Syntilay has created a recovery footwear market focused on sport-specific custom shoes.
The artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D-printed footwear firm collaborated with football wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens for its first sport-specific custom recovery shoe, this one focused on pickleball.
The Syntilay x Terrell Owens collaboration — called the TO Reset recovery shoe — is generated from a scan of each customer’s foot that captures the individual’s unique geometry of width, instep, asymmetry and 3D shape. Advanced 3D-printing technology produces each shoe based on those dimensions.
Owens, who is a pickleball enthusiast, played a direct role in shaping the vision behind the project, providing input on how pickleball athletes recover after repeated high-impact movement and the lateral motion common in the sport. The shoe’s structure was engineered to relieve pressure in the areas where pickleball players experience the most fatigue and impact during and after play.
“As someone who spends a lot of time on the pickleball court, I wanted a recovery shoe that reflected the way pickleball players actually move,” Owens said. “We talked extensively about the pressure points, fatigue, and recovery challenges that come from the sport, and those conversations helped shape the final shoe.”
The TO Reset recovery shoe.
Courtesy of Syntilay
He added that “everything starts with your feet,” as that’s the foundation for every movement and step on and off the court. “The result is a recovery shoe that’s not only designed for pickleball, but generated around each person’s individual feet. It’s built to help players reset after competition, recover from the demands of the game, and get ready to do it all again the next day.”
According to Syntilay founder and chief executive officer Ben Weiss, the “heel portion in the shoe sole was reshaped to help alleviate impact on the heel by redistributing force across other areas of the foot, reducing concentrated pressure on the heel during recovery and creating a more balanced underfoot experience after play.”
Syntilay also incorporated a roomier toe box to allow the forefoot to relax and recover after a long period of time on the court. “Combined with our custom-generated fit technology, the result is a recovery shoe that helps pickleball players reset in footwear built around both the demands of the sport and the shape of their individual feet,” Weiss said.
According to Reebok founder and Syntilay advisor Joe Foster, “Recovery just got smarter.” He said that for years, has been generic, and the collaboration between Syntilay and Owens for a sport-specific custom shoe “is here recovery footwear is heading.”
Earilier this year, Syntilay introduced its PulsePodz model, featuring proprietary 3D-printed lattice underfoot pods for air-based cushioning. The pods are generated using AI based on different presets to reflect how much pressure is on the foot, with less cushioning at the ball of the foot and considerably more at the heel.
