Where had the time gone?
He hadn’t lost it down the side of the sofa,
joining the plethora of other
pound coins which had been hiding there.
He hadn’t accidentally thrown it away
like that pair of football boots
all those years ago.
He hadn’t done either of those things
yet he still couldn’t understand
where it had gone.
Most would stop looking,
given up the search
and rightly so,
no one had ever found it again,
or not that he’d heard of.
Although
something inside of him didn’t like the idea
of giving up.
It seemed wrong.
even if it was the common route.
He looked at his watch
as if though it would speak back to him.
He thought himself silly,
the quiet ticking the only reply
he was expecting.
The room had an eeriness to it,
the objects around him becoming blurrier by the
second.
They had lost meaning.
He couldn’t recognise any of them,
suddenly feeling like a stranger in his own house.
He felt like he belonged less
than they did.
The objects sat there on their shelves,
contempt with the days passing by
with no sign of aging.
No change from the moment they were placed there.
Then he glanced at something that
he did recognise.
An old friend.
The aloe vera growing on the windowsill.
It had seen better days
and could have done with some watering.
The only other thing in this room that been neglected
and had the signs to prove it,
Green and dismayed like an old person
staring out the window of a retirement home,
longing for a change in their monotonous routine
of tablets and bingo.
Obviously, the plant could not play such games,
but if did,
it would have definitely been
a snakes and ladders fan.
The plant was closer to the human
currently observing them,
than the porcelain dog that had not sniffed once
since it had sat on that bookcase.
Which by nature,
made it very un-dog-like.
It was thanks to time that the human
had once again
taken a liking to the aloe vera perched on the windowsill.
Forgetting all about the fact that he was lost,
he filled a glass of water,
gently pouring it onto
the very thirsty friend of his.
It’s 2010. Mackenzie tracksuit tops are big on the school playground. Guys are using those small Nike string bags at school. Those ridiculously small Nike bookbags or also everywhere, as AJ Tracey confirms in his song Provisional License, “Old school I had the tiniest Nike backpacks, all of my books them bent up”. He’s not lying, everyone I knew who used those also had the most mashed up books. Another big memory from back then was the Superdry jackets that had about 50 zips on them. Guys would have them zipped up halfway with the most questionable gelled up hair. Thank goodness for Virgil and Kanye who made it their goal to “raise the overall taste level of the world”. However, my first example of their ‘improved taste level’ was in the form of the shutter shades Kanye used to wear. I came across them in Primark and bought a yellow pair which in hindsight, looked ridiculous.
I suppose for most, your pre and early teens are an awkward stage. People have just stopped being dressed by their parents, so they need to figure out what clothes means to them. It’s a journey to say the least. One piece I look back on with pride, are my Nike Court Tradition 2’s. A pair I in fact recently picked up off eBay for cheap. People have been sleeping on them and let it stay that way. Anyway, my mate and his older brother had a pair. They were the football Coaches kids which already put them on a higher level of cool, at least in my eyes. Having said that, the Coach would without a doubt, wear a pair of these Lonsdale shoes to every practice. What’s worse is, he always pulled them off. The drip was relentless. That’s how I remember it but memory can be a funny thing.
Every time we’d go about town, my mates would be wearing their pair of BRS’. They had the Velcro editions and I’d be glimpsing down at their feet, completely jealous. It took me a while, but after some nagging, I managed to convince my mum to get me a pair. We headed down to the local Sports Direct where I would often window shop. There was an array of DC and Airwalk shoes on wall racks as usual, but I wasn’t after that. I went over to the scary Store Manager to ask if I could try a pair on in my size. He always had a crazy look in his eye, like he would just go off at you if you rubbed him the wrong way. Whenever I’d walk in, there was always a 50% chance that he’d be shouting about something or someone. Hope he’s doing better these days. Luckily, he was in a good mood that day because next thing you know, I was trying on a pair of size 9’s. I went for an all-black pair with laces. The first three eyelets were different neon colours which I thought gave them a nice pop. My mum wouldn’t let me near the Velcro pairs that my mates had in fear that I’d turn into a degenerate. Parents have a funny way of thinking sometimes. I walked out 5 minutes later with a fresh pair in a brown Nike Box (a feeling I truly miss) in my massive Sport Direct bag. Mission success.
