I'm the curator of the Adidas Spezial and I’ve just had a street named after me in Darwen!

A stretch of road in Darwen has been re-named Gary Aspden Way to celebrate the incredible contributions that the adidas designer and Spezial curator has made to the borough he’s so proud to call home.

As well as Gary’s impressive efforts in helping to regenerate Blackburn with Darwen through culture, the naming of the road is also much-deserved recognition of his important charity work, being a loyal supporter of Nightsafe.

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Family, friends and special guests were invited to an event at Darwen Library on Tuesday (July 9) to mark the official unveiling of Gary Aspden Way – formerly a stretch of Knott Street where Darwen Youth Centre is based.

Speaking at the event, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Phil Riley, said: “We couldn’t think of a more perfect stretch of road to be naming Gary Aspden Way.

“A lot of what Gary does here in Blackburn with Darwen is about inspiring young people and so it feels incredibly fitting that his road should be where the youth centre is.

“Gary really does have a fascinating story to tell, a story that should inspire us all – a young lad from Darwen who overcame his struggles and went on to develop his own global Adidas line, using his platform for good.”

Gary has held three exhibitions in the borough – two with his adidas SPEZIAL brand and one for C.P. Company. The proceeds from all the events were pledged to Nightsafe, a charity supporting young people with homelessness.

In 2022, he also worked with his friend, Liam Gallagher to host an intimate gig at King George’s Hall in its centenary year – again helping to raise vital funds for the Blackburn-based charity.

Gary said: “There’s a lot of people here today who are incredibly important to me, including my mum and my partner Joanne.

“It really does feel fitting that it’s this stretch of Knott Street with the Youth Centre on that should be re-named Gary Aspden Way.”

While much of the new Gary Aspden Way is currently fenced off to allow for the Council’s multi-million-pound regeneration of the youth centre, the event was hosted to ensure Gary’s mum, Lilian, could attend.

As a teenager in the 80s, Gary used to go to the youth centre and in 1990, he had a job there as a trainee Youth Worker as part of a government scheme.

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He said: “I have a lot of history with that particular stretch and with Darwen. Anyone who knows me, knows just how much I care about Darwen and Blackburn too.

“I just wish my dad could have been here to see this, he would have been very proud.”

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