BUT NOW IS THAT THE CASE?

This Blog has Moved

2010-09-20T13:14:00.004-05:00

Hey! This blogspot-hosted Blog is no longer being updated. All new content is on my brand-new website, dsicle.com so go check it out.

www.dsicle.com

Thanks for the support, hope to see you on the new site!

Parra x Patta x Nike Air Max 1

2010-04-23T07:30:00.010-05:00

Hottest shoe of the year? Yeah, most definitely. At least so far anyways--and honestly it's gonna be hard to top this one. I imagine that 8 months from now when all the sneaker blogs are doing "Best of 2010" roundups, this will be near the top of the list.

I mentioned this sneaker last month when posting about my Patta x Nike AM1 Denim & Cords (link) so check that out for the backstory on the involvement Patta (the Amsterdam sneaker store) had on this shoe. In this post, I'm going to discuss the contribution that Parra (the Amsterdam-based artist) made.

So in case you're not familiar with Parra, he is a Dutch artist with a distinctive hand drawn style featuring Rubenesque women and wild neon color palette influenced by his home near Amsterdam's red light district. To me, his work is reminiscent of the animated Beatles cartoons of the Yellow Submarine era, although I don't know if that's intentional or not; it's just my opinion. While he was well known in the local Amsterdam art scene for many years, especially for his poster art, he didn't hit it big in the international art scene until 2005 at a London art show. I personally didn't discover his work until Stones Throw (my favorite record label) started featuring his work on album covers and tshirts in 2007--notably on the 2007 Hella International box set--and shortly thereafter his work was featured at Jeff Staple's Reedspace (link) after which I became a huge Parra fan myself.

Parra has deep roots in the art, DJ, hip hop, and skate scenes, and his connections to those worlds has made him highly sought after for a variety of collaboration with brands such as Nike, Vans, Zoo York, and Etnies but has even extended to corporate giants such as Heineken, Foot Locker, Volkswagon, and Ben & Jerry's. Parra also has his own apparel line, Rockwell Clothing (link), which is distributed in the United States through Stones Throw.

In the sneaker world, Parra has had several collabs prior to this one, including the Patta Amsterdam Nike Air Max 1 (2005), the Parra x Nike Air Max 95 Running Man (2008), the Rockwell x Alife x Patta "RAP" Everybody Mid (2008), the Parra x Nike Air Maxim 1 (2009) and two Vans sneakers in the Parra x Vans Pack (2009).

But of course, the real star of the show are these Parra x Patta x Nike Air Max 1 which created a frenzy among sneakerheads last month. Rumored to be limited to 248 pair, the bulk were sold at the Patta shop in Amsterdam with around 40-ish hitting the Nike Sportswear 21 Mercer location in NYC and a few more at the Nike Sportswear 1948 shop in London. Immediately after the release, they started to hit eBay commanding prices in the $800 to $900 range. They're currently available at Flight Club for an average price of $879. If you're really into these kicks, consider copping the matching Parra x Nike varsity jacket that dropped in late 2009 (link). Yeah it might be a bit hard to track down, but it's bound to be easier (or at least chepaer) than finding the actual sneakers.

NOTE: These are NOT my sneakers. I was unable to get them (but not for lack of trying) however my fellow Heat Seekers Krew (link) member Tom @samcolt12 was able to cop em from his buddy @_MAYOR_ of the ATF crew. Big ups to MAYOR for hooking Tom up; good lookin.

FURTHER READING

If you'd like to see some examples of Parra's art, check out his MySpace page (link)

If you'd like more info on how the releases panned out, check out this (link) on the Patta Amsterdam release day and also this (link) on the NYC release day.

(NIKE) RED Laces

2010-04-22T07:30:00.001-05:00

As part of the (PRODUCT) RED initative, a brand created by U2 frontman Bono designed to raise money for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Nike created these (NIKE) RED shoe laces with 100% of the profits going to the charity and to soccer-based programs that help fight AIDS in Africa. Packaged in an elegant red & white box are two red laces, each with a red plastic dubray, plastic lace ends, and the phrase "LACE UP SAVE LIVES" printed near the end of one side of the laces.

I cop'd these and had them siting around for a minute before I figured out what to do with them--finally deciding to string up my custom LASER'd (link) white-on-white Nike Air Force 1 lows.

For more info on these and other (NIKE) RED products, visit www.nikefootball.com/RED

BAPE Baby Milo Parachute T-shirt

2010-03-29T08:10:00.001-05:00

This A Bathing Ape (BAPE) Baby Milo Parachute Tee cost me $73. What? $73 dollars for a t-shirt? Now look, I'm well aware that there's no way to justify that kind of money for a screen printed t-shirt, no matter how high quality or detailed it is, and even if it's manufactured in Japan and imported in with a crazy currency exchange rate. But it's worth $73 to me because I love the BAPE brand, I love that it's part of the culture I grew up in, and I love the exclusivity you get with BAPE.

BAPE is a Japanese apparel and lifestyle brand created by Tomoaki "Nigo" Nagao, a music producer and DJ for the Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz. The brand really blew up here in the US when musicians Kanye West and Pharrell started sporting BAPE gear.

So why are BAPE products so pricey? Basically, it's because they're produced in limited quantities, are only available for a limited time, and are only available from official BAPE stores--most of them located in Japan. There's only two BAPE stores in the entire US, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. I actually cop'd this shirt when I visited the BAPE store in NYC (wrote about that here).

Other than dealing with a handful known-good eBay vendors (Pondon, Plainflour, Tokyoape) the only place you can cop legit BAPE products online is at the official BAPE website [link]. Everything else you see online is probably fake (FAPE) because BAPE gear is heavily bootlegged.

Nike AF1 White/Red/Blue/Clear (GS)

2010-03-25T07:40:00.002-05:00

So obviously because of the (GS) grade school sizing, you already know these ain't my shoes. Not that I wouldn't rock em, but they weren't available in my size. Nope, these are Big Kids sizes, which luckily my wife can wear.

I honestly don't know much about this sneaker--no backstory, so clue on why the colorway was designed or what the art you see through the clear icy sole is all about. But you know what? It just doesn't matter. I mean, the Air Force 1 is one of the most iconic sneaker profiles in history and I'm always attracted to them, and if the colorway is crisp and clean--like this one--then I'm generally down with it. The clear sole is the big selling point for me tho; anytime they put a clear sole on an AF1 and show artwork through it, I fall for it. Add a splash of patent, my favorite sneaker material, and BAM! I'm sold.

Damn shame I couldn't get these in my size. I think they're dope. Oh well, at least they're in my closet even if they're not on my feet.

Nike Air Foamposite One - Copper

2010-03-23T07:30:00.004-05:00

Truth: I don't really like this shoe. I mean yeah, the color is cool and all, but I'm just personally not a fan of the Nike Air Foamposite One profile. I know that most sneakerheads disagree with my viewpoint, but I just think they're weird looking sneakers--and not in the good way. I think it's because to me, the wavy lines and overall curvy look make it look clunky and I tend to prefer sleek looking sneakers.

This sneaker profile was originally released in 1997 as the signature shoe for Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway in a Royal Blue colorway matching the uniform of his team, the Orlando Magic. Penny Hardaway's entire shoe line was a runaway success back then, no doubt helped by the awesome advertising campaign led by a puppet named "Lil' Penny" voiced by Chris Rock.

