One8 shoes are everywhere, from reels to all over the internet, we can see them everywhere, but the question is, what is the hype behind it? Why are people talking so much about the shoes? Well, the answer is the brand owner and creator of the shoes, Virat Kohli. The famous cricketer turned into a businessman who launched the trendiest shoes for everyone.
The hype began with a short reel from Virat Kohli in which he shows the red ball cricket version of the shoe to his childhood coach. But the question is, why are people so excited about a shoe when there are other options in the market? Well, to know about that, read the blog and your answers.
What is one8?
For the context, one8 is not just a brand associated with a famous celeb. It’s Virat Kohli’s personal ambitious project to date. Born from a child and built with an obsessive attention to each detail of the product, one8 represents the country’s boldest attempt to create an Indian global sportswear brand. Whether you play cricket or are a sneaker lover, you can buy the shoes; it is not just a pair of shoes, it goes beyond the footwear.
Left Puma For Good
For years, one8 shoes were made in collaboration with Puma. Under the partnership, the brand produced some of the most stylish products and was really well sold across India. Virat Kohli got the massive distribution network of Puma. Plus, the problem with Puma was doing the marketing, and that affected the brand and Virat Kohli as they were playing under someone else’s rule. But this all changed in 2025, as Virat Kohli left the Puma and relaunched One8 as a solo-standing brand of his own. This is now not just a celebrity collaboration; this was the start of a new business.
Making a perfect shoe
Deciding to leave was hard for him, but as Virat’s attitude says, he never gives up and makes a way through everything. This was not a work of a month; the product took months and months of time to push every boundary.
Virat Kohli took full responsibility for being a creative control, sitting with every person who is involved in the making of the product to get the best of best out come. These efforts of the day give us the shoe called “18”, a reference to his iconic jersey number. The results? People are calling it one of the most advanced cricket shoes ever made in India. came out not from a boardroom meeting but from the heart of King Kohli.
₹9,230 marketing strategy
The price of 9,230 of seam XVIII signature test red shoe broke the internet, as the 9,230 is the same number of runs Virat Kohli scored in test cricket before he retired from test cricket in 2025. To make it more interesting, the real price of the shoe was set at Rs. 10,000 to fulfil the cricketer’s dream to score 10,000 runs in test cricket. The deep red colour of the stitching is designed to mimic the real traditional test ball. Social media explodes, fans call it genius, and others call it rage-baiting the fans. But the catch was that everyone was talking about the shoe; this was the only point of this marketing strategy.
India’s First Global Sportwear Brand
When it comes to sports, Indian athletes have played the role of brand ambassadors wearing Nike, Adidas, or Puma, but there was no Indian brand endorsement. With the one8, Kohli is not just launching a brand new shoe in the market, he is also competing with other brands in the global market. The vision of Virat is clear; he doesn’t want his brand to stay like a domestic brand; he wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with other global brands. What makes this brand different from other Indian sportswear brands is the ambition of world-class athletes’ involvement, premium pricing, high performance and manufacturing built on the back of Indian capabilities.
The One8 shoe is designed in India, made in India, and carries the story of the great Indian batsman. If this works, this will not only be the achievement of Kohli but will also represent the nation in the world of sportswear brands.
Well, the answer is simple: it totally depends on you. If you love the design, the storytelling, and the ambition behind the brand, then yes, every bit of the hype is justified. ONE8 is the dream of India’s greatest modern batsman brought to life, and the red Test ball-inspired design alone has already won hearts across the country.
But the real concern remains the price. Most everyday fans who grew up watching Kohli bat simply cannot afford a premium shoe in the ₹9,000 to ₹14,000 range. That gap between the brand’s emotional connect and its accessibility is something ONE8 will need to address as it grows.
At its core, though, the hype is not just about the shoe; it is about what the shoe represents. An Indian athlete, building an Indian brand, with global ambitions. And for that dream alone, ONE8 is absolutely worth the hype.
And more trendy new ones like these, you can check out Insider XP.
