Sneakers have become one of the most important things in my life. When I was young, I obsessed over them because I couldn’t get them and I thought they made other kids cool. I quickly realized growing up that it is never the sneakers that make a person cool, no matter how much Nike says ‘It’s gotta be the shoes‘ or Reebok says to ‘Pump up and Air out‘. That said, my obsession for sneakers that began with drawing concepts with my brothers over 3 decades ago, has turned into something that provides me a way to make a living now, so the significance of them in my life has become important on a much different level.
Sneakers
Iconic Sneakers From The Year You Were Born
Business Insider reached out to have me contribute to a feature they put together on the most iconic sneakers over the last century or so. It’s rather impressive that they were able to go so far back into the history books to discuss sneakers, nearly year-by-year, for over 100 years. Of course, if you take a closer look at who contributed, Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum, fellow sneaker historian, Alex “Retrokid” Wang, and myself, it should be no surprise they were able to compile such a list.
Allen Iverson – True To The Game
Allen Iverson by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images Originally written for Nice Kicks in 2015. Allen Iverson is 40 years old. For better or worse, he’s never changed. Neither has how polarizing he is. You either love Allen Iverson, or you hate him. It’s rare that you find any basketball fans with feelings in between. Even now, years … Read more
Sneaker Ads: adidas adiColor Paint Drip
The sneaker business may be ever-changing but one thing I’m always infatuated by the creative minds that market sneakers. This ad series, from what I can find, was a part of the adidas adicolor campaign done by TBWA in Spain. I think it’s awesomely ironic that these sneaker ads feature paint covering the shape of the shoes, … Read more
Weekly Overdose: Nike and Retailers, Reebok’s Logo, Mark Parker Interview
Photograph by Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg The latest Weekly Overdose… I found this Tweet interesting considering we started a big White on White campaign not long ago. Coincidence? Last week we saw a big jump in all white classic footwear: AF1, Princess. Classic Leather, Cortez. Looks like that prediction is working — Matt Powell (@mattSOS) March 12, … Read more
Lost Files: Why Reebok Changing Their Logo Means Nothing To Sneakerheads
Over the years I’ve written countless pieces and done equally as many interviews that were never published or only partially used. Here’s a new feature called Lost Files where I’ll revisit some of these pieces. Saturday, my favorite player, Allen Iverson, had his jersey retired in Philadelphia and it turned out to be more emotional … Read more
Weekly Overdose: Sex Sells Sneakers Too, Karl Lagerfeld, Red Octobers
Portland Business Journal – A $10,000 Nike? Meet Kanye West’s ‘Red October’: Moral of this story, even “business” journals sensationalize for pageviews. At least they didn’t mention the $100k pair of Yeezys. But at least they reached out to Jacques! Highsnobiety – Karl Lagerfeld Turns The Grand Palais Into A Grocery Store for Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2014 … Read more
Weekly Overdose: Nike Destined For Greatness, Lawsuits, Company Culture
The business of athletic footwear, aka the sneaker business, was a $22 billion industry in 2013. To say I am I enjoy the business of sneakers would be an incredible understatement. I’m invested in it in every sense of the word because it fascinates me beyond most things in life.
NIKEiD LeBron XI SF – NYC
Of all the places I have lived or traveled, two places have always had the most resonance with me, San Francisco and New York. So when I was given the opportunity by Nike a few months ago to create my own version of the LeBron XI, instead of trying to recreate a color combination that … Read more
Weekly Overdose: Sneaker Industry Stories Worth Reading
Every week I tend to compile of “I’ll read this later” tabs in my browser. Sometimes I take the time to read things, other times, it just gets lost in the mix of content on the web. Consuming information is a huge part of everyone’s life now, thanks to the internet allowing anyone with a … Read more