For the past year or so, the Foamposite One has been retro'd heavy, and considering his "Penny" nickname, a Copper colorway is a natural choice. These actually burned up the Internets last fall long before they came out when Wale wore them early [link] causing everybody to go bat shit crazy for them. Well, everybody but me I guess.

PS - These aren't my sneakers; I passed on these joints. They belong to my HEAT SEEKERS crew member Marcus @sneakerfreeak23 who like most people happens to like them a lot.

DQM x Nike AM90 "Bacons"

2010-03-19T07:30:00.001-05:00

I got two words to say about these sneakers: GRAILS BABY! That's right, the Nike x Dave's Quality Meat (DQM) "Bacon" Air Max 90 is one of my "Holy Grail" pair of kicks, which is to say it's one of those that I've wanted for a long, long time that I just HAD to have in my possession. Unfortunately, since they came out about 5 years ago and are one of the most desirable and iconic colorways of the AM90 ever, they command a hefty price on the after market.

You might recall last fall that Nike released the Air Max 90 Current Huarache in a Bacon-inspired colorway, which I cop'd and already blogged about [link] and yeah while they're insanely comfortable, they're just nowhere near as awesome as the Original Bacons. The subtle textures and colors of the OG Bacons perfectly capture the "meat" look, but the new Current Huaraches are freakin' garish in comparison. They just don't hold a candle to the OG Bacons. But I bought em anyways since I didn't have the originals--but now I do! Ha ha!

You know, I wanted these DQM Bacons so bad that I actually made a point to go to the DQM shop in NYC [link] just to catch a VIBE off the place...and all that did was make me want the Bacons even more!

Oh and in case you were wondering, and just to clear up some confusion, there were TWO releases of the OG Bacons. Well okay THREE if you count the special "Friends and Family" version that didn't go to retail. But of the two that did, the first run (2004) had a "Dave's Quality Meat" tongue tag and the second (2006) had a "Nike" tongue tag and came with a matching t-shirt. Both were released in extremely limited quantities that didn't come anywhere close to filling consumer demand, which is why they sell for $500 dead stock on eBay, ISS, etc.

Fuck it tho, you only live once, right?

HUF x Nike AM90 "Hufquakes"

2010-03-18T07:40:00.004-05:00

HUF [link] is a sneaker/skate/streetwear shop--or to be more accurate "shops" since they have multiple locations--based outta San Francisco, California, founded by lifelong skateboarder Keith Hufnagel. Since 2002, HUF has been one of the biggest names in the sneaker scene. Want proof? They're one of just 6 ultra-exclusive Nike Tier 0 shops in the entire US. They're at the top of the sneaker food chain along with the likes of ALIFE Rivington Club, Dave's Quality Meat, Undefeated, Patta, Atmos, and Colette. HUF is most definitely a powerhouse brand in the sneaker/skate/streetwear world.

This pair of HUX x Nike Air Max 90 "Hufquakes" released as a quickstrike in 2007 at Tier 0 shops and caused long lines everywhere it dropped (YouTube is full of videos showing the campout lines f you're interested). It wasn't produced in quite as limited of numbers as some other Tier 0 releases, but it's still one of those shoes where demand outstripped supply--hence the campout and lines.

The HUFquake has since become one of the most recognizable and iconic sneakers in the Air Max line. The San Francisco earthquake-inspired "HUFquake" cracked concrete pattern has shown up on a number of Nike HUF colabs (Air Max 1, Dunk Low, Air Force 1) and of course was recreated last year on the Air Max 90 Current Huarache [link]. In fact, the cracked earthquake pattern is even available on Nike iD now (on the AM90 of course). It's also been put on other Sportswear items like shirts and jackets, often in the grey/blue colorway to match these sneakers. That sort of thing only happens with the most iconic, classic Nike sneakers.

This is one of my very favorite sneakers out there--hell, it's been on my personal Top 10 Sneakers list for years. In fact, it's the first "Grail" sneaker I was able to snag...but certainly not the last. I've got another one to show you tomorrow. Stay tuned.

A.R.C. x Nike Dunk Hi Supreme

2010-03-17T07:38:00.001-05:00

So I pulled these ALIFE Rivington Club (A.R.C.) x Nike Sportswear Dunk Hi Supremes outta my closet a few weeks ago to wear down to Austin and it dawned one me, "I never did a blog write up on those." Well here we go, time to catch up on one of my favorite pair of kicks.

Surely every sneakerhead already knows about the ALIFE Rivington Club, right? If not, STOP RIGHT NOW and go read my blog post about it [here] and then come back to read the rest of this. [waiting...waiting...waiting] Alright, we cool now? Okay, on with this post.

The A.R.C. Nike Dunk Hi Supreme is a limited Tier 0 Nike Sportswear release, a "Classic Lining" (CL) Dunk and NOT a Nike SB like so many of the popular Dunks out there. Personally, that's a good thing for me since I prefer Sportswear over the Skateboarding line. While not flashy in appearance, the materials choices on these are insane: super-plush black suede, Schoeller technical fabrics, and a .44 sticky rubber gum bottom. They also came with a set of white laces that I put in for a while, but I ended up switching back to the originals.

These kicks caused a little bit of a ruckus when they released this past summer (along with a matching "Black, White, Gum & Bang!" t-shirt FREE to the first 100 buyers) with a big-assed line that streched down the street. Like all their colabs nowadays, ALIFE released the shoe across the street from the actual Rivington Club at their A.R.C. Sports storefront, but afterwards everybody filtered into the back patio behind the Rivington Club for a party. Here's a [link] to event coverage with pics from Freshness Mag if you're interested.

Like I said, these are one of my favorite pair of sneakers. They're clean, classic, durable, and very wearable--and of course my memories of going to NYC to cop em are priceless.

PHANTACi x Nike Air Max 1 Grand Piano

2010-03-16T07:45:00.002-05:00

HOLY CRAP. Is this the best looking pair of sneakers in my house? Yeah, very possibly. Too damn bad they're not mine! Naw see I tried like hell to grab a pair of these, but since there were only like 400 pair made, all released in Asia, I couldn't manage to find em in my size. Thankfully, I did find them in my wife's size though, so she bought em. Hey, at least someone in the house owns these.

The PHANTACi x Nike Air Max 1 Grand Piano is a colab with Taiwan-based sneaker store PHANTACi and obviously the colorway was inspired by a grand piano as well as the signature pink color of the PHANTACi stores--but didja know that it was co-designed by Taiwanese pop culture superstar Jay Chou? You never heard of him, right? You're sitting there wondering, "who's he?" right? Yeah well, since you don't know, lemme drop some knowledge on ya: Jay Chou is one of the most popular musician/singer/songwriter/producers in Taiwan. He's just the biggest selling Mandarin Chinese recording artist of the past four years. In China, he's the second most searched celebrity behind Britney Spears. Oh shit, did I forget to mention that he's also written a book, starred in a bunch of movies, and even directed movies?

So yeah, he's kind of a big deal.

The fact that he co-designed these kicks shows just how big of a name he is over there. I mean, how often does any celebrity outside of the sneaker world get to design sneaker colorways? Okay yeah, so Kanye got a shoe. Who else? Yeah see, that's what I'm sayin.

