HenryRhoden

Sneex Internship · Summer 2026 · Atlanta

8 interns from 1,700+ applicants 1M+ organic views 28+ videos 3.3K+ new followers 400+ at the activation

My part: I pitched Sara and the Blakely Ventures team a Substack proposal, presented our brand strategy suggestions, helped plan and execute a brand event, and led our Social Media Intern series called Behind the Sneex.

From the laundromat shoot: a model in a white shirt dress and red Sneex sits on a dryer, face hidden behind a magazine, the room blurred around her.

Campaign Photography

Before the internship began, Sneex asked each of us for social content of ourselves wearing the shoes. Sneex makes women’s shoes and they don’t come in my size, so I turned the brief into an editorial product campaign instead. I cast friends as the models, then shot, styled and directed it in Gelida, Spain, in May 2026, putting the shoes in an active, outdoor setting to show how far they go beyond the sidewalk. The black and white frame is by Dina Olsson.

Two pairs of feet in heel-soled mesh sneakers stepping off a grassy creek bank onto wet gravel, with the Sneex spiral mark at lower left.

Creek Bank

Editorial still · Gelida, May 2026

A closer crop of the same heel-soled sneaker and bike, with the Sneex spiral mark on the gravel behind the rear wheel.

Trail Detail

Editorial still · Gelida, May 2026

A cropped shot of one heel-soled sneaker and jeans standing in tall grass, with the Sneex spiral mark beside it.

Tall Grass

Editorial still · Gelida, May 2026

A heel-soled sneaker resting on the pedal of a mountain e-bike parked on a dirt trail, with the Sneex wordmark across the front wheel.

E-Bike Pedal

Editorial still · Gelida, May 2026

Social Media Work

I led Behind the Sneex, our video series from Introducing the Interns to the Sneex Scare. Across a two-week takeover the team posted 28+ videos on TikTok and Instagram, gained 3.3K followers, and drew another 330K views on our own accounts.

A Substack for Sara Blakely

My proposal for Sara Blakely’s personal Substack, which I presented to her and the team: why Substack, the name, three recurring sections, sample posts, a case study and a posting calendar.

“Cut the Feet Off”

My name for Sara’s newsletter, after the pantyhose she cut to invent Spanx.
Slide titled POV on Newsletters and Substack, comparing typical email marketing against Substack’s subscriber trust and open rates.

POV on Newsletters

Substack proposal · The case

The case for Substack over a typical email list.

Slide explaining what Substack is and why it fits Sara Blakely and Sneex, beside a phone mockup of a Substack inbox.

What Is Substack?

Substack proposal · The platform

Why the platform fits Sara Blakely and Sneex specifically.

Slide titled Cut the Feet Off, a tone moodboard of casual lifestyle photos and Substack app screens.

Cut the Feet Off

Substack proposal · Name and voice

The tone and voice for the newsletter, as a moodboard.

Slide titled The Verticals, outlining three proposed newsletter sections: The Notebook, Guest Corner, and Camera Roll.

The Verticals

Substack proposal · Recurring sections

Three proposed recurring content sections.

Slide titled Examples, showing sample post concepts written in Sara’s voice for each proposed newsletter vertical.

Sample Posts

Substack proposal · Sample content

Example posts written in Sara’s voice.

Slide titled Substack Case Study, breaking down Leandra Medine Cohen’s newsletter subscriber count and paid revenue as a comparable benchmark.

Substack Case Study

Substack proposal · Benchmark

Benchmarking Leandra Medine Cohen’s newsletter economics.

A Sneex World

I presented this strategy to close our final presentation. Built as a team, it sells the idea of being a woman who wears Sneex, not just the product.

Insight
Sneex isn’t meant to blend in with high fashion. It redefines it: elevated fashion meets everyday life.
Idea
A Sneex World, a world women want to live in. Product always visible, but intrigue is the subject.
Execution
“Wash away the compromise”: a laundromat campaign with real movement, premium styling and playful confidence.
Aim
Own a category instead of competing inside one.
  1. Concept shoot

    In a laundromat, a woman in a white shirt dress sits in a laundry cart heaped with Sneex while a man in a white shirt holds the cart’s rail.

    Wash Away the Compromise

    We shot the concept in a laundromat, built around movement and playfulness, with the shoes always in frame.

  2. Campaign concept

    Slide in lime green type on black: Wash away the compromise, ringed by the lines Hang up traditional standards, Start new cycles, Rinse away years of pain, Carry lighter loads.

    The Campaign Line

    A campaign built on laundry: “Hang up traditional standards. Start new cycles. Rinse away years of pain. Carry lighter loads.”

A model in a white shirt dress and red Sneex perched on a laundry cart’s rail above a heap of Sneex in every color.

Cart Pile

Laundromat shoot · July 2026

Close-up of a red mesh Sneex heel stepping into a washing machine drum full of shoes.

In the Drum

Laundromat shoot · July 2026

Two models load a washer with Sneex, one crouched in a white shirt dress, one standing in a gold mini skirt and pale pink Sneex.

Loading Up

Laundromat shoot · July 2026

A model in a gold mini skirt sits on top of a washer reading a magazine, legs crossed in pale pink Sneex.

Reading on the Washer

Laundromat shoot · July 2026

A model in a gold skirt kicks up one pale pink Sneex beside a cart full of shoes, with rows of dryers behind her.

