Recently, for whatever strange reason, I’ve fallen in love with sneakers. Again. I think it’s a combination of things.
1) The sneaker companies are just putting out good shit right now. Props to them for that. It’s not easy..especially in this fickle market with declining disposable incomes. You have to understand how a global economy affects a publicly traded company. When sales stall and people stop buying, as a company you still have to put out shit. But your bosses tell you to put out whatever will sell. “We can’t take risks.” Put out whatever will just move off the shelves. So for the sneaker companies to still put out innovative product—it deserves kudos. Add on top of that, everyone and their mom is now a “sneaker connoisseur” and an expert, their design and production has to be ever more discerning.
2) Social Media/Technology: Twitter, Instagram, Blogs, Tumblr’s and all the like are bonding our global community of sneakerheads ever more tightly. So even if there is waning interest in sneakers in New York City, I can easily get sucked into some dope sneaker thing happening in Singapore or Barcelona or Berlin—instantly—and find that passion once again.
2a) And right along with that is the new app GO HD. It’s actually not an app meant for sneakers. It’s meant more for live on-the-scene reporting by anyone. But it’s really gotten sticky with sneakerheads. I guess you guys just like to say to the world, “I’m here now at _______. And I’m rocking these sick _________’s on my feet! Whatchu got on your feet??” It’s fun and it’s one of the liveliest tags on GO HD. It’s dope to see what people are rocking in Croatia, Mexico City, Sweden, Malaysia…all over planet earth.
3) iPhone 4S: The new iPhone 4S camera is RIDICULOUS. Shooting sick photos of kicks has never been easier. And better. The best camera in the world is the one you have WITH you.
4) The Americana Trend: The more “lumberjacks” I see in NYC, the more I fall in love with sneakers, innovation and technology.
But I digress…
When I was a wee tyke…like 12 years old, I remember what sneakers meant to me. It was weird. There was no culture. There was no community. But for whatever strange innate reason, I would sit on the edge on my bed…slowly and methodically…lace up a fresh pair of kicks like it was a religious ritual. Laces must be kept flat. No twists. Same way. Every time. Also..that smell. That fresh out the box smell. (What was it? Getting high off factory glue? Who the fuck knows…) But it was addictive. Ya know, you do things when you’re young that you KNOW you won’t be doing when you get older. The way you act. The way you dress. Some of the music you listen to (i.e. Rick Astley). You just know you’ll outgrow it. I always knew I would outgrow being into sneakers.
Two decades later. Last WEEK! I’m 36 fast approaching my fucking 40′s…and here I am sitting in my crib slowly lacing up a pair of Js the same exact way I did when I was a kid. Still loving that smell. Still smokin’ that crack haha! I guess maybe this is one habit I cannot (and will not) quit. I just wish a psychologist would tell me the reason why.
So with that, I want to give a visual shout out to some of the kicks that I’ve been really loving in the past few months. A baker’s dozen. Again, as I said above, props to the sneaker companies continuously putting out things that snobby ass fuckers like myself still fiend for. Keep pushin’ that crack—I’ll keep hittin’ that pipe. =)
VISVIM SUNNEGGA HI LAMINA
It’s amazing how something so dope and innovative a few months ago is now like a relic. The days of uber-luxury are over. It’s not because the product is not worth the price. It fully is. These are amazing shoes. The problem is the risk. You drop $600-700 on a pair of kicks and they better fucking ROCK YOUR WORLD. (And your girl’s too for that matter.) Anything less than absolute perfection is a fail. Thankfully, these Visvim’s really are perfect.
ASICS GEL-LYTE III “SALMON TOE” by RONNIE FIEG
In regards to what I said above…who’s filling that void? Ronnie Fieg. Everything he brings to the table is dope. And he’s not raping you. The boy is redefining what “value” means. In fact, he’s redefining the art of doing business in many ways. From the stock room to the board room. You need to get learned about this man. I respect his passion greatly. Every time I see I am reminded of why I got into this business. Yes…sometimes, I need reminding.
REEBOK CLASSIC LEATHER
The Ree’ has been on their shit lately. Let’s be real. The “R” has been dormant for a long minute. It looked like they all but waved the white flag to Mark Parker and crew. But as a business owner, I love to see companies get scrappy. The hunger to succeed drives innovation and creativity (See: Apple). Reebok has been on a tear as of late especially with their “Classics” line. There’s so much history in this collection; it’ll be interesting to see what comes about in 2012.
PF FLYERS x BLEU DE PANAME RAMBLER HI
Colabs. Colabs. Colabs…what are they good for? I didn’t really know anything about either of these brands before. PF Flyers is a division of New Balance, this much I knew. Didn’t know anything about Bleu De Paname. But there’s nothing I love more than shopping for shoes. Sure I can email a few people and get what I want, but there’s really no fun in that. The best part about sneaker shopping is the discovery. I found these while in Paris at Starcow. A good colab allows for the discovery of new things. Two good things coming together to make a great thing. This shoe is a great example of that.
NEW BALANCE HM574
I always got love for New Balance. The purist’s brand. I bought these in my own store, Reed Space! I try not to go to Reed that much actually. I like to occasionally walk in and be like a regular customer to see what I can discover in the store. I stumbled upon these in there and copped immediately. Lucky I know some people there ; )
CONVERSE DR. J “FIRST STRING” PRO LEATHER
Honoring the past to proceed for the future. Converse has been quietly killing it for the past few years. This goes back to what I said about Reebok before. At one time, it seemed like the fat lady had sung for Converse. But with hard work, creativity, respect for the culture (and not to mention a hand from Swoosh), Converse is back. Converse recreates the classic “Dr. J” silhouette in a premium Pro Leather version. Only 168 of these badboys were made.
