On Set With Theo Walcott - Behind The Scenes
Fresh from Arsenal's morning training session, Theo Walcott arrived boots in hand ready for his Nike Vapor IX photo-shoot. The Arsenal striker had trained for the first time that morning wearing his new boots. Now he was on promo duties at the London studio, serving as one of Nike's lead faces for the Vapor IX.
Walcott knows the drill at these things. Ahead of any major boot launch, Nike call upon their key European players for their routine photo-shoot. A quick outfit change and Theo was doing his thing in front of the cameras.
The process at player photo-shoots is always quite simple. For this, Walcott was shown a selection of action shots from Arsenal games where the camera caught him in a certain running motion. He'll then try and recreate this pose on a strip of artificial turf and after a number of takes Nike finally get their perfect shot.
Not every player is going to like the boots they gets paid to wear, but Theo had a lot of love for these. Nike had delivered his Vapor IX boots to Arsenal's London Colney training ground that morning. After the main photo-shoot, it was a few quick snaps for his Facebook page.
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Speed players like Walcott have helped shape the Mercurial silo. The Arsenal striker has been wearing the Nike Vapor throughout his career - he made his Arsenal debut in 2006 wearing the Mercurial Vapor III. Should he continue wearing the Vapor, the 23-year-old will have quite a collection when he eventually hangs up his boots!
New contract, new position and new footwear; things are certainly going well for the Arsenal and England forward. Case in point, give the Arsenal striker a new pair of Mercurials and it's not long before he gets them on the score sheet. Walcott marked his first game wearing the Vapor IX with a second half goal for the Gunners as they were defeated 1-2 away to local rivals Chelsea.
At just 23-years-old, it feels like Walcott has been on the scene for a lot longer than his age suggests. Nike signed him when he was a 14-year-old teenager learning his trade at Southampton. Following his move to Arsenal, Nike stepped up their promotional work with him. His blistering speed has gone hand-in-hand with the Mercurial Vapor and he continues to be one of their biggest assets.