The first 200 pair of these were offered in special packaging with some freebies (cool pink box, t-shirt, pink dubrays, and a bracelet) but those sold out pretty much instantly so I couldn't get my hands on them but to be able to get these AT ALL is special enough since there were so few made whatsoever, special packaging or not.

By the way--even if Nike woulda made fifty-gajillion of these, I'd still think they're the best looking sneaker in my house. They are DOPE-AS-HELL, regardless of their limited production.

Patta x Nike Air Max 1 QS Denim & Cords

2010-03-15T07:44:00.001-05:00

PATTA [link] is a sneaker store in Amsterdam--yeah, that Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where it's totally legal to smoke herb--that happens to be one of the 17 exclusive Nike Tier 0 shops in the world. If you don't already know, Tier 0 is the highest specialty Nike account level, with only six stores in the US, six in Europe, and three others scattered about the rest of the planet. So yeah, it's safe to say that Patta is one of the top tier, most exclusive sneaker shops in the whole world.

Founded in 2004, Patta celebrated their 5 year anniversary at the end of 2009 with a series of limited edition "Quickstrike" Nike sneaker colabs, all on the classic Tinker Hatfield designed Air Max 1 shoe, which apparently is the hotness in Amsterdam. The first four dropped in '09 but the last one, a collab with Dutch artist Parra (yeah I know, it's confusing) was delayed and just dropped this past weekend.

All of these sneakers were released in extremely limited quantities (250 to 500, thereabouts) with the bulk being sold at the Patta Amsterdam shop, so getting them here in the US is no easy task. Thankfully, the Denim & Cords model (which was one of my favorites) popped up at one of the Asian Tier 0 shops and ended up online, which is how I was able to snag them.

Patta x Nike Sportswear Air Max 1 Premium Quickstrike Denim & Cords (boy that's a mouthful of a name) has a great mix of materials; dark navy corduroy upper and tongue, denim mudguard, blue suede perf'd toebox and ankle, and a green Nike Swoosh and Patta logo. Interestingly, there's no Nike or Patta logo on the back panel. I wonder if that's because embroidery on the corduroy didn't work well? I dunno why really, but there's nothing there. Kinda cool.

All in all, I think this is an incredibly hot sneaker. It's got great materials, great colors, and it's not something you're gonna find on too many people's feet. Definitely out of the ordinary, that's for sure.

Manny Pacquiao x Nike Trainer 1 - Lights Out

2010-03-08T07:30:00.005-06:00

Surely you know who Filipino professional boxer Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao is, don't you? Well just in case you don't, let me tell ya: Pacquiao is the current WBO World welterweight champion, rated by Ring Magazine as the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He's the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. He's also the only boxer to win the lineal championship ("the man who beat the man") in four different weight classes. Impressive, right? Naturally, an athlete with his credentials is signed with the greatest sneaker company in the world--Nike--and he's had a few sneakers put out with his name attached, including these amazing "Lights Out" Trainer 1s.

The "Lights Out" is the second of two sneakers commemorating the Light Welterweight bout between Pac-Man and England’s Ricky Hatton held last spring on May (5) second (2) of '09 (9) --remember those numbers-- with the first being a red/white/gold pair. After knocking down Hatton twice in the first round, Pacquiao knocked him out in the second round at the 2:59 minute mark with a left hook. Hmmm...and there's those (2) (5) (9) numbers again. Toldja to remember those!

In honor of the 2:59 knockout on 5/2/9, Nike created just 259 pair of these black & white glow-in-the-dark Trainer 1s, cleverly calling them "Lights Out" since he knocked out Hatton. You can see the numbers through the clear sole on the bottom--well, assuming you manage to notice them with all the freakin' glow-in-the-dark details on these. WOW do these things GLOW! The laces, the swoosh outline, the specks on the midsole, and the stitching all glow like crazy!

This really is a beautiful sneaker, and it's got a fantastic back story to it that I just love...but unfortunately, they aren't mine. They belong to my fellow Heat Seekers Krew member Bruce @process817 which is pretty amazing considering the vast majority of these were only available in the Philippines (a few trickled in to the US at some select shops).

BTW, Pacquiao's next fight is against Joshua Clottey this coming Saturday here in Dallas-Fort Worth at Cowboys Stadium. In honor of the event, the crew at Shogun in Fort Worth have created a wicked cool t-shirt that I suggest you get on immediately. Shit's HOT! Oh yeah, and when you stop by the store, be sure to check out their glass sneaker display case; Bruce's Pacquiao Nike Trainer 1 sneakers are on display there.

DJ Clark Kent at Nice Kicks

2010-03-02T07:30:00.022-06:00

DJ Clark Kent is a legend in the music industry and in the sneaker world. I already posted once about his incredible background [here] but this past weekend I got to just sit and chill with Clark for 6 hours--that's right, I said 6 HOURS--talking about music, DJing, sneakers, friends, family, and life. After that much time talking about that much stuff, I'm gonna say something that might sound kinda silly at first:

DJ Clark Kent changed my life.

I know that sounds stupid--how can talking to a celebrity DJ/sneakerhead change your life, right? Lemme try to explain it. I expected that meeting Clark would be like meeting most celebrities. You know the drill: talk for a few minutes, chat cordially about some general b.s., and that's it, over and out. But people, that is NOTHING like what happened. NOTHING.

Clark is straight up just a regular dude. He is as approachable as anyone I've ever met. If you didn't KNOW he was a big deal, you'd never know it from how he acts. He's as real as you and me. No wait, fuck that; he's REALER than you and me because he's ALREADY MADE IT and yet he's still just a regular, normal guy. If I woulda made it big like that, would I be as straight as Clark Kent? I dunno, I seriously doubt it. I can't imagine how anyone can overcome celebrity like that, but somehow Clark has done exactly that.

So you see, his REALNESS is what changed me. I can only think, if a celebrity like DJ Clark Kent can be that real, how can I not be 100% authentic? How can I possibly ever front on anybody or anything ever again? What possible reason is there to be fake about anything?

All that leads me to this conclusion: HYPE = stupid fake shit.

If something is dope, it's dope because its designed well. If something is heat, it's heat because it's designed well. Nothing--not sneakers, not music, not clothing, nothing--is dope simply because hypebeasts claim its dope, or because it's got some artificial manufacturing limitations. That's not HEAT, that's playing the supply-and-demand game. That's just really good marketing, not HEAT.

For example...at one point, Clark told us why Nike Air Force 1 Bespokes cost $820 dollars. He said it's because people are out there buying sneakers from resellers for $1000+, which is stupid if you think about this: you're paying $1000+ to buy something limited, something that maybe only a few hundred other people have. But conversely, that means there's hundreds of other people that got the same thing in their closet that you got! How is THAT exclusive? BUT a Bespoke...if you buy a Bespoke, you're getting a 1-of-1. There's only 1; no one else can have that same shoe, ever. And if you can get that exclusivity for only $820 dollars, why would you ever pay MORE than that for something that hundreds of other people also already got too?