The only pair of BRS’ I could find with the different coloured eyelets. My pair was similar but with neon colours.
Since they were a general release and had a cheap retail price, the leather on them was of low quality. This worked out well for me as they had plenty of miles put into them and never creased too badly. The shape of them was excellent and the embroidered outline on the swoosh was a beautiful detail. I really loved my pair and had some fond memories in them. There was this one time I got pushed over by some guy outside my local Newsagents whilst wearing them. However, I was off balance to begin with so it’s not like I could blame the lack of traction on the soles. Bar that one terrible memory, all of them consists of good times and sunshine. I look forward to adding some more positive feelings to the pair I recently picked up off eBay. The Nike Court Tradition 2 is a shoe that I feel a lot of people have a past with, but one that no one really talks about. Viva la Nike BRS!
These were a cold pair that I always had my eye on. The neon eyelet and the 3M heal tab was something else!
[Upon finishing writing this, I may have actaully had the pair above with 3M hit on the back. I feel like I used to want to have the back of my shoe on show for some reason and that seems more than fitting. If that is the case then these were the building blocks that made up my love for the Air Max 95 Neons]
The double up. A classic move in the world of Sneaker Heads. One that really cements your place as a shoe fanatic. That is unless you’re a reseller, in which case you’re just greedy, or as some may say, ‘entrepreneurial’. My first double up was a mistake. Although to this day, I still have the two shoes in my collection. Partly because no one else will probably buy them off me, but also because they hold a dear place in my heart. Let’s go with option two, it sounds better. Anyway, the first the shoe I doubled up on was the HUF x Wu Tang’s from 2014. I remember seeing them online as part of a collection pack with some clothing bits and socks, none of which I picked up apart from the creps.
I think at that point, I was aware of the Wu Tang Dunks, so I knew what having the “W” on the side of the shoe meant. I’d watched a review on them from OG Sneaker Youtuber. It was the guy with the see-through plate that spun round 360 degrees and the intro had a voice clip saying, “I’m an addict to Sneakers”. I’ve linked the video below so you can relive what I felt all those years ago.
When I first saw the £125 price point, I was in shock. That was steep for me back then. No way was I getting the go ahead on these from my Mum. I knew it was a case of biding my time and waiting for the right price. A month or two had gone by and they had sold out of all the online retailers I was aware of. I didn’t really use eBay too much back then apart from researching how much certain collectable figurines were. I managed to find a seller out in the US who was selling a few sizes from his account. They looked legit and for a total of £82, I was willing to take the risk. I ordered them. The first time I had ever ordered something like that from America. How long it’d take for them to arrive I wondered. The awaited time in my purchased items section had said two weeks. That was manageable. Every day after I finished school, I’d rush home to check the status of the shoes. The journey itself was exciting. Until that is, the day they hit the UK. Somehow, they’d got shipped up North by Royal Mail. They had ended up in some apartment building where a lady had signed for them. I spent days with the seller trying to get more information but got nowhere. That was it. All that excitement for nothing. They were gone, never to be seen again.
Upset about the loss I had just taken, I decided to move on. The dream of getting the HUF x Wu Tang’s was over and I just needed to accept it. A few shoes had been purchased since to try and fill the void in my heart, but the gap was still there. I was in college now, over half a year later, sitting in the canteen during my lunch break I decided to browse the Route One website on my iPhone 4. I was scrolling the sale page much like I used to do. Then I saw it. The HUF x Wu Tang’s for £25. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kept saying “Oh my gosh no way” to the point my friends started to get concerned. Little did they know they were witnessing a Sneaker Head during his finest moments. They were witnessing the art of ‘the steal’. I didn’t have time to explain to anyone what was going on, so I added them to my basket and checked out as quick as I could. Thirty seconds passed and boom, the confirmation email came through. I can even remember feeling that now. Top 10 college moments that. A week later they arrived at my house and I was gassed. I wore them round the house for a few days, pouring over the different details on the shoe. The wait was over. They were mine.
