Monday, 5th June 2023:
Why, Gina? WHYYYY?
Tuesday, 6th June 2023
Pretty sure I’ve told y’all what Steve Aoki represents in the Non-Fungies world, but if you missed it - he usually represents the top of any given market. Meaning if he’s decided to buy into it, it’s usually just a tad too late, and the only place the market can go when Aoki has bought in is down. Would that be the same with the Big Red Boots?
I’ve seen two pairs of these in person, both worn by people who looked to be in their late teens or early 20s and both who looked like they were absolutely craving the attention but desperately wanted to act like they didn’t…which…I guess…if you’re going to wear something like the ‘big red boots’ in public, the whole idea is…probably…to draw attention to yourself? Right?
Again, they’re still fun, but don’t seem all that practical for everyday wear, are they?
Again, if I had a pair of these, I think they’d probably be pretty cool to wear while river walking or stomping through some mud or some serious rainstorms, but…other than that…the attention alone might make me want to go and hide…and I’m an extrovert.
But…anyway…just a quick list of questions (that are sure to turn into an annual check-in) from me:
- For those of you that copped…have you actually rocked?
- Where do you primarily wear these, if you do?
- Are they, at least, comfortable?
- Do you regret your purchase?
- If they came out in other colors, would you buy them?
This was a pretty fascinating moment in time for @mschf …can you believe that was less than 6 months ago?
Top Comment: 40yoshoes They’ll always be popping on 10/31 somewhere I’m sure. Not my thing but mschf killed this in every way and as I shoe luva I was here for it.
Wednesday, 7th June 2023
I totally thought this was going to be a better post but I lost all my steam when I saw that this dude @jeawhiz2 came in and wrote a brief comment and put my whole post to shame…so I’ll post it here because it’s way shorter and sweeter than what I wrote: “Insofar as the brand being the actual product, yes, fakes help the brand. Nike isn't selling you shoes; they're selling you a brand, an attitude, an identity. Consider this from a non-sneaker POV: would you pay a $50 premium for a swoosh branded hoody over a plain unbranded hoody of the same quality? Of course, you would. The brand is the product. Fakes would hurt an industry where the object being faked is the product. Like, "fake" dining tables would hurt dining table makers.”
There is a lot of talk in marketing about how a ‘brand’ and a ‘product’ can sometimes be one and the same, and in that case…when a ‘brand’ and a ‘product’ are indecipherable, almost everything ends up helping brands stay ubiquitous. Brands like ‘Xerox’, ‘Kleenex’ have pretty much all become eponymous with an action - meaning it makes no difference what brand copier you’re using if you’re ‘xerox’ing something’ or what brand tissue you using if you ask for a ‘Kleenex’…all of it pretty much helps the original brand.
And so it goes with sneakers…these bootleg and rep manufacturers…I know Nike has special investigators that work with law enforcement, but the teams in charge of this kind of stuff are paltry, to say the least. If Nike is ‘losing’ x amount of money from bootleggers, why wouldn’t they put an equal amount of resources towards squashing said bootleggers?
I think Nike doesn’t do more about fakes because Nike ultimately benefits from having their name and likeness in the street regardless of origination…they’re not collecting every dollar, but they are collecting the eyes and ears that eventually turn into dollars…why squash out bootleggers if it’s keeping their product on the street?
Top Comment: billionaireboyscout The same way Gucci and LV got more street clout because of Dapper Dan
Thursday, 8th June 2023
Saw these the other day and thought they looked a bit like some of those og @osirisshoes from the early 2000’s…something @freddurst might wear on stage.
Not so sure about white and gumshoes for skating, but they look like they’d certainly ‘protect’ the foot a bit more than some SB’s…
Or maybe this is like the dunk version of that Air Max 90 they release about a year ago?
Think they’ll release in more colorways or is this a flop?
Top Comment: theshopathollywood I had the cop the first colorway in Olive. Man these are different. They have some extra cushion for your sole of your feet. It feels like walking on gel. These are a must-cop. You gotta feel that new cushion they added.
The colorway tho in my opinion, they can do better always, but white gum not bad 🔥💯
Kinda hard to see, but in hand it's pretty clear...
Copped two pairs of these Air Trainer SP1's (or whateverthehell they're called) at my local Nike Clearance store (one for me one for @sonsofblackmaria ) and noticed the yellow on each pair is slightly different...the one on the left is more like the Jordan IV 'Thunder' yellow (kind of darker) and the one on the right is like the Air Max 97 'Air Sprung' yellow (which is a bit lighter)...and both came from the same factory with overlapping production dates.
I painted houses for a couple of summers in my early 20's so I notice these kinds of things. I find it interesting to see that slight differences in color shades don't just happen with houses, but also within these controlled (product) environments.
This is one of the interesting things about grading sneakers - they're still (mostly) handmade, so you get all kinds of little inconsistencies between pairs. Unnoticeable to most, but easy to spot when you've got two different pairs sitting side by side...
Top Comment: ap5 Also that little Diamond shape is way closer to the midsole on the right than the left
Friday, 9th June 2023
Now this might ruffle a few feathers, but I have this longstanding hypothesis that the worst types of sports fans to ever talk sports with are usually Yankee, Cowboy, or Laker fans...they are by far the most delusional about their teams and seem to have missed those lessons about 'team sports' that everyone tried to get us to learn about when we were kids...you know...those ones about 'it's not about whether you win or lose it's about how you play the game' type lessons.
A couple of years back, I found myself working with a colleague who was oblivious to his impact around the workplace and his impact on his team. I told a trusted colleague 'I guarantee that dude is a Laker fan' and within a couple of days we got our answer: For our company basketball game, dude came decked out in a Kobe jersey, mamba shorts and some Kobe IX's (the super high ones) strapped to his feet.
So I stumble across these Kobe 6's the other day and I just can't imagine a single person in the world who would have the gall to think that this shoe is somehow a 'fair ask' at $206 + shipping. The soles are non-existent and the inner lining is showing more layers than a muffaletta sandwich. Graded via shoemetrics, this shoe is easily a 1 out of 10...maybe even a 0.5/10 - it is completely and entirely busted and would easily cost another $500 to get it anywhere near looking wearable. Yeah yeah I get it they're samples but WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THEM?
This shoe is so busted...thrift stores wouldn't even put these on the floor. This shoe is so busted...these couldn't even be donated for the bales...this shoe is so busted....I don't think I would even take them if someone offered them to me for free. These shoes represent a *problem* to anyone who finds themself owning them.
So...thinking back on the majority of absolutely ridiculous prices I've seen for shoes (and I've seen some ridiculous ones), for some reason, they always seem to be Kobes. And based on that premise, this totally tracks with my 'Laker fan' theory. Why does it always gotta be the Kobes?
Top Comment: creatine.papi These ain’t Kobe fans just people trynna make money off his name
Enjoy the rest of the week ahead