Earlier this autumn, Dr. Martens launched its ‘Made Strong’ campaign celebrating a new generation of Dr. Martens wearers. Rooted in the rebellious spirit that has defined the brand for decades, the campaign called upon 14 ambassadors who personify the rebellion in self-expression, employing their craft to redefine notions of vulnerability and explore innovative methods of manifesting inner strength.

Among the ambassadors is the skateboard collective Motherlan. If you’ve been on the internet over the last few years, chances are you have heard of Motherlan. Founded in 2018, the collective’s founding members include creatives and skateboarders Slawn, Soldier and Onyedi. Hailing from Nigeria, the collective was formed after they met working at a skate shop in Lagos. “After working at Waffles and Cream, we wanted to do our own thing and kind of represent ourselves in our own way,” recalls Onyedi.

Eventually the trio regrouped in London, where they all currently reside, and grew Motherlan into a cultural force, redefining narratives of skatewear while seamlessly intertwining tradition with avant-garde designs. In their campaign video, the trio discuss relying on each other for collective strength, an idea they still stand by. “We all kind of came here at different times, but it was around the same time. We’ve always kind of moved in as a unit anyway, so it was never really a thing of this would be something will do our own. We always had each other’s backs,” remembers Onyedi.

Alongside starring in the ‘Made Strong Campaign’, the trio has worked with Dr. Martens on their first collaboration. “It was super organic, we are both disruptive in our processes and what we do so it was something that was bound to happen,” says Soldier. As somewhat of a full circle moment, Onyedi recalls seeing his first pairs of Dr. Martens back when he first started skating. “I saw them on Slawn in Lagos, he used to skate in them,” he says. “No idea how or where he got them from but it was something I had never ever seen before”.

The collaboration sees a reworked version of the classic 1461 shoe in black and cherry red. Made with smooth leather, the shoes are completed with MOTHERLAN and MTN screen print detailing. “I would say just because it was the first kind of shoe we were making with them we kept it quite simple by just putting the logo and playing around with the colours. I thought the logo kind of embodies and represents who we are all together,” says Soldier. Discussing the designs, Onyedi adds, “We just wanted to keep it like very bold and like straightforward to the point, staying true to MTN shit. So we did a two-tone colorway which is actually something that we will all wear.”

Head to Dr. Martens here to find out more about the campaign and watch Motherlan’s video below.