NIKE TENNIS CLASSIC x UNIFORM EXPERIMENT x FRAGMENT DESIGN
It’s the Emperor’s new clothes and the king has spoken again. Hiroshi Fujiwara gets a lot of flack because of how simple his creations are. The question becomes, as a creator, is it your job to make something with your stamp on it? Or is it your job to make great simple objects? Nike doesn’t ask HF to put out something with razzle-dazzle. They ask him to put out something he wants to wear. And Hiroshi has a keen eye for what you want to be wearing—tomorrow/next month/next year. I don’t care if these have lighting bolts on them..swooshes on them..or 3 stripes on them. They are unequivocally—dope.
NIKE ACG MERRIWEATHER x FRAGMENT DESIGN
Might as well stay on topic here. Another banger. Modeled by the man himself. Ya know, when Hiroshi showed these to me, all he could do was point out the flaws and problems in them. He said these were samples and he needed to fix some things. He wanted me to put them on and feel them as well to give comments. He’s a constant tinkerer. Always making small improvements that go a long way.
NIKE SB KOSTON ONE
The fellas at Nike Skateboarding hit it right on the head with this one. A perfect storm: Performance. Comfort. Value. Innovation. History. Simplicity. And one the greatest athletes of our generation to co-sign. It’s good to be the king. This is the type of shoe I will buy 5 pairs of. They are “staples” for the wardrobe.
NIKE FOOTSCAPE WOVEN x BODEGA
It’s weird how some people hate when their competitors do good things. I don’t get that. Bodega in Boston, is, for all intent, a competitor of Reed Space. But we’re really all in the same boat. If one goes down, we all suffer. When one rises, we all rise together. Regardless of what school of business you subscribe to, these are the facts of life. When Bodega dropped these, I had to cop. I love great design. I love great product. I love great brands. And I love supporting all of the above.
NIKE FOOTSCAPE WOVEN CHUKKA
Beaverton threw the kitchen sink at these shoes. One of the most comfortable things you could put your feet in. If you asked me 20 years ago what the future of footwear would look like…I might have sketched something like this. Leave it to Nike to make it come into reality.
JORDAN ALPHA TRUNNER MAX
I was always a big fan of the Jordan Trunning Collection. Recently, one day while I was working in Detroit, I saw a guy rocking these with some black slacks and I thought they looked dope. I snapped a spy photo, sent it over to my homies at Brand Jordan & ask “what the hell are these?” A few days later…boom…special delivery. I admit, the shelf appeal of these kicks are not high. They have to be worn to be appreciated. The comfort is obviously crazy, but the juxtaposition of rocking these uber performance shoes with more upscale sophisticated apparel is a cool mix.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO
Drumroll please…the holy grail. The trinity. The 3. These drop next friday the 25th, but I was blessed enough to find a pair at my doorstep last week. This is the shoe that spawned this post. It was while I was lacing these up that I thought, “Man…things have NOT changed!” I still get goosebumps! I still have the love. I stopped making mix tapes for girls. Stopped over-detailing my car. Stopped DJing. Stopped collecting sports jerseys. Stopped drinking. Stopped doing drugs. Stopped smoking. But this one thing….SNEAKERS. Fuck. Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop. Uh-uh. Uh-uh.
Peace.
Very nice. Allow me to use/quote two paragraphs after “But I digress” in my work
All the details (name of blog, author, date, time, URL) will be included.
Many thanks,
-Yuni
I am a bit of a sneaker head. I am also a girl. I don’t know any other ladies that are into sneakers. Most girls like heels. I have always been into sneakers like you as a kid I loved the smell of a new pair.
I’m in the same boat. I’m 36 as well, and I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever give up completely, but there will be a point where I start to get rid of them, right ? Right ?
I’m sure it won’t be the same as it is now when I’m 46, but then again, I didn’t think I’d still be loving shoes at this age either.
All the cool chicks rock sneakers.
This is amazing. You’re an inspiration Jeff!
Wow…this post is something else. A lot of good energy in certain topics: the colossal impact of social media on sneakerhead culture, the fact that all sorts of companies are putting out good stuff lately, and of course, some of your sneaker choices. Great work!
dope read! i’m 34 & def a sneakerhead 4 life! Haven’t lost the passion yet!
I recently re-watched JUST FOR KICKS on Netflix and was caught by surprise because I completely forgot you had a segment in the movie. Great insight BTW.
Nothing like seeing crispy stars on the sole of a fresh pair of 3′s.
Your sneakers are your bottom line!
[...] in. It’s fun to be a consumer again. Spotted over at Staple Design, Jeff threw up a “#SNEAKERHEAD4LIFE” post that caught our attention. He talks about why he’s “in love w/ sneakers [...]
[...] a change, but guess what? Even during time off, I’m drawn to the subject. It’s a curse. Mr. Jeff Staple wasn’t lying when he mentioned that sleeping giant of footwear addiction that can’t be shaken off, even [...]
Great post! I tend to look past our love of the product and look further at why we “smoke the crack”. From personal observation and experience, a lot of people “take their first hit” at a young age when trying to define themselves. Others take it when trying to fit in, or develop a category to be placed in so that there is a mutual interest in common when meeting new faces. What ever the reason, the crack has not changed, the pipe is the same, the cost has inflated but the reasons why we started in the first place, are the reasons why we can never give it up. Those reasons made us feel secure, helped us adapt, or defined a positive purpose in life. And no matter how hard we try to give it up, growing social media will never let us forget how sweet the taste, because there are new addicts being bred everyday and bragging about it. Although time tested addicts take breaks, whether it be from over consumption, the sneaker game gets homogenized by a specific brand, or an excuse to try and give it up, we all get the itch, which turns into interest, which leads into research, which results in “taking one more hit” and ultimately reminding us why we started it all in the first place.
Again, Great post!
PC