So here's what's changed about me:

#1 - I'm gonna keep it real 100% of the time. At work, at home, with friends, wherever. I'm gonna be me no matter who I'm around. I mean I was already mostly like that anyways, so this isn't a big change, but what little I did pull punches on? That shit is over. Keep it real, son.

#2 - I'm gonna avoid the HYPE. From now on, I'm only going to buy sneakers that I think are DOPE, that I think are HEAT because of what they look like, or how they appeal to my own personal sensibilities. Fuck the fake artificial limited quantity bullshit. If I like something and want to rock it, I'll cop. If not, then I won't.

#3 - I will still cop expensive sneakers, retail and aftermarket, but my top dollar will not exceed $820. Beyond that and I'll go make a Bespoke. That way I can design exactly what I want on the most iconic sneaker profile there is and get REAL exclusivity, 1-of-1 exclusivity.

#4 - I'm going to start actually BUYING the Nike iDs that I've been designing. I've made a ton of dope colorways that actually mean something to me, but I never buy any of them because I'm always spending my money on the latest "limited" sneakers that drop. Hell I am a designer in my professional life--I should be putting those skills to use on sneakers I create, not just buying so many "limited" retail releases that I can't afford my own designs.

#5 - I'm going to LASER my own custom designed iDs. I mean come on, I can buy a iD for under $150 and get it custom LASER'd with my own design for $225, so for under $375 I can own as many 1-of-1s as I can dream up. Now that is limited...and that is REAL HEAT.

THANK YOU DJ CLARK KENT.
I know you probably weren't trying to change anyone's lives in your trip down to Texas, but you did. Your positivity and realness is inspirational, brother.

PS - the dude in the pics with the sunglasses and BAPE hoodie is Joe LaPuma from Complex magazine, and he's is another 100% REAL dude who also is from NYC. Must be something about that city.

Nice Kicks - Grand Opening Pt2

2010-03-01T07:31:00.009-06:00

In my last post, Nice Kicks - Grand Opening Part 1 [link] I mentioned the line outside the store that was hundreds of people deep--what I didn't mention that it stayed that way for 3 whole hours. WOW. Seriously, the last person in line didn't get in the door until 2:00 pm. You know it's a successful grand opening when you got that many people willing to wait that long just to get in the door.

Unfortunately, Matt and the crew had some Internet connectivity difficulties, so the check out computers were having some problems handling credit card transactions, which is what slowed the line down. I know Matt was concerned and that people were a little frustrated at the hour+ long checkout line, but he really did his best to keep things moving as quickly as possible.

It was a little difficult to really get a proper feel for the store since it was so jam packed all day, but let me try to describe it to you. Up front in the windows were some kicks on display in large heavy glass cases, including some autographed Michael Jordan Concord XIs and Matt's own Air Force 1 Bespokes. To the right is a seating area with a table and chairs under a pretty cool light fixture. Along the right wall is the sneaker display with each shoe inside a circular cubby hole. Many of them had small index cards describing the history and significance of the shoe. Nike, Adidas, and Supras seemed to be the big brands on display--pretty impressive for a brand new shop to open the doors with a heavy Nike account; that's extremely difficult to pull off. Then along the back wall are bags and a clothing rack, including the exclusive Bun B x Nice Kicks "Keep Texas Trill" tees. On the back wall there's cool artwork of a telephone line with real sneakers hanging by the laces. On the left side of the shop is the checkout counter and accessories, including Nixon watches. Finally, up front by the door was a DJ booth setup and in the middle there were coolers full of FREE Sweet Leaf Tea for the event, very nice.

In addition to the new sneakers, Matt also pulled out some limited "private stock" to sell at great prices. There were Fire Red Jordan IIIs for just $300 (currently selling on Flight Club for around $500) which my homie TaVoiras jumped all over. Some Nice Kicks X Asics colabs which Jaye was lucky enough to cop. Some Air Max Crepe Hemps that both Jake from SASneaksUp and Shoe Wolf got. And even some 2003 Air Max 1 Safaris for just $85 that I really wanted to grab myself.

By the way, Nike did something pretty freakin' cool: they shipped Matt one of the super exclusive UT Nike Pro Combat College Football Pack box set [link] which were made available to 10 different Universities. UT was given 277 pair for their athletes, but only 9 pair were made available at retail (and only at the Nike Sportswear 21 Mercer shop in NYC). Shows you just how much Nike thinks of Nice Kicks.

After all the initial hoopla was over, the shop stayed open all afternoon and we all hung out in front outside chillin with DJ Clark Kent (more on that tomorrow) who went on to DJ the after party that night in the shop. All in all, I'd say the Grand Opening event was a huge success, and I wish Matt and the whole Nice Kicks crew the bets of luck in the future. I know I'll be back down in Austin many times in the future to visit the best new sneaker shop in Texas.

TOMORROW!
Check back as I talk about the conversation we had with DJ Clark Kent and how he schooled us for over 6 hours at the Nice Kicks Grand Opening.

Nice Kicks - Grand Opening Pt1

2010-03-01T07:30:00.010-06:00

After four years of running one of the biggest and most well respected Sneaker news wesbites, Matt Halfhill of NiceKicks.com announced last month the opening an actual brick-and-mortar Nice Kicks sneaker store in Austin, Texas, prominently located on "the strip" next to the University of Texas campus. Honestly, I think it's truly incredible that someone could go from starting a blog to opening a store in less than 5 years--it really goes to show just how powerful of an impact the Internet has had on all of us.

I don't think I can stress enough how significant of a Grand Opening this was. I mean yeah, we're talking about a new sneaker shop here, but one that out of the gate has better brand recognition than most established shops simply due to the strength of the website. Because of that, people from literally all across the country--NYC to LA--came to Texas for the event. Hell, my homie @esco777 drove 1,300 miles for 22 hours straight to make it out. Now that's some sneakerhead dedication right there.

There were also some VIPs in attendance. Bun B of UGK fame made it up from Houston--and he walked down the line and personally handed out free CDs. No assistant, no bullshit, just some real interaction with the people. I got a chance to spend a few minutes chatting with Bun about sneakers and life and shit, he's completely approachable and authentic. Oh yeah, CONGRATS to Bun B for being named the newest member of the ATF crew.

Speaking of the ATF crew, DJ Clark Kent from NYC was also in attendance--and he also DJ'd the evening after-party. I've got a whole post coming up dedicated to the heavy 6+ hour conversation our Heat Seekers crew had with Clark. That's probably coming up tomorrow or the next day, so stay tuned for that.

Also coming in from NYC was Joe LaPuma, online editor for Complex Magazine. In case you didn't already know, Complex has really been doing up this sneaker thing right for a while now. JLP has that online shit on lock; I don't know if anyone in the publishing industry "gets" how to deal with the Internet better than Complex. Their online content is totally separate and perfectly suited for Internet reading. Complex.com is on point.

Finally, the infamous Dante Ross from NYC made and appearance. I gotta admit I was a bit star stuck by meeting someone that was so intimately involved with the creation of some of my favorite Hip Hop albums by some of my favorite artists: Pete & CL, De La Soul, The Beastie Boys, Eric B. & Rakim, Digital Underground, Brand Nubian. Dante was instrumental in creating the soundtrack to my life. He reps for Pro Keds right now, so obviously that's why he was in town, but damn I was just floored that he was there and that I got to shake his hand. Whew.

