From Instagram, fashion magazines, and gyms to the streets of New York, to the Kardashian sisters' feet, the sneaker brand APL has recently been featured so frequently that it was even named one of the most popular fashion matching shoes of 2017 by the American media.

The popular sports brand for celebrities and hipsters alike, with a sneaker price tag of around $200 per shoe, has captured a lot of market share of the U.S. athleisure market due to its modest price point. Most of the advantages of the APL brand can be attributed to: breathable, super elastic, not too grinding feet, and good-looking appearance.

APL running shoes that have recently become popular in the U.S. market.

Driven by sports fashion trends, Business Insider believes that APL is showing signs of transforming from a niche brand to a mainstream trendy brand. As APL's market heats up, some of the under-the-radar brand's past is coming into view.

Ryan Goodston and Adam Goodston are twins from the United States, as their father worked for well-known sporting goods companies such as Reebok and Converse. The brothers became interested in sneakers at a very young age, and both were former members of the USC basketball team.

The Goodston brothers are about 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall, and for a basketball fan, they don't feel comfortable with their height. For this reason, it became the brothers' desire to design shoes that would improve bounce and dunk easily. "What we're doing, as crazy as it sounds, is putting dreams on the shelves," Adam once said.

Perhaps with the background of the sneaker family, in 2008, the twins quickly planned to create their own brand called APL. Soon after, the concept of "spring shoes" was formed, and then it entered the stage of practical research.

After a year of research, the Goodston brothers eventually implanted an elastic device called Load'N Launch in the forefoot of the sole of their basketball shoes, which absorbs the pressure exerted vertically downward by the wearer.

When the entire forefoot is pressed against the device, the device is fully charged, providing a huge recoil force that gives the wearer excellent elasticity under their feet. The device is designed to absorb downforce only vertically, so there is no interference when the player's feet move laterally. Thanks to this patented technology, the APL basketball shoe allows the wearer to jump about six or seven centimeters high.

As a result, shoes quickly gain the attention of amateur or professional players. The Goodston brothers have claimed in an interview that some NBA players, especially rookies, have expressed interest in APL basketball shoes, but most have shoe contracts and cannot play in their basketball shoes.

Being able to become an NBA player shoe is the pride and dream of every basketball shoe brand. However, the brand was later banned.

Just as APL basketball shoes were gaining traction, in 2010, the NBA sent an email to the Goodston brothers. To be precise, this is a ban on the APL brand, "According to the league rules, players are not allowed to wear sneakers that allow them to illegally profit from the game and go against the spirit of the game." ”

This means that the league prohibits NBA players from wearing APL shoes in any game. The reason is that the effect of this shoe on increasing the bounce will give the player an "excessive competitive advantage", which is called a "plug-in".

A ban from the NBA is naturally bad news for the brand. However, as soon as the ban was issued, basketball shoes received unprecedented attention and were quickly sold out. People have taken the APL sneakers back to the sky to find out.

Although the shoes are not in the NBA arena and may never even be shown, the brothers are sad and do not forget to take advantage of the NBA ban for an in-depth marketing campaign.

For a long time, APL has advertised the words "NBA Banned" in a prominent position on the homepage of its official website: This product is used to improve athletic performance and has been listed as a banned sneaker by the NBA. Today, the APL brand has been equated with the NBA ban, which has become a big label for the brand and has helped it achieve good sales results.

However, unable to appear in the top professional arena, APL basketball shoes are limited in market expansion. In 2014, the American brand entered the running shoe segment with the launch of jogging shoes. Judging from the current popularity of the fashion running shoe market, APL running shoes have been recognized by the casual market, and the Goodston brothers made a right choice in time.

Forbes magazine recently released the NBA Sneaker Earnings List (for the past 12 months). In this list, Michael Jordan topped the list with $110 million. And now the league's number one star, LeBron James, is in second place with $32 million.

Previously, Forbes released the 2017 list of global athlete earnings, and NBA stars became the biggest winners. On the list of the top 100 athletes earned, the number of NBA players is as high as 32. Last year, the number of NBA players on the list who could make it to the top 100 was just 18.

NBA stars' incomes have skyrocketed, partly because new TV contracts have come into effect, and many NBA stars have been offered bigger contracts as a result. Among them, Conley, a player of the Memphis Grizzlies, signed the largest contract in NBA history worth $153 million. Now, the annual salary of 20 million has become the entry threshold for star contracts. Next season, there will be more and more players with an annual salary of 20 million.

On the other hand, in today's league compensation system, sneaker endorsements are also a very important part of the total income of a star.

Despite being retired for many years, Michael Jordan is still the undisputed king of the basketball shoe market, with his sneaker revenue reaching $110 million. As of May last year, Jordan's basketball shoes revenue reached $2.8 billion, an increase of 18% over the previous 12 months. Jordan's net worth is currently estimated to be around $1.3 billion.

LeBron's sneaker revenue reached $32 million. He has long vowed to become a billionaire, and his success is inseparable from sneakers. LeBron has signed a lifetime contract with a well-known sports brand, with a rumored total amount of up to $600 million.

Durant signed a seven-year, $60 million sneaker endorsement contract in his rookie year. When this contract expired, he signed a huge contract of $300 million over 10 years. Durant's sneaker income is second only to LeBron, reaching $25 million.

Bryant retired with a newly released endorsement sneaker and enjoyed the treatment of Jordan. Kobe Bryant is hugely popular in China, and his basketball shoes are still quite a hot commodity. Bryant also earned $16 million in sneakers.

Next on the list are James Harden ($14 million), Stephen Curry ($12 million), Derrick Rose ($11 million), Lillard ($10 million), Wade ($8 million), Irving ($8 million), Paul George ($5.5 million), Westbrook ($5 million) and Anthony ($5 million).