Wolverine, the 137 year old boot brand, and Metallica’s nonprofit All Within My Hands are setting out on a different type of U.S. tour to help build the future American workforce. United by the same core mission, Wolverine and AWMH are providing trade school students scholarship funding, while teaming up to launch two special edition boots inspired by the legendary rock band. The Metallica Scholars 1000 Mile Axel and Hellcat UltraSpring™ boots are available for pre-order starting today, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting AWMH to further support the skilled trades.
“Wolverine shares the same vision that we had when creating the Metallica Scholars Initiative – that it’s incredibly important to create and sustain a strong and resilient American workforce. AWMH is our way of giving back and building future generations,” said Metallica guitarist James Hetfield. “More importantly, we are helping these students achieve their dreams and transform their lives through the workforce education programs offered at community colleges all across the country.”
The Wolverine x Metallica Scholars 1000 Mile Axel limited-edition boot is based on the popular Wolverine 1000 Mile boot silhouette with several Metallica-inspired features including a Metallica Key logo-inspired metal heel plate, an All Within My Hands metal toe kicker, metal-tipped laces and a metal guitar pick tag. The boot is made in the USA and uses Chicago-based Horween Chromexcel leather, silver hardware and a classic Vibram® lugged outsole.
The Wolverine x Metallica Scholars Hellcat UltraSpring™ boot combines traditional work boot durability with the modern performance of Wolverine UltraSpring™ cushioning. The boot has its own unique Metallica Scholars-inspired features – a custom molded Metallica Key logo stitched on the boot and a custom metal ‘Metallica Scholars’ guitar pick tag.
The partnership between Wolverine and AWMH will benefit three exceptional community college trade programs across the country – Grand Rapids Community College (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Lone Star College (Houston, Texas) and WSU Tech (Wichita, Kansas), each receiving a $100,000 joint grant from Wolverine and Metallica Scholars, and Wolverine boots to help students get started in their career.
“Wolverine is committed to supporting the next generation of the American workforce, and for the past six years we have focused on closing the skills gap through our Project Bootstrap initiative,” said Tom Kennedy, global brand president for Wolverine. “We believe the best way to do that is to start with education. By ensuring community colleges and trade programs across the country have the resources they need, we can support students who are choosing to join the skilled trades and together be one step closer to closing the gap.”
Both boots are available exclusively on Wolverine.com, with 100% of the proceeds from boot sales donated directly to the Metallica Scholars Initiative to provide funding for 2021 Metallica Scholars recipients.
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Photo Credit: Yulia Grigoryeva / Shutterstock.com