Now about the line...

Me and my crew got to the store at 9:00 am, two hours before it opened, and there were already about a dozen people in line. By the time 11:00 am rolled around, the line went all the way down the block. The coolest thing about this line, compared to just about ever other one I've ever seen here in Texas, was the caliber of sneakers cats were wearing. Usually I see a bunch of new release Jordans and Fusions, but in the Nice Kicks line people were wearing HEAT! OG Concord XIs. OG 1990 Vs. DQM Bacons. Warhogs. HUF SBs. What The Dunk SBs. And then, whoa, the stupidest heat of the day: dude in front of me was wearing ma'fockn' AF1 CLOTS. Yeah, CLOTS!!! What the hell? That took serious bawls to wear those! Mad props to Ken for rockin those.

NEXT!
Read about the shop itself, how it's setup, and what kinda items were on hand for the Grand Opening event. Read Part 2 now! [LINK]

LASER by PROCESS817 #2

2010-02-26T07:31:00.004-06:00

Nike SB Gucci Dunk by Bruce @process817

On the final day of the Jordan 23/25 Experience, I was pretty much worn out from the whole weekend and just sat at home while a few of the Krew went to do up some last minute LASER work. Sometime that the afternoon, my phone buzzed and I got an MMS pic of these sneakers from Bruce. I showed the photo to my wife and we both said the same thing:

"WTF? He LASER'd denim?"

Bruce used the HEAT SEEKERS box artwork that I created for my own sneakers on one shoe and put his name on the other in a similar style. But what really makes these cool--I mean you know, besides LASERing a pair of freakin' Quickstrike Gucci Dunks--is how awesome it turned out on the denim material.

The LASER didn't actually cut into the material like it does on suede or leather. Instead, it just charred the surface, turning it a cool burnt brown color. WOW! I dunno if you can really tell just how awesome it looks in these photos; I tried to take close ups so hopefully you can see it pretty well.

The LASER work looks so freakin cool on denim. I totally wanna LASER all sorts of denim shit now. Ha ha!

NEXT WEEK: The final two pair of LASER'd sneakers revealed!

LASER by PROCESS817 #1

2010-02-26T07:30:00.007-06:00

Jordan V Raging Bull by Bruce @process817

Okay, okay. I know yesterday I said that I'd be showing 3 more LASER'd sneakers today, but unfortunately I haven't gotten the third pair in my hands to take photos of yet, so I've only got two to show. But hey, the good news tho is that I'll still have it and one additional final one to show next week--so two more, just later. That's cool, right? Riiiight.

So about these joints; you know what they are--the red suede pair out of the Jordan V "Raging Bull" Defining Moments Pack. Heat Seeker Krew member Process817 got these LASER'd on the toe boxes--one with his name and the other with the Krew name--and then much like Tom got the sneakerhead celebrities in attendance to sign them: Mark Smith, Bobbito, and MAYOR.

BTW, here's a funny story: Aston Chambers from Jordan Brand was walking through the crowd when he saw his friend MAYOR signing these shoes; he came over and said "WOW!" because he couldn't believe people would be wanting MAYOR's autograph like some sort of celebrity. Ha ha! C'mon son, we're sneakerheads, these people are our celebrities!

Now check out the NEXT pair of kicks, Bruce's second pair he LASER'd...

NEXT: Nike SB Gucci Duk by process817 [LINK]

LASER by SAMCOLT12

2010-02-25T07:32:00.004-06:00

Nike Air Force 1 by Tom @samcolt12

Tom went crazy with these, didn't he? Well lemme tell you, if there's a single pair of sneakers that really captures what the overall All-Star Weekend was like for us, it's these white-on-white Air Forces.

You see first of all, Tom won these FREE at the Sport Sole + Nike Sportswear party on Thursday [link] which had to be some kinda karma or something, because when we got to the Jordan 23/25 Experience on Friday, the folks from Green Demon Laser told us that the "best" sneakers for LASER'ing are white AF1s. Naturally, the next day Tom came back with these stuffed in his backpack to get LASER'd with his Twitter name--and even stranger, with a Jordan Brand logo. Jordan on Nike? Yeah, that's a line neither of those companies will cross anymore...which is exactly why Tom did it. Haha!

But then after he got them LASER'd, he kept them in his backpack the rest of the weekend and anytime a sneaker celebrity popped up, he had them sign em. He got Mark Smith (Jordan designer), Bobbito (legendary sneakerhead), and of course MAYOR, the Air Force I Air-to-the-Throne himself.

TOMORROW: see 3 more LASER'ed sneakers, starting with a Jordan V by process817

LASER by AKUMA471 #2

2010-02-25T07:31:00.006-06:00

Jordan Motorsports VI by Stan @akuma471

For his second LASER'd sneaker, Stan choose a Motorsports VI much like Oz1 did, but he went a completely different route.

One the left sneaker he put MOTORSPORT VI to call out the name of the release, and on the right sneaker he put SUZUKI GSXR to call out the namesake of the motorcycles that the Jordan Motorsport Team rides. You know, the white Elephant Print bike that Sole Collector magazine showcased in that pic with the VIs.

I think the type on these came out really clean; the stenciled look works well with them. In my opinion, Stan matched the fonts perfectly with BOTH sneakers he did.

NEXT: Nike Air Force 1 by samcolt12 [LINK]

LASER by AKUMA471 #1

2010-02-25T07:30:00.005-06:00

Jordan XX by Stan @akuma471

True story: this is the first LASER'd sneaker I saw when I got to the Jordan 23/25 Experience. Stan had just finished it when I came through the door and as soon as I saw it, I thought two things:

#1 - Wow, that type style fits that shoe perfectly.

#2 - WTF, he LASER'd a Quickstrike XX? DAMN he's got balls!

And the freakin' sneaker is DEAD STOCK, too. Geesh. I don't think I'd have the stones to take a LASER to that sneaker. WOW! Of course, Stan wasn't done yet--he came back the next day and got another sneaker done up...

NEXT: Jordan Motorsports VI by akuma471 [LINK]

LASER by SNEAKERFREEK23

2010-02-24T07:32:00.006-06:00

Jordan II by Marcus @sneakerfreeak23

Here's a great example of what Green Demon Laser was letting folks do at the Jordan 23/25 experience. Our crew member Marcus choose to put one of the available pieces of Jordan art--the FLIGHT logo--on one sneaker and text reading "HEAT SEEKERS" on the other. This is really what they were setup to produce in the alloted 15-minute appointment slots. It also really shows in comparison just how much time it took to do all the Elephant Print on the sneakers Oz1 did up.

I think these IIs came out looking clean with this LASER work.

NEXT: Jordan XX by akuma471 [LINK]

LASER by Oz1

2010-02-24T07:31:00.009-06:00

Jordan Motorsports VI by Oz1

This is the LASER job that flat out shut down the Jordan 23/25 experience [link]. Oz1 took the relatively plain Motorsports VI an had the Green Demon Laser folks run the Jordan Elephant Print pattern down the zig-zag pattern on side panels, matching the pattern that's inside on the sock liner. Holy shit these kicks are HOT!

It took two long sessions over two days to do all this work, but it was well worth it. These are probably the best looking LASER'd sneakers I saw created all weekend. BIG UP to Dustin and Christina for making this happen.

