wars stuff!

FB: How long does it take from first visit to produce a bespoke football boot?
GL: It takes 4 weeks as we really check our measures and ensure that the athlete is set up correct.

FB: Does the Assassin offer any other advantages over mass produced boots?
GL: The only limits are the ones that the athlete sets.

Read the final part of our interview with Greg Lever tomorrow from Prior 2 Lever, when he answers the vital questions including how much are the Assassins, where can we see a pair and what football team does Greg support?

Read The Interview Part 1 here.

View the latest Prior 2 Lever Assassin football Boots images.

Footy Boots Interview with Prior 2 Lever Creative Director Greg Lever

Prior 2 Lever are renowned and admired in the football boot world as the inventors of the world’s first fully customised football boot. The majestic Prior 2 Lever Assassin remains a mystery for most football boot fans, but we have managed to get the inside scoop! Footy Boots are proud to bring you the first of a three part interview with Greg Lever, Creative Director at Prior 2 Lever, that will give an insight into this acclaimed football boot and the people who have bought it to us. Greg studied Art & Design, followed by Graphic Communication, and also gained an MA in Performance Sportswear at the University of Derby. His professional experience began by creating bespoke solutions for elite athletes from the world of soccer, athletics, golf and currently indoor soccer (Futsal). Greg is also developing the consultancy arm of the Prior 2 Lever business, with a view to creating solutions for the mass market.

The Assassin football boot holds an exclusive position as a fully customised football boot in the industry, and we started by getting Greg’s views on football boots in general:

FB: What is your view of the current football boot market?
GL: I guess it depends from what perspective you look at this. Aesthetically they have never been better with the classics remaining prominent but also new trends emerging. From a functional perspective it is mixed. I personally do not feel that the majority of boots out there on the market at this point in time are considered enough and the aesthetic (which should always remain skin applied) is encroaching on the function. There are certain brands out there paving the way, often smaller soccer specific ones but due to the lack of marketing money, they never have a true impact on the mass market. I do believe however this is slowly turning.

FB: What do you think of the million pound boot sponsor contracts that have become part of the modern game?
GL: I don’t think it is a problem as it is not as common as many people on the outside looking in may be led to believe. What I find strange is that all the money tied into the big boot deals often just means big money. The players are wearing and utilising the same products as you and I can wear on the park on Sunday. I think this will change and is has to but it will be slow, the public believe that all our top players have their very own boots made but this often only goes as far as having an outsole and upper of different sizes attached to get a near fit. The most amount of customisation or bespoking is done by the kit man who will often cut out and add studs to make weird and wonderful configurations. This is all very well however the studs, through my experience and research, are a key element in injuries.

FB: Do you think players are putting mega buck contracts ahead of their own fitness and injury prevention?
GL: I don’t believe that the players do, they are not stupid as some may perceive them to be. Anything that can add 0.1% to their game and provide competitive edge/possibly prevent certain injuries is not passed on lightly. I think it is often the influencers around them such as representatives who handle and obtain these deals, players just want to focus on the games ahead. More needs to be done by clubs, many medical teams are pushing for better service by sponsors but you also need to understand the objective of the sponsor.

FB: Do you think there is a reason for the recent increase in metatarsal injuries to footballers and has it got anything to do with boot design?
GL: The FA Audit of injuries would suggest that there has not been an increase; it should be made clear that all injuries are multi-factorial so the boot is not always to blame. Certainly the lighter thinner outsoles can have an effect as can certain stud configurations combined with bad fit etc. Overall I feel the awareness is due to the increased amount of media outlets apposed to a sudden large increase.

Read more in the next Footy Boots Interview, when we find out exactly how Prior 2 Lever make their Assassins and what makes the Assassin so unique and exciting…

View the latest Prior 2 Lever Assassin football Boots images.

£6,000 for a pair of football boots - that’s the starting price for the all new “Assassin” football boot from Prior 2 Level (P2L) as documented earlier this week “The First Bespoke Boot“.P2L’s Creative Director, Greg Lever-O’Keefe, confirmed that the new bespoke football boots are now publicly available to order, via apoointment at their London clinic. The £6,000 starting price includes podiatry, biomechanics and footwear for a one year contract.

The football boot, must be aimed at the professional player with that price tag, and P2L have confirmed that they have professional footballers using the boot, although the names are currently confidential.

It will be interesting to see how popular this bespoke football boot will become. If anyone is aware of any professionals using the football boots, or have bought the football boots, we would love to hear your feedback.

You can book an appointment to order “The Assassin” 01442 822019 or email info@prior2lever.com

Prior 2 Lever (P2L) has this week unveiled its new leading edge football boot “The Assassin“, which claims to be the world’s first bespoke football boot.Although other football boots on the market allow you to personailse your boots with colour or by adding a name to your boot “The Assassin“ football boot is built to fit your foot individualy, by scanning the foot to get exact measurements.

What a great move forward this is. Imagine taking to the field with a football boot that has been designed specifically for your foot and not just a football boot with the correct length. I have quite a thin foot with a high bridge, so have always found football boots to take either a long time to wear in, or have had to give them up before they have worn out.

The boot is said to also please the eye, as colour, style design and texture can be added. Another bonus in my book, as I favour the traditional plain black boot, like the picture shows.

“The Assassin” football boots are available now, exclusively through appointment with P2L at their London clinic. For more information you can contact Greg Lever-O’Keefe on +44 (0) 1442 822 019 or email info@prior2lever.com

I have asked for pricing guidelines and will update you when P2L respond.

P2L have a website, but it has nothing more than their contact details on display at this time.