Dominican influencer pays homage to his cultural roots with new Converse sneaker

In 2018, Converse teamed up with sneaker aficionado and influencer Ray Polanco Jr. to debut a sneaker inspired by his Dominican Republic roots. And now, the company behind everyone’s favorite Chuck Taylor has tapped the social media expert for a second edition featuring a white high-top adorned with a collage of hand-drawn cultural images.

His new creation, dubbed the Puro Platano 2, features images of his experiences growing up as a Dominican in the Bronx, New York as well as Converse’s backing for personalization.

Proud of his latest sneaker release which is available on Converse.com on September 19 and in-stores at Converse SoHo NYC and Boston on September 20, the content creator took to social media to express his thoughts behind his latest design.

He wrote, "A cultural coloring book for your feet inspired by my experience growing up dominican in NYC. I want the world to get to know us beyond flag colors, so I designed a visual story of pride.”