Oz1 is the freakin' Elephant King!

NEXT: Jordan II by sneakerfreeak23 [LINK]

LASER by DSICLE

2010-02-24T07:30:00.012-06:00

Nike Air Force 1 by Duane @dsicle

The Heat Seekers Krew got a whopping 10 sneakers LASER'd at the Jordan 23/25 booth, and as I promised in yesterday's blog post [link] I'm going to show y'all each and every one of them. To start things off, here's the sneaker I did for myself: the always classic white-on-white Nike Air Force 1.

I choose this particular sneaker because Dustin and Christina of Green Demon Laser said the white-on-white AF1 take the LASER etching the best. I actually wanted to do an all-white Air Max 90, but I don't own those and couldn't find one in the stores that morning. I'm actually glad tho, this couldn't have turned out better.

Oh and yeah, I designed that HEAT SEEKERS block type with Dustin on-the-spot. I didn't want to use any of the stock Jordan brand art, and I wanted something more than just plain text. Came out pretty good for being knocked out in just a couple of minutes.

NEXT: the infamous Jordan Motorsports VI by Oz1 [LINK]

Jordan Brand 23/25 LASER machine

2010-02-23T07:30:00.004-06:00

In one of my follow up posts on All-Star Sneakend last week, I mentioned the FREE LASER Etching Machine [here] that was setup at the Jordan Brand 23/25 Experience. Me and the rest of the Heat Seekers Krew took serious advantage of the deal, so I'm going to spend this whole week documenting what all we had done up--but first I'm going to start off by telling y'all what the experience was like.

Alright, the first thing you need to know is that the LASER etching machine was brought in by Jordan Brand from Green Demon Laser in Portland, Oregon and was operated practically non-stop for four days by Dustin and Christina. I honestly don't know how those two worked as much as they did; they hardly took any breaks at all and they remained cheerful and professional the whole time (at least, as much as we saw them, which was a lot).

The first thing you had to do was to set up a 15-minute LASER appointment with the Jordan Brand Concierge desk. Then at your appointed time, you rolled up to the iMac with Dustin and knocked a design either using one of the many available Jordan-related images or text of your own choosing. After a few quick measurements, they prepared the shoe by removing laces, taping it down, masking it off, etc, and then lined it up in the machine. Then, after a few minutes of burning leather, your new masterpiece was complete.

During the morning and daytime, appointments were pretty booked up, but in the early evenings things slowed down--and that actually worked to our advantage. Heat Seeker crew member Oz1 wanted to do a large Elephant Print pattern on his Jordan Motorsport VIs, but it was going to be very time consuming--but hey, since there was no one else booked after us, Dustin and Christina went ahead and did it up for him.

I think it took about 30 minutes per side, but WOW the final result was just jaw dropping. I think everyone in the whole place was gathered around the LASER booth waiting to see the results. And seriously, when Christina pulled all the foil masking tape off the first shoe and handed it to Oz, he held it up in the air and it it seemed like a hundred phones and cameras were in the air snapping pictures of it!

Damn, just look at it y'all--it's such a BEAST!

The sneaker caused so much buzz that folks from the back of the VIP room started to come out and see what was going on, and that's when the Marketing Director from Jordan Brand came to see what was up. When he saw the shoe with all the Elephant Print on it, he bugged out! He took some pics with Oz and then hauled him back into the VIP room to get him a drink and show off the shoe to all the Jordan VIPs.

After a few minutes, a Jordan Brand photographer came out and asked for all the Heat Seekers in attendance to line up for a photo with our LASER'd sneakers. I dunno what they're gonna do with the pic, but I gotta admit it felt like a freakin' rock star moment for a minute when the crowd was around us as we got OFFICIAL photos taken by Jordan Brand.

I know that a lot of people got a lot of cool LASER etched sneakers made up, but the Heat Seekers Krew shut it down at the Jordan Brand Green Demon Laser booth.

If you're interested in getting your own sneakers LASER'd, call Dustin or Christina at Green Demon Laser (503) 531-3383 or check them out on FaceBook [link].

NEXT: Check back tomorrow and throughout the rest of this week as I showcase each individual sneaker the Krew got LASER'd up.

Jordan Brand 23/25 Shoe Gallery

2010-02-18T07:31:00.003-06:00

Part 2 of 2

In part 1, I mentioned what I considered to be the centerpiece of the Jordan Brand 23/25 Experience: the Jordan Shoe Gallery featuring the complete Air Jordan collection in all-white colorways. These have been out there for a while (since October 2008 actually), but are just now making an official tour around the country, kicking off with this display at the Dallas NBA All-Star Weekend. Every single Air Jordan model was on display, and in these pics you can see some of my personal favorites.

The Air Jordan III-IV-V make up the top row of pics, which I love because it's when designer Tinker Hatfield came in and DESTROYED the sneaker game with some of the most innovative basketball shoes the world had ever seen. Those three literally changed the way basketball sneakers were designed forever.

The Air Jordan VI-VII-VIII make up the middle row, which I love because those are what Michael Jordan wore when he finally took over the NBA, winning the first Chicago Bulls Three-Peat. Once the Bulls won the NBA Championship, they kept on winning and winning and winning...well, until Michael retired (for the first time) after their third win while wearing the VIIIs.

The Air Jordan XI-XII-XIII make up the bottom row, which I love because it's when Michael came out of retirement and tore up the NBA worse than the first time around, leading the Chicago Bulls to ANOTHER Three-Peat of the Championship and of course putting up that ridiculous 72-10 season record while wearing the XI, which is arguably the greatest sneaker design of all time.

One interesting note: a lot of web sites have reported that the Air Jordan III and IV "Pure$" sneakers will be Retro'd this year to satisfy demand for these all-white Jordans. While the Pure$ sneakers are mostly white, there is a touch of metallic chrome accents on each. Very close to what we see here...but not quite the same.

Oh and if you want to see photos of each sneaker (since I didn't post them all), head over to Fur Face Boy's blog [link] where The FFB posted close up pics of each one.

<< Back to Part 1

Jordan Brand 23/25 Experience

2010-02-18T07:30:00.009-06:00

Part 1 of 2

In conjunction with the NBA All-Star weekend, Jordan Brand opened up a special pop-up space in the Victory Park area about two blocks south of the American Airlines Center. Called the "Jordan 23/25 Experience" or the "Jordan Energy Space", it was used to formally release Air Jordan 2010 sneaker as well as showcase the 25th anniversary of the Air Jordan sneaker line.

I ended up going down there 3 times: Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday night. Why so often? Simply put, because there was a ton of shit to see and do!

The first thing you saw when you walked through the door was a display showing a completely dissected Air Jordan 2010. A lot of people might hate on the shoe's visual appearance, but there's no denying that the shoe is a thoroughly modern basketball sneaker. Much like the new Nike Kobe V and Lebron VII, the Air Jordan 2010 is lightweight, slimmed down, low to the ground, and really focused on quick on-court performance.

Immediately past the entrance was the centerpiece of the exhibit--at least in my opinion--the Jordan Shoe Gallery. Every Air Jordan sneaker was in the display case in a solid white colorway (I'll be covering the display coming up next in Part 2).

