Miami native Max Martinez may have just come up with a name for David Beckham's new team
AS caught up with Max Martinez, creator of the Miami Legacy concept that may help David Beckham's MLS project get off the ground.
AS caught up with Max Martinez, creator of the Miami Legacy concept. This Miami native has always idolized David Beckham and now thinks he’s found a way to lend him and the city he grew up in a hand. Behind Miami Legacy is a well thought out project and several months of work to brand the future MLS club.
Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Max Martinez and I’m currently the Managing Director of Venture Capital at General American Capital Partners. I was born and raised in Miami, played college American football at Cornell as a running back, moved to SF and learned the intricacies of startup world, and now I am between Brooklyn and Miami working on several projects.
Why did you decide to create this concept and what was your goal with it?
I grew up with a Madridista as a father and my first favorite player was David Beckham. I was going into 7th grade and I idolized him (my screen name on AIM was MiamiBeckham23!), not just for the athlete that he was, but the person. Family man, UNICEF ambassador, fashion icon, etc., Beckham has done it all. The goal of the Miami Legacy was to create a team that embodied Becks for who he is and to help change people’s perception that Miami is just a party city or vacation spot. I want to change that. Water and heat are a major part of why people love Miami, but every sports team has to do with the weather or a sea animal. This logo represents the rising of soccer in Miami and the name has such a strong meaning to the city of Miami.
Why Miami Legacy?
No matter where Beckham steps foot, he leaves a Legacy and is loved wherever he goes. This is his team and his legacy. Miami is a city full of people proud of their heritage and they come from all different places and speak many different languages. Legacy is a synonym for heritage. Most of these people come from soccer countries that speak different languages (not just Spanish) and legacy translated in Spanish and Portuguese is ‘legado’ and legacy in both English and Creole. Just like the Hispanics called the Galaxy “Los Galaxy”, everyone who becomes a Legacy fan can call them the Legacy or “Los Legacy.”
Why not Miami United?
This is David Beckham’s Legacy. Those types of names are just boring. Beckham and Miami are unique, both when it comes to their legacy and their global reach. The name Legacy stands out unlike any other MLS team name and has a royalty about it like Beckham, a people’s person who is creating the people’s team.
Why the pentagon shape for the logo?
I chose the pentagon for two reasons. The main reason I chose the pentagon is because the pentagon is the shape that unites the original soccer ball. There are 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons. In a way, this reminded me of Miami. Miami is a hub that connects South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the USA all together, just like the pentagons on the soccer ball. Also, there is no other MLS team with a pentagon as their logo, unless you count the Columbus Crew who use an upside down stretched out version, so it would be the first of its kind.
Why the colors?
As mentioned before, the people of Miami and their heritage are what makes the city so unique. There are people who came from Cuba who built legitimate corporations, Ivy League graduates coming from the descendants of Venezuelan parents, people who never leave because they couldn't imagine life being anything else, and lots of others, but it's all of those cultures that make Miami special. With that being said, different gradients of the primary colors (RYB) are found in all of the flags of the world. By taking a different gradient of each, I decided to go with these 4 (including the white), to make them the People’s Club colors. The Legacy will not only be the MLS team everyone follows, but it will be the world’s team and unite Miami.
Who designed the jerseys? Why Adidas?
Photoshop is a hobby of mine and I had this idea on Halloween night as I was getting ready to go out. Instead, I stayed home, wearing my costume, and started experimenting with mockups based on what I thought was cool. After 3 months of work, I chose my favorites and picked the ones I thought fans would enjoy the most. I didn’t choose Adidas, the MLS has a contract with them, so it’s a rule. It also helps that Beckham has a lifetime contract with Adidas.
What was the jersey design process like?
The design process was tough because I had to hear a lot of hard things I didn’t want to hear, but I was new to the design world, so I took every bit of criticism and tried to improve with every single rendition of the logo and jersey. It took 3 months of insanely hard work and learning new things on the go during my free time.
Miami is flamboyant, and on the rise. It’s a city, that with the help of Beckham, will continue its flare with class. These are jerseys people that no one has ever seen before, extremely unique. Just like Beckham’s styles on the pitch, they can change every season.
What’s your goal?
My dream is to one day have the opportunity to work with Becks, meet him for some coffee, or just kick the ball around and talk about how we can make my hometown’s team something special. He’s someone I have always looked up to and I figured this was my shot at getting to be a part of his legacy and absorbing his knowledge. If so, these past six months of work will have been all worth it.