About a month later I was watching TV on the couch at home. I remember it still being warm and light out after arriving back from college, so it must have been at the end of summer. Either way it was a late delivery from the post man. A near five o’clock delivery is a rare occurrence, but a welcomed one. I was confused when the package arrived as it was directed to me, and I wasn’t expecting anything. I looked over the different labels to see an array of different notes on the box. One thing I did know was that it had come from the US. Still confused, I opened it up. It was only till I saw the light green HUF shoe box that I finally realised what they were. No way … it couldn’t be? Over half a year had gone by and I hadn’t heard anything about the shoes I had ordered from America. Yet there they were. They had finally managed to make their way to me. I could barely believe it. Eager to make sure they weren’t fake; I took them upstairs to compare them to my Route One pair. They were good. I didn’t want to confuse which pair they were, so I labelled the inside of the box, “Pair 1” and “Pair 2”.
Today they both sit in my collection upstairs. The Route One pair I took to Uni but never put any serious miles on them. In fact, both are still in close to deadstock condition and in serious need of love and wear. I think they still look sleek and with a pair of baggy denim shrouding them, I could definitely make them work. The only thing that gives away their age is the speckled midsole and perhaps for the eager-eyed Wu Tang fan, the “20th Anniversary of 36 Chambers” label on the tongue. I don’t think I’d get rid of either of these shoes because of the sentimental value they hold, but also for the fact that they have Wu logo on the side of the shoe. Priceless.
Reebok was churning out a whole host of collaborations between 2013-2016. One independent store who had a unique take on their coveted silhouettes were Garbstore. A British retailer based in the Notting Hill area of London that stocks a selection of staple clothing with an Americana twist. As described on the website in reference to the Reeboks’, they write:
“London-based designer Ian Paley takes his main reference point from the “unseen” elements of the original Reebok classics. Each collection between the two brands is a graduation from the last. Through their collaboration together, archived models such as the Fury Roads, Aztecs and Pump Graphlite have been brought back in revitalised fabrics and colourways.”
I would agree with this statement, as they really did focus on the smaller details when it came to their collections. In many ways the store’s collaborations were quite forward thinking. A lot of the reverse elements and subtle twists on key features of the shoe are ones we now see quite a lot in the market today. As far seeing them on feet out in the real world, it didn’t happen too often. I only remember seeing someone wearing a pair once. They often went on sale, especially in a UK12, or ended up on eBay from random wholesaler. I had the navy Club C pair which was based on the lines of a tennis court. I picked them up for £40 including shipping off the Garbstore website and was ecstatic as I’d had my eyes on them for a while. I did put quite a lot of miles on them as a shoe, to the point where they got cooked as my night out shoes. I owe it to this pair of Reeboks, as they helped me fall in love with the Club C silhouette. Sadly, they’re no longer part of my collection as I was downsizing, and I let them fly on Depop for cheap.
Reebok x Garbstore Club C
I’m biased when it comes to these as its the only Garbstore shoe I actually owned. The navy and white upper tells a beautiful story behind its Tennis Court influence, whilst the brown lace guard and tongue are what brings that shoe into the top tiers for me. The toe box ended up creasing nicely and really did show its wear off in a elegent way.
2. Reebok x GarbStore GS Workout “Outside In”
Such a classy take on the workout. That almost fine wine gum bottom really sets a great base for the shoe to be built on. The mixture of purple and pinks against that prodominantly cream upper is what truly makes this shoe great. I have had a pair of these on my eBay wishlist for about 4 years now and it might be the time to finally pull the trigger.
3. Reebok x Garbstore Classic
Probably the first shoe on the list that I wish I owned. You simply cannot go wrong with a Reebok Classic as a shilouette. The little detailing of the Reebok lettering in which the last two letters “ok”, are the tid bits that reveal that this isn’t just some normal reebok. The almost Collegiate upper, mixing that wonderful navy and light blue, is just so simple yet effective. Of course what completes this shoes overall quality is its nappy suede upper. You can even tell from the upper that the quality on these are on point. These are a serious contender for my favourite Reebok Classic ever.
4. Reebok x Garbstore Ventilator Supreme
The shape on these are the main reason why I chose them for fourth place. Something Air Max 90 heads would be very keen on with its pointy toe box. I also quite like that purple mudguard that wraps around the shoe. Whilst the colourway doesn’t completely work in my eyes, these are definitely a pair I’d wear.