To the left from the gallery was the Jordan Hall of Fame showcasing milestones in his career, including trophys, his UNC college uniform, Bugs Bunny feet sneakers from the movie Space Jam, and an OG Jordan I, the sneaker that started it all.

To the right from the gallery was an Interactive Wall of touchscreen displays that explained the history and influences behind each Air Jordan sneaker.

On the far wall was the interactive Live Social Mosaic which created a giant image of Michael Jordan out of thousands of tiny photos submitted by Jordan sneaker fans. The images constantly moved and shifted so you could watch what the larger image was actually made of. Pretty neat actually.

To the left of the Mosaic past the Concierge booth (where they were giving out free Jordan t-shirts) was a line of iMacs setup to let you create your own ID23 Customized Air Jordan Alpha I. Secretly I was hoping for ID options on the AJ 2010, but sadly that wasn't available.

Immediately past the ID23 setup was the absolutely incredible "Elephant Printer" Laser Etching Machine where you could bring in your own sneakers to be lasered with a variety of Jordan brand images, words, whatever. This was a HUGE deal! Dustin and Christina from Green Demon Laser in Portland, Oregon worked practically non-stop for 4 long days designing and lasering sneakers for anybody that wanted it done--TOTALLY FREE! This was such a huge deal that my entire sneaker crew got in on the action...and I'll be doing a series of blog posts in the near future (maybe next week, or the week after that) just on what all we got lasered up.

Finally, the back of the space was dedicated to the VIP room. This is where the free open bars, dinner buffets, dessert trays, and the wicked cool Microsoft Surface interactive table were located. Naturally, my Heat Seekers crew got access to the VIP room (c'mon son, you know what's up) and we got to meet all sorts of people from Jordan Brand as well as celebrities. Bobbito was there of course, as was Gentry Humphrey and Mark Smith of Jordan Brand, among others. Even our guests from the All-Star Sneakend were there: DJ Greg Street, MAYOR, and Franalations.

The big VIP deal tho was really the Saturday night concert. After MC Lyte, 9th Wonder, and Bobbito warmed up the crowd at the DJ booth all evening, rappers Bun B and Wale performed on the VIP stage. The sets were short, but were crazy intimate; you could literally get within feet of the guys on stage. Big shout out to Bun B for friggin KILLING IT on the mic (after a bit of technical difficulty with the music). Bun B is a real straight dude, very approachable and personable. And I gotta say it: RIP Pimp C, UGK for life y'all.

NEXT! Check out the all-white Jordan sneaker display.

Continue to Part 2 >>

All-Star Sneakend Pt6: MAYOR

2010-02-17T07:32:00.011-06:00

PART 6 of 6

Last but certainly not least, here's what MAYOR brought to All-Star Sneakend. If you haven't already read part 1 of this series, go do that now [link] and read about how he got delayed by the snow but still took over the whole damn show when he walked in the room. Haha! MAYOR brought a TON of sneakers, and for the most part he stuck to what he's known for: Air Force 1s.

CLOT w/cut up panels (who else has done that?)
Undft Entourage w/MAYOR lasered
Undft Entourage unreleased sample w/white swoosh
Nitro Underground DigiCamos
Ueno Japanese New Year
Playstation 10th anniversary (50 pair made)
Playstation Air Max 360/90 hybrid (24 pair made)
Complete 14-pair white/black unreleased Croc Pack
One Night Only 25th Anniversary
Four Levis Denim Bespokes
Strawberry Quick Bespoke

WOW what a helluva display of HEAT. It was literally the craziest collection of insane Air Force 1s I've ever seen. I don't think you could see a better AF1 display anywhere in the world unless you actually went into MAYOR or his ATF buddy Clark Kent's homes.

And don't even get me started on what he was wearing on his feet. Woo! Lemme just say: "White Box". That's all you need to know.

Okay, so that's the end of my 2-day long 6-part recap of All-Star Sneakend. Props to my wife @crow_about_it for taking pretty much all the photos seen in the series.

NEXT! Be sure to check back tomorrow as I cover another sneaker event held in Dallas during the NBA All-Star Weekend: the Jordan Brand 23/25 Experience!

<< Back to Part 5

All-Star Sneakend Pt5: DJ Greg Street

2010-02-17T07:31:00.015-06:00

PART 5 of 6

DJ Greg Street was instrumental in helping put together the All-Star Sneakend event, but on top of that he also brought out arguably the RAREST sneakers at the show.

Wu-Tang Dunks (36 pair made)
Croc Converse Chuck Taylors (3 pair made)
DQM Air Max 90 Bacons - Friend & Family (24 pair made)
OG 1985 Air Jordan 1 w/original box, sweatband, receipt
Big Nike Kobe MVP 08
Patta Amsterdam Air Max 1
Undefeated Air Jordan 4 (72 pair made, charity only)
Eminem Air Jordan 4 (50 pair made, friends & family only)
And more!

Wow, talk about exclusive kicks. Holy crap! The DQM Bacons are one of the sneakers on my targeted list, but damn he brought "Friends and Family" edition? Straight CRACK right there.

But of course, the killer here was the unbelievable Wu-Tang Dunks. Not only is it one of my two "grail" sneakers, it's also one of the most highly sought after sneakers PERIOD. Those sneakers are worth more than my Jeep! Haha!

NEXT! Read what MAYOR brought in Part 6.

<< Back to Part 4 --OR-- Continue to Part 6 >>

All-Star Sneakend Pt4: Franalations

2010-02-17T07:30:00.013-06:00

PART 4 of 6

Franalations is a young guy from Los Angeles known for his stellar Nike SB collection and his incredible following on YouTube--seriously y'all, Fran has over 6,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel [link]. Holy crap that's a lot of followers! Obviously, he's got the YouTube thing down. And OMG the heat this dude brought, WOW. Fran brought strictly Nike SBs, since that's what he's mostly known for, and he KILLED IT:

Danny Supas (1st SB ever)
Supreme White
Staple NYC Pigeons
Londons
What The Dunk (both shoes)
Freddy Kruegers
Supreme Red Blazers
Paris

In addition, Fran also brought all the materials, drawings, and printout of the Air Force 1 "Pikachu" Bespoke he recently designed at the Nike 21 Mercer store in New York.

While each and every one of the sneakers Fran brought were certifiable heat, I was personally FLOORED by the Staple Pigeon Dunks. That's one of my two "Grail" sneakers y'all--primarily because I'm a huge Jeff Staple and Reedspace fan. Less than 150 pair made? Literally caused a front-page newsworthy RIOT in New York City? Fashioned after one of my very favorite creatures on earth? Yeah, that's the one. I know I'll never own that shoe, but it was a real treat to be able to see it in-person at least once in my life.

NEXT! Read what DJ Greg Street brought in Part 5.

<< Back to Part 3 --OR-- Continue to Part 5 >>

All-Star Sneakend Pt3: The Displays

2010-02-16T07:32:00.010-06:00

PART 3 of 6

All-Star Sneakend at the House of Blues consisted of two rooms: a vendor area in the front of the building and sneaker displays in Cambridge Room towards the back. I covered the vendor area in part 2 of this series, and now here's a recap of the sneaker display area.

