Who is Stan Smith? A tennis legend, humanitarian, and... a shoe!

Before Djokovic or Federer, McEnroe or Borg, there was Stan Smith. A brilliant player, his success on the tennis court in the ‘70s led to Adidas naming its now iconic tennis shoe after him.

But there is much more to Stan Smith than tennis success and shoes. For though he set out to be the best, in the end that wasn’t enough. He wanted to do good as well.

Join Matthew Sherwood as he discusses the new documentary Who is Stan Smith? with its director, Danny Lee. They discuss the sacrifice Stan Smith made to improve conditions for his fellow tennis players, the help he gave to South African author, Mark Mathabane, and what happened when Stan went behind the Iron Curtain to play the controversial Romanian superstar, Ilie Nastase.

Who is Stan Smith? is a feelgood film about the man who is most known for the shoe, but who deserves far greater recognition for his humility, kindliness, and self-giving. Find out more with Matthew Sherwood and Danny Lee on Factual America.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“... the moral of the tale is, it's not necessarily all about winning... It's like the longer lasting impacts you can have on humanity... [Stan Smith is] just a wonderful human being. And I think he's a testament of the possibilities of what we can all do [when] we try to do good.” – Danny Lee

What is Covered: 00:00 – Introducing Danny Lee, writer, director, and producer of Who is Stan Smith?02:24 – What is Who is Stan Smith? about
03:40 – How Danny Lee got involved with the film
05:37 – Stan Smith’s background
11:00 – The Adidas Stan Smith shoe
12:21 – One reason why Stan Smith helped Mark Mathabane, and the Battle of Bucharest
16:29 – Why Danny chose not to include Ilie Năstase in the film
18:03 – Stan Smith’s humility
20:57 – The enjoyment, and challenge, of making Who is Stan Smith?23:54 – How life is about the impact you make rather than the wins
24:25 – Who is Stan Smith’s future distribution
25:20 – Danny on his shoe related films
28:13 – What shoes are, and what they mean
29:00 – Danny’s next project
30:51 – Danny’s experience of making a narrative film
31:51 – The difference between making a documentary and narrative film
33:58 – Does Danny have a preference between making a documentary or narrative film

Resources: Who is Stan Smith
MovieMaker Magazine
Innersound Audio
Alamo Pictures

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