5. Reebok x Garbstore
The colour way on these immaculate. That earthy brown works wonderfully next to that grey and green. My 2014 self was a sucker for that Hexalite logo as well so you know I would have been all over these. The speckled midsole on these a clear sign that they were released during that 2014-16 speckled era.
It’s safe to say my college rotation wasn’t the best. Nor was it the worst by any means. Oh and when I say College I mean ‘high school’, the two years of education before University. Just in case we have any American Readers. Having only fully started getting into sneakers the summer before starting college, there was a lot of learning to do. I remember wearing my Vans Old Skools for a large portion of the first year. They were on the brink of being too small but because of the simple colourway, they were easy to wear.
Vans Old Skool
I then moved finally gained the courage to wear my Reebok x Palace’s. I managed to get the last UK12 that summer off of END clothing. An extremely lucky find. These got a lot of complements throughout their use. A great shoe to this day. I really put the miles on them and eventually ended up having to retire them after X-Fest in summer 2016. A good 3 year run to the point where the Triferg logo started fading off the back of the heel.
Reebok x Palace
Then onto second year. I found a love for Reebok after the Palaces gave me a good run and many a compliment. I found a cheap pair of black Ventilators off Buttery Store, a site which has now closed, I think they were £40 quid. They fit half a size big and upon reflection, was not the best Reebok shoe I could have chosen out of their line-up. Somehow, I ended up missing the Workouts, Revenges and even the Club C, a novice mistake. I think I was fond of the little window at the bottom of the shoe which let you see the Hexalite midsole technology. I did end up picking up another Reebok Ventilator after this stupidly. The Reebok x Major DC shoes, which had a detailed pink 3M toe box with an iced out sole that had a blossom tree underneath it. I was a huge fan of the blossom tree under foot however I haven’t worn them to this day. They have literally sat at the bottom of my cupboard since 2014. The Ventilator did end up going on to get some love with Kendrick Lamar doing his first collaboration project on that silhouette. A few years prior to that you had shoe stores like SNS and Hanon doing their own renditions through collaborations. So I guess my love for the model in hindsight was justified.
Reebok Venitalator
I actually ended up swapping these for the week with my mate at college. He was the only other UK12 I knew and had picked up a pair of Nike Trainerendors back when they had ACG on the tongue and not Nike SB. By that point he had mashed up his pair as well, so it was a relatively fair trade. I came out on top as the Nikes were a lot comfier than the Hexalite technology. Not to mention the mesh toe box on the Reeboks was pretty chewed up by that point. Come to think of it, I’m not sure why he did swap, probably because he thought he fancied some change in his life. It’s the little things in life as they say.
NIke Trainerendors
I managed to find a cheap pair of Adidas ZX Flux’s for sale on their website for something ridiculous, like £28. It was a UK12.5 and was made up of a single Tree-camo upper. This was back when adidas had a good thing going with their ZX line. I remember there being a lot of buzz for the iridescent pairs.
Adidas ZX Flux ‘Iridescent’
Adidas at the time were also doing at ‘create your own’ ZX section on their website where people could upload a photo for their upper. I remember people trying to get away with jokes designs and some pretty non-PG photos. Clearly, they’d found a loophole in the system. Kind of like how Barclays did those custom Bank cards. All I used to see on The Basement were people with Bape Camo cards, I was almost convinced to create one myself. Having been to a Flux Pavillion concert Shepards Bush a few years prior to having these, I did knickname them the Flux Pavillion’s … I don’t know what I was thinking. On a side note, what actually happened to the guy?
NIke ZX Flux ‘Tree Camo’
I have literally had my ZX Flux’s up on my Depop account since the summer of 2016 and no one has bought them. That’s a total of 6 years. They’re even up for £18 all in now and they still haven’t budged. I suppose that’s more of an indication on peoples view of how these aged.
The last edition to my college rotation was a pair of black Eric Koston 2’s with a gum bottom. These got equally as mashed as the Ventilators in the end and probably got more use than any shoes on the list. If I were to rank these, I would definitely place these as a close second to the Reebok x Palace’s. At the time the Koston Air Max’s were everywhere. I even had two of my mates arguing about “who got theirs first”. They had both got the Black pair with the white mid-sole colourway, the only difference was one has a mesh upper and the other was canvas. I remember them looking to me to ask which pair had come out first to which I just laughed. I couldn’t be bothered with the silly argument, sitting there feeling superior in my Koston 2’s. Whilst I don’t think the silhouette aged too well, I still think it’s a Nike shoe that garners respect.