The Cambridge Room was setup with tables in the center and along two walls, with the stage and the bar covering the remaining two walls. Along the left side and in the center were a variety of exhibitors including Phase 2 (Alaska), Sole Supreme (New York), 16assassin (Ft Worth), Kadoma (Houston), and several local members of the Nike Talk forum. Located on the far right wall were the special guests DJ Greg Street (Atlanta), MAYOR (New York), and Franalations (LA). All-Star Sneakend literally had sneakerheads from across the entire country showing kicks!

On hand were tons of rare, hard-to-find Air Jordans, Nike Air Force 1, Nike Air Max, Nike SB, Nike Basketball, Asics, New Balance, Bape, Converse, Adidas, and quite a few "Player Exclusive" sneakers. I was really stunned at the variety of kicks on display--and even more stunned by the rarity of them. I've never seen so many unobtainable sneakers on display in one room at one time.

The coolest thing about the show to me was that it wasn't a buy/sell/trade kinda deal, but rather a "sneaker showcase"--kinda like going to a classic car show or something. So many times, sneaker shows are more about moving kicks than displaying whatcha got. As a fan, I thought it was cool that this was all about the love of sneakers, not profit.

NEXT! Check out what Franalations brought to display!

<< Back to Part 2 --OR-- Continue to Part 4>>

All-Star Sneakend Pt2: The Vendors

2010-02-16T07:31:00.014-06:00

PART 2 of 6

The All-Star Sneakend event was held at the House of Blues which was split into two areas. The Cambridge Room in the back held the sneaker displays and raffle stage while the front restaurant area featured the DJ stage, Q&A stage, and vendor booths. Naturally, both areas had full service bars (which I used to pump myself full of too damn much Red Bull).

Every single major sneaker and streetwear boutique in the DFW area had a booth, along with the title sponsor Cowboy Scion (who even had a car outside in the Red Carpet photo area). In addition, Matt from Nice Kicks had a booth showcasing his hot new Austin store that's opening later this month on the 27th. On top of all that, Nike had 5 special guests on hand including the sneaker designers of the much loved Lebron VII who were fielding all sorts of questions from show attendees.

The sponsors in the vendor area included:
Cowboy Scion (Title Sponsor)
Adikt Footwear
Centre
Fur Face Boy
Index Skateboard Supply
Nice Kicks
Shogun
Sport Sole

The feedback I heard from both show attendees and the vendors themselves was that the vendor area was very nice, especially because it was the first thing people hit when they came through the door. Also, by having the Q&A session at the end of the show in the vendor room, people were doubly exposed to the vendor booths. Seemed like positive feedback from all involved.

<< Back to Part 1 --OR-- Continue to Part 3 >>

All-Star Sneakend Pt1: The Show

2010-02-16T07:30:00.014-06:00

PART 1 of 6

I woke up friday morning with a splitting headache and giant sense of dread. You see, the night before we'd had the worst snow storm in the recorded history of Dallas (12.5") and several of the special guests for All-Star Sneakend at the House of Blues had their plane tickets cancelled as DFW airport shut completely down. I'd already seen first hand what the snow did to thursday night's turnout at the Nike + Sport Sole event [link] and I was afraid that (A) the special guests wouldn't make it, and (B) the audience wouldn't turn out.

Our flyers had billed four guests: DJ Clark Kent, DJ Greg Street, MAYOR, and Erin Patton. In addition, we were also expecting some unbilled guests: All Day, Feets Malone, Franalations, Kadoma, Phase 2, and Sole Supreme, along with several local area sneakerheads. Of course there was also all the local vendors--would they fight throgh the snow covered streets? When a show has that magnitude of guests displaying kicks and interacting with the audience, the $20 cover charge is well worth it--but what if the guests didn't show? Who'd wanna drive through a foot of snow and pay a cover charge to see nothing? Arrg! Now do you see why I woke up with a headache?

As it turned out, we had 3-of-4 billed guests and 5-of-6 unbilled guests arrive. Only DJ Clark Kent and All Day--both from NYC--weren't able to make it. Unfortunately, MAYOR was also coming in from NYC and while his plane wasn't cancelled, it was delayed, forcing him to take a cab straight from the airport to the House of Blues. He arrived about an hour late but DAMN what an entrance! Seriously, the entire crowd was bunched up around his table watching him pull sneakers outta his luggage and SLAM them on the table! BAM! Levis Bespoke set. BAM! Python set. BAM! Strawberry Quik Bespoke. BAM! Cut Up Clot. BAM! Sample Entourage. BAM! Digicamo. BAM! BAM! BAM! The crowd went wild! No shit, it was one of the most awesome things I've ever witnessed in sneakerdom!

Show attendees got to see some of the rarest, most exclusive sneakers in the world--things they've likely never laid their eyes on in person before. All of the guests were super approachable and seemed to have a great time. The vendor area was really cool, the DJ was spinning great hip hop, the raffle gave out huge prizes, and the on-stage Q&A session with the show guests was jam packed.

All in all, I'd say the event was very successful, even with all the snow.

Continue to Part 2 >>

Sport Sole + Nike All-Star Sneaker Release

2010-02-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

As you already know, this past weekend Dallas hosted the NBA All-Star weekend, and since basketball shoes are such a big part of the sneaker culture, it's also one of the biggest weekends for sneakerheads. I'm going to be spending this whole week recapping events from the weekend, and to kick it all off I'm going to start at the beginning: the BLIZZARD of 2010. Haha!

Dallas got slammed hard by the biggest blizzard in the recorded history of the city: 12.5" of snow to be exact. That's crazy! To put it in perspective, I've only seen snow stick on the ground 2 or 3 times ever in my 20 years here, usually no more than an inch or two, barely enough to make snow angels. Thursday we got blanketed in the stuff, it was so crazy! I think every yard in Dallas had a bigassed snowman in it the next day.

Unfortunately, the snow really screwed up a lot of travel plans for everyone (more on that tomorrow) including the guests for the official Nike Sportswear All-Star sneaker release party held at Sports Sole. Nike released six pair of All-Star Air Force 1s, two Hyperizes, a Lebron VII, a Kobe V, and a a Kevin Durant KD2.

The clipboard of RSVP'd guests was a mile long, but only a handful of people braved the snow to make it out. Sport Sole and Nike were there of course, and the Dead Stock and Heat Seekers crews made it out in full force, as did a group from Adikt footwear, but not too many beyond that. Thankfully, a couple of VIP guests made it: Franalations and DJ Greg Street, both of whom wore stupid heat in the snow. Fran was rockin' a pair of Supreme x Nike Blazers (WTF! In the snow?) and Greg Street had on a pair of 1985 OG Jordan 1s (Double WTF!). Greg went ahead and bought a pair of Nike Goadome boots at the shop to swap out into tho. Smart move for sure.

Sport Sole and Nike gave away quite a few raffle gifts: Nike Sportswear iPhone cases, a pair of All-Star Lebrons, a pair of white-on-white AF 1s, and an exclusive Air Max box set with a pair of sneakers, a tee-shirt, and a special box (I really wanted to win that, but at least my crew member 16assassin got it).

All in all, the event was "okay" but really hampered by the blizzard. Both Sports Sole and Nike Sportswear did everything they could to make the event a success, but ultimately Mother Nature