High Kick

Laundromat shoot · July 2026

A model leans out from a row of dryers holding a magazine behind an open dryer door, one pale pink Sneex forward.

Through the Door

Laundromat shoot · July 2026

Slide titled In campaigns and editorial: product always visible, but intrigue is the subject, beside a cyclist in heels on a yellow bike.

Intrigue Is the Subject

Imagery POV

Not a model smiling at the camera, asking you to like her. You can come with her, but she’s not going to wait for you.

Slide titled Imagery that resonates, with three editorial images labelled less literal photography, images as compositions and nontraditional locations.

Imagery That Resonates

Imagery POV

Less literal photography, images as compositions, nontraditional locations and psychological duration.

The Sneex Cup

I designed the crest and decals, made every jersey by hand, and helped build the space. The Sneex Cup was a World Cup themed brand activation at Ponce City Market on July 10 for 400+ guests and influencers, built to get people trying on the shoes and to introduce Sneex to a younger audience. The concept, guest experience and freebies were a team effort.

  1. Design

    Six crest explorations in black line art: the Sneex wordmark in a globe oval, the spiral S in a shield, and heeled sneakers in shields and ovals, two marked with lime green stars.

    Crest and shoe explorations

    I built on Sneex’s own marks, the spiral S and the wordmark, to make a younger, sportier jersey: shields, ovals and the heeled sneaker that became the crest.

  2. Decals

    Front and back jersey mockup, the back reading BLAKELY 27 in lime green collegiate lettering with a black outline.

    From marks to decals

    The chosen marks became decals: crest, wordmark, name and number, mocked up on the front and back of the jersey.

  3. Making

    Lime BLAKELY and number transfers and rows of black Sneex wordmark transfers being cut with green-handled scissors on an ironing board.

    Cut and heat-pressed by hand

    I ordered the jerseys and transfers, then cut and heat-pressed every one myself.

  4. Fitting

    Henry adjusts the crest on a white Sneex jersey worn by a teammate, beside a wall of hand-drawn strategy boards.

    Fitting the jerseys

    Checking the fit and the decals on a teammate before the activation.

  5. In motion

    Worn at the Sneex Cup

    A teammate and me in the jerseys at the activation’s photo wall, then on the turf.

  6. Finished

    Sara Blakely smiles and gestures to the eight interns lined up behind her with their backs turned, each in a white jersey reading BLAKELY 27 in lime and black.

    The finished jerseys

    All eight of us in the finished jerseys, with Sara Blakely.

Slide titled The Sneex Cup, a World Cup themed brand activation at Ponce City Market on July 10, with the team in white Sneex jerseys on one side and Sara Blakely on the turf field on the other.

The Sneex Cup

At the activation

We gave away 38 pairs and captured 200+ pieces of content. The whole team wore the jerseys again for the final presentation to Sara Blakely.

Four photos from the activation numbered one to four: experience Sneex, feel celebrated, capture the moment, leave relieved and empowered.

End-to-End Guest Experience

Planning

Collage of freebie designs: sticker sheets, popcorn boxes, fans and a scrapped gum concept, with a tower of 500 popcorn boxes.

Freebies Behind the Scenes

Production

500 popcorn boxes, 275 sticker sheets, 250 electric fans, 200 cups and 50 paper fans, plus a scrapped gum concept and reworked designs.

Emails and Ads

Team concepts from our customer-experience rotation.

  1. Email

    The Ballerina email on a phone: Second chances do exist, the shoe back in stock, a red Ballerina heel in a polaroid collage and two Shop Now buttons.

    Email concepts

    Three emails, one for each shoe. Shown: The Ballerina.

  2. Instagram

    Instagram ad for The Icon: a model lying back in wide jeans, heels raised, under the lines Watch your back, they’re staring at your shoes.

    Paid ads

    Ad concepts for The Icon, The Charlie and The Ballerina, like “Watch your back... they’re staring at your shoes.”

Two Instagram ads for The Charlie: two women on a sofa with How we look at you when you say your feet hurt, and a model in a silver mirror frame with Mirror our comfort.

The Charlie

Paid ad concept

“How we look at you when you say your feet hurt.”

Two Instagram ads for The Ballerina: a dancer in a fringed dress with For women who stay ’til the last dance, and a red ad reading Leave with memories, not pain.

The Ballerina

Paid ad concept

“For women who stay ’til the last dance.” Leave with memories, not pain.

Sneex x Rimowa

I worked on every part of this collaboration concept except the prototype: choosing the partner brand, making the case for it, and developing the product, imagery and launch.

  1. Concept

    Slide reading Introducing: Carry more, over silver Rimowa-style ribbing, listing opportunities, confidence, possibility, energy and ideas.

    Carry More

    Recognizable products, reimagined through innovation. “Carries your world. Carries you.”

  2. Prototype by my teammates

    Prototyping slide: a white Sneex shoe turned silver in stages, with the list of materials and the failed attempts.

    The prototype

    A real pair of Sneex rebuilt with silver wire, silver leaf and chrome paint.

  3. Collaboration concept

    Title slide: Rimowa and Sneex, recognizable products reimagined through innovation, over ribbed silver with chrome heels.

    Recognizable Products, Reimagined

    Two recognizable products, each rebuilt through the other’s signature: Rimowa’s ribbed aluminium on a Sneex heel.

Now interning at MONSE, wholesale and PR, New York, Fall 2026.

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