NIke Eric Koston 2
Overall, my rotation definitely was not the best out there. It consisted mostly of General release shoes that had hit the sale racks. I knew of the Jordan 11s gamma blues that released in 2013 but at the time, shoes that price were just way too expensive for me. I did manage to get a pair of Columbia 11s though in my second year of college, but they never got worn. I wasn’t brave enough at the time and my jeans weren’t baggy enough to sit on them correctly, so they’d end up looking like boats. I did amass a decent collection but as far as the ones that got worn, well those you already know about. Looking back, my shoe knowledge and rotation has vastly improved but it’s all part of the experience. You just have to look back and smile!
I’d been walking up the muddy track for a while, beautiful vistas here and there coupled with a big drop off just metres next to me. Most things in life had that balance Between beauty and death. Up further along I had spotted A wooden thing Just stood there. It didn’t belong there Or at least not In a natural sense of the term. Unlike the flowers and trees that existed around it That for-one-reason-or-another, chose that particular spot to live out the rest of its life, this, had had no choice of its own. I mean how could it? An inanimate object as such, I can’t even say it chose to look the way it did. No, That was up to the designer or in this case, the wood worker.
I was closer to it now the distance between it and I a matter of centimetres. A door. It was a door. A nice door at that, one that had patinaed and aged through its intended use. Unfortunately for this door, It had lost one key feature. Either, through the perils of time or the uncanny strength of one individual. Nevertheless, this door was undoubtedly missing a handle. In its place, a chain. A door, chained shut. Which as uninviting as that may seem, had a certain warmth about it. Like an old friend or relative. Maybe that was due to the backdrop, a cacophony of plants and branches that completely changed my perception of this piece of wood. If anything, this large piece of wood was cousins with the trees that grew beside it. The stone parked at the bottom of the door also did not add to the overall welcoming nature of this inanimate object. Yet again, it still filled me with warmth.
I’d have loved to have met the owner. Not of the ground that lay behind the entrance, but to the opening itself. Of course, I would have asked him politely, Not knowing the nature of the man who owned this door. Although the chains and rock had suggested he wasn’t a friendly man, or that perhaps he was and that he was keeping those who were not so friendly, Out. Like most of us who live day-to-day, we can often feel misplaced. But when we do, we will often do something about it. On the other hand, this door, which in one way, can only be described as misplaced, simply must stand there, in its awkwardness and all. Unlikely to be opened, used, touched, man-handled. So if ever you are feeling Misplaced. Whether that be in a literal or metaphorical sense. Just be glad, you’re not this door.
This season of Top Boy seemed to pop out of nowhere. One second, I noticed some YouTube related content pop up and next thing you know, I had friends asking what I thought of the season. “What Season?” I replied.
Another step, another move in the right direction from the Top Boy cast. I ended up binging the season within the space of two days. A common thing for a lot of Netflix users, but something that has been a lot less common for me as of late. Either way I ended up finishing the eight-part series as if it were a feature length film. This was partly due to the gripping story but also the all-round powerhouse performances. Gauging the online reaction, I think it’s clear that Jaq played by Jasmine Jobson, was a clear fan favourite. Her ability to humanise an outwardly tough character whilst balancing an extreme sense of vulnerability, was something that had everyone routing for her. This is true for the rest of the characters as well.
Top Boy Season 4 – Jaq
Whilst in my mind I thought, “what possible other narratives could they explore when it comes to gang life in London?”, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Season 3 had been a whirlwind. There was a lot of action and tense moments, and understandably so. Season 3 had been a return for the series after almost 6 years, so there needed to be a big flash and bang to reign in an entirely new audience on Netflix. Not to say that there weren’t beautiful, introspective moments in between the action. Kano’s performance as Sully had stuck with me since. The train scene where he’s left at rock bottom, questioning life, is some of the best acting I’ve ever witnessed. A powerful non-verbal performance. In a lot of ways, it was almost a first Season. Introducing a near-entirely new cast in an enticing way, had left little room for fleshing out these characters.
