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A bachelor's degree in history, a master's degree in kinesiology and a master's degree in exercise science laid a solid career foundation for Spencer White. He's director of research and engineering for an athletic shoe company. But all those years of reading, studying and researching provided no training for White's latest venture: a key role in a series of television commercials for his company's DMX running and basketball shoes.

"I had to join the Screen Actors Guild!" White says of his role as the inquisitive, persistent inventor in the commercial. "I take a lot of kidding here at the office and at home. But it was a lot of fun. It's strange to see myself on TV."

Designing, developing and testing athletic shoes takes a lot of work, but White enjoys every minute of it. "We all have an athletic background and work with athletes -- some very healthy human beings. It's great to see the results of our designs and tests, with different materials and products turning out so well. We get all the feedback that we need from the athletes. They let us know exactly what they think about a product.

"I like to get immediate response or feedback in many different ways about our designs. Unlike a doctor or someone in the health-care field, we don't have to wait a year or so to see how things turned out."

Chris Brown is an athletic shoe and product designer in Nashville, Tennessee.

"It's up to us as designers and marketers to do what we can to improve footwear and equipment. We try every day to improve what we produce. We try to make it unique and make it different. It's up to the consumer to tell us what they expect. And they do that by what they buy and what they continue to buy."

While a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown won a design contest and earned a summer internship with an athletic shoe company. The experience piqued his interest in the field as he earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts.

Maria Kozo is a footwear designer. She develops "entry-level running shoes," which the company hopes will be customers' first of many purchases.

Kozo attended Carnegie Mellon University and earned a bachelor's of fine arts with a major in industrial design. She entered the world of work designing high-tech computer housing equipment.

"The industrial design field is very flexible and the best for creative people. You can get involved in so many different fields, like auto design for example. It's really wide open."

John Fluevog combined a love of cars and an aptitude for repairing car engines with an interest in shoes and shoe design. "Footwear is quite mechanical. Things have to fit and work together. I don't just sell shoes. I sell entertainment. If you wanted just a pair of shoes, you probably wouldn't think of me."

The mission for Richard DeCost was to come up with a new idea for the Herman Survivor centennial anniversary. The hiking boot had to retail for about $100 to go along with the centennial theme and it had to be new and innovative. Oh, and the boot had to have a 50 percent profit margin!

DeCost, then director of product development for Herman Shoe, accepted the challenge. He got the green light on his proposal and went into seclusion to work. "I was given a blank check to do whatever it took to develop the shoe. I was so wrapped up that I did my own pattern work, worked with a tanner to develop the right kind of leather and even worked with outsole companies to design and develop a new outsole mold with a quality rubber compound.

"When I presented my finished product to our national sales force, I was given a standing ovation -- the first in my life. The boot was highlighted on the cover of our worldwide catalog and was called the Centennial. It was a huge success at retail and will go down in my mind as the most personally rewarding accomplishment of my career."

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