Former Texas High School Football Star and Subject of Showtime’s Outcry is the Face of Hari Mari’s Fall Launch
Stylish Chukka Boots and a Hopeful Story Come Together For This Very Texas Collection
BY Caitlin Clark // 10.07.20Greg Kelley, the focus of Showtime's summer docuseries "Outcry," photographed in Hari Mari's new fall collection with his wife Gaebri.
If you’ve spent the last few pandemic months streaming documentary after documentary, Showtime’s Outcry may have made its way to your screen. And for Texans, it’s a story that may hit a little too close to home. Following the 2014 conviction of high school football star Greg Kelley in Williamson County for the alleged sexual assault of a 4-year-old, the docuseries unfolds in real time until the passionately supported subject is legally exonerated in 2019.
Today, Kelley is finally preparing to fulfill his collegiate dream after signing with Eastern Michigan on a football scholarship. Closer to home, he’s also teaming up with Dallas-based Hari Mari — the masters of comfortable, casual footwear — to be the face of the brand’s fall boot collection.
“Greg’s story is one of hope and inspiration,” says Hari Mari co-founder Lila Stewart in a release. “One in which good prevails but horrific all at the same time. He and his wife, Gaebri, deserve so many blessings after what they’ve been through and given Greg’s character and strength, it’s an honor to have him be the face of Hari Mari’s New Boot Collection.”
The fall line offers a twist on eight-year-old Hari Mari’s classic styles. A new waxed suede material, sourced from León, Mexico, makes the CanyonTrek and Adobe Desert Boots that much more effortless and even more comfortable: the shoes incorporate the brand’s new molded foam footbeds. The vintage-inspired Dos Santos Runner also gets a full-grain leather upgrade, with new “Wheat,” “Forest,” and “Navy” hues to take you into the season.
In a video narrated by Kelley for Hari Mari’s fall collection, the football star sports the new line and speaks to the line’s central theme: everyday exploring.
“Over the years, freedom was something that hung in the balance for me,” says Kelley. “I’ve come to learn when you are dealt a bad hand in a specific season of your life… freedom [is] the most important thing. It’s all I cared about when all else was stripped away. Being free is the ability to explore areas that maybe you’ve never thought you’d be but also explore a dream that is just a life chapter away.”
The new collection ranges from $120 to $220, and is available online or at premium retailers, including Neiman Marcus. Local boutiques stocking Hari Mari include Stag Provisions, DLM Supply, and St. Bernard Sports.