Season 4 on the other hand, seemed slower in pace and in a good way. Don’t get me wrong, there was still plenty of shootouts and violence to have you at the edge of your seats. There was just a lot more time spent humanising the characters. Dushane seemed to be going through his trial-by-fire that Sully did in the last season, with a lot more of his vulnerabilities and weaknesses out on display. As for his partner Shelley, played by Little Simz, cracks in her morally perfect character were explored which only made her more likable. The producers seemed to focus on balance, with the ‘good’ revealing a darker past and the ‘bad’ having to deal with their comeuppance. Lauryn, Jaq’s troublesome sister who I forgot about from season 3, was utilised in such a clever way. What I thought was the end of her story, brought in a whole new element of problems into this season, true to her past ways.
Top Boy Season 4 – Lauryn
Jamie, played by Michael Ward, had another top tier performance. I certainly feel like he was a fan favourite from Season 3, having won the hearts of many of the female audience. His character had gone through one of the hardest and complicated journeys this time around. Each episode had a set of tough scenarios for him to deal with, but unlike previous issues, these couldn’t be solved by the gun. His business trip to Morocco was a beautiful way in which the producers were able to explore the problems of “Hood Mentality”. When in a car ride with Moroccan business partner, Jamie looks out to people on the beach and says, “this shit’s like movies”. A bit of a meta moment, yet one that reminds the audience that, the World that existed to Jamie was confined to the streets of London.
Given the bigger budget for this season, we finally got to see the Global dynamic of the drugs trade. We were longer wondering, “where does this food come from” because we were finally taken there. Granted, Season 3 did explore this as well, through its Jamaican storyline but it was different. In Jamaica, Dushane only spent a small portion there and had family ties there. However, this time our three main characters all went abroad, the foreign settings used as way to explore how they react when they are out of their depth. A ‘fish out of water’ type of scenario.
Whilst the series did reflect a more global scale, it also did well to introduce a more varied UK demographic, one that’s truer of today’s scene. With a huge growth and presence of Northern artists in the music industry, we finally got a proper reflection of UK that isn’t just London. There was a slight connection to Manchester in Season 3, with two younger characters doing County Lines and getting the train up North. Yet in Season 4, we had a full feature of Liverpudlian Arms Dealers mixed into the cast. With the City’s rich history of the Weapons and Drugs trade, it was only a matter of time before they made a crossover into the hostile world of London-based Top Boy. I think the Liverpool dynamic was a very welcomed story line, with Curtis and his sister being two vile characters that always did well to gauge a reaction out of me. As far as that story goes, I don’t think it’s the last we’ve heard of the Liverpudlian gang.
Top Boy Cast
Top Boy Season 4 added another notch to its belt, a world that was made more real and consequently, one which I care about even more. I hugely enjoyed the experience and don my hats off to the producers and cast for doing such an excellent job. I look forward to returning to the world of Top Boy and am eager for what Season 5 will have to offer, even if I have to wait another 3 years.
Here’s a Nike shoe I’ve never seen before. Whilst browsing the eBay for “Eric Koston” shoes I came across a load of hip skate shoes. A lot of them were from his Es and Osiris period, however there were a few I’d never seen before. Below I have chosen a few cool ones that I came across and yes, they are in fact for sale. What a wonderful world we live in.
I have put the links to buy them after each description but depending on when you read this article, they may have unfortunately sold out.
The Nike Air Zoom E-Cue
These are a pair I have never seen before in all my years of browsing. It’s always an enjoyable moment when you come across a pair that are completely alien to you. I do think they’re an interesting looking shoe, reminding me of my Air Rejuven8 pair I wrote about in an earlier blog. The upper is comparable to the Nike Air Kukini’s with its melded rubber cage upper and mesh underneath. These were a far cry from your usual skate shoes that were releasing back in 2004, mainly because they were not being predominantly made up of a canvas upper. Yet the rubber-cage would have been able to withstand a lot of wear. The zoom units themselves are not located in the midsole like you would expect, but in fact embedded in the in-soles themselves. This was a useful feature because given that Zoom units do in fact pop after time, you as the customer would have been able to purchase another pair of insoles and the cushioning system would literally have been good-as-new. Another shoe that uses the cushioning technology in the in-sole rather than the midsole was the Nike Air Vis Propensity, which did in fact place the air unit itself (crazy right) in the in-sole, with a little viewing window at the bottom of the shoe.
I would not be surprised if the Kobe 6s took some inspiration from the Air Zoom E-Cue. Just to double check my intuition, I Googled who designed both shoes and in fact, it WAS the same designer! Eric Avar was responsible for designing the Kobe 6 in 2011 and the Nike Air Zoom E-Cue back in 2003/04. Not only was the silhouette very closely related but the idea of a heavily textured upper was too much of a coincidence. The use of Zoom technology in both shoes also confirmed my suspicions.
I have never heard of this Skate brand before, let alone seen this model. I am a fan though, from the Air Max 95 lacing system, the mudguard, and the gradient colourway, what’s not to like? The Midsole is a little questionable as it doesn’t look entirely functional for the activity it is built for. The narrow heel on the back does not bode well for landing on and looks a bit unstable. I see hints to the Adidas Training PT with the circular design integrated into the midsole. This particular gradient colourway reminds me of the rare Air Max BW/TN hybrid you occasionally see pop up on your Instagram feed from a real Nike Head.
I believe I may have come across this brand before, but I am not totally sure. Maybe I’m just getting confused with the saying “Eons Ago”. Who knows? I have definitely not seen these pair before though. I see influences from Osiris D3 in the vent like circles you can find on the mudguard and toe box. The little strap and top eyelet holder is also quite a cool feature. I’m unsure if these are pre-Nike Flywire so could have had a part in influencing that. I question the overall practicality of this feature, as in this case it does look a little gimmicky. How much extra pull or tightness around the upper can you really gain from one eyelet after all? The biggest comparison and first shoe that sprung to mind upon seeing this was the Jordan 14. Those ridges upon the white panel really draw closely on the iconic side profile of the 14. Overall, I’m not too enticed by the colourway, but I could 100% see myself rocking a pair of these. Some baggy denim or cargos sitting on top of pair like this would do very nicely.
The heel tab branding looks very similar to the Satta logo but apart from that nothing really sprung to mind at first. An interesting shoe to say the least, but I’m not sure that these would get much wear out of me. After a while I finally started seeing what era it was being inspired by. The eBay seller states that he thinks these came about in 2001 which would make a whole lot of sense. The chunky low top feel of this shoe initially reminded me of the Jordan 15. However, it was more closely linked to the designs of the Jordan 16 and 17. That use of hard plastic to create a techy component feel to this shoe was a large design movement in the early 2000s. You can see this throughout a lot of footwear at the time. The start of the new millennium had every designer focusing on “the future” and their take on whatever that would be. Another shoe that uses that tries to reach for that forward thinking feel was the Adidas Kobe 2. That was my best comparison I came up with and a very apt one at that in my opinion.
I bought an old Sony Ericcson Cyber-Shot off of Depop in the first Lockdown. The Phone arrived and it felt very nostalgic. My cousin in Peru used to have one. I remember he had Cristiano Ronaldo as his background. He was a big football fan. I bought it so I could use an old mobile phone to stay in contact with people if they needed to reach me without all the hassle of other apps constantly sending me notifications. Turning the phone on, I realised that you needed a SIM card for it to work. This led to me umming and arring for over a year, letting the phone gather dust. One day I finally went into an EE shop asking about a getting a pay-as-you-go SIM card. The lady said they didn’t offer that service anymore and that I could pick one up from Poundland. She was right. £1 later, I had a SIM card ready to pop into my old Sony Ericson. A waited over a year for that. You don’t ask, you don’t get.
I later then discovered the novelty of the camera’s phone. Marketing back in the day surrounded the idea that this mobile was in fact as good as your point and shoot. Boasting a solid 3.2 megapixels, I decided to give it a crack. So here are some shots I took up whilst back in Manchester.
I remember really wanting a pair of Paul Rodriquez’s 8th Nike shoe. That was back in 2014 when I was rocking the Koston 2’s. A staple in my college shoe rotation. My black pair with the gum bottom truly got mashed up. I remember seeing the 8’s on skate websites and loving the silhouette. They were sleek and techy. The upper was something off a football boot and coupled with the ridges of the Lunarlon midsole, they just looked sharp! Not to mention the sole itself which had a heat map of your feet’s pressure points. I was sold. The blue and black colourway was the first to come out which I wasn’t too keen on. I had to bide my time for the right colourway to come about which it did, the Shield edition.
The orange hits with the 3M detailing, it was me all over. I waited and waited for a UK12 to go on sale but alas, I never found a pair. I eventually settled for the “Blackout” pair. It was simple but I was mainly in love with the design, so I wasn’t too bothered. I found a pair on a skate website going for about £75 which given the over £120 price point, wasn’t too shabby.
They arrived and went straight on feet. I was moving to Bristol soon for university later that year and they were coming with me. Whilst I loved the look of them on-feet, I struggled fitting them with my then – trouser situation. In 2015 I was donning the finest Zara jeans that weren’t spray on skinny by any means but weren’t baggy either. The cheeky Nando’s vibes were certainly a lot stronger back then, that’s for sure. Having big feet also meant that trousers would certainly make a difference in creating a smaller looking shoe. Nevertheless, they got their fair share of wear (that rhymes) because of their simple colourway.
It was fresher’s week (lads, lads, lads) and there was an 80’s themed dress night at a club down the road. The club was fairly – big so a large portion of potential future Uni mates would be there. I struggled finding an outfit at first, finally settling on my classic blue Zara jeans, a Puma top that I had bought for the gym and my P-Rod’s. The top was a dark blue with a neon-pink Puma logo which I clearly thought, “yeah, 80s that”. Just in case my outfit legitimacy was questioned, I rolled up my trousers to reveal my white Nike tube socks. I was unquestionably 80’s at that point, the night was mine.
We arrived at the club after a 45 second walk. It was busy and the queue was large. I made it to the front where I remember the bouncer giving me a strange look. I thought he was eyeing me up as a potential aggressive youth, a troublemaker, so I just smiled when he handed back my ID. In hindsight, I should have taken that as a signal to go home and save my nostalgic outfit for another night. Alas, I continued on into the depths of the club.
Hire SWX Bristol – Eventopedia – Events Bristol
The people I was with hit the dancefloor. It was chart music galore. “Where was the 80s hits” I thought? It was then that I learnt that these Club night dress codes were a big sham, the naivety of my 18-year-old self. The group I was with formed a circle right at the front and started busting out their finest moves. I was cringing. This was not my thing. “I’m too cool for this”, I said to myself, neon-pink puma logo beaming from my chest. As the hours went on, there was luckily a decrease in the number of dance-off circles formed.
The end of the night was near and there weren’t as many people about. I had spotted a girl I recognised from a few towns over. She was dancing with her mate. Noticing I was getting a few glances, I slowly made my way over. There was a small space between the two groups now. I just needed to wait for the right moment. As I was closer, my outfit was consequently more visible. She glanced up and down, scanned the puma top and kept going. The top hadn’t put her off, so surely I had a chance. It was at that point that she noticed the combination of my white Nike socks and my all-black P-Rod’s. Her eyes stayed there for a few seconds. “ohh yeah, she knows her crep’s, lets go” I thought. I was wrong. Completely wrong. I’m not sure I recognised her facial expression, but I knew it wasn’t a good sign. Thinking back, it was somewhere between a grimace and a smirk. Seconds after she pulled that face, she whispered something to her mate and they both walked off. That was it. I had been pied. Never a fun moment for a man but it’s even worse when she’s put off by your shoes. It’s even more of a sour feeling when you consider yourself a sneaker head. After that night I stopped wearing the P-Rod’s for quite some time. They had betrayed me.
Granted they need a clean.
Since the summer of 2016, they have in fact been sat at the bottom of my cupboard. 6 years of imprisonment because of one failure. A harsh punishment, but apparently the price a shoe must pay for letting their wearer down. I can now say, as I am wearing the actual pair right now, that I have moved on. My P Rod’s and I are ready to take on a whole host of new outfits this year. I have made peace with the memory and the crep’s themselves. Life moves on.
Upon finishing this story, I just remembered another tale where my crush laughed at my P-Rod 7’s on mufti day, perhaps I should stay clear after all…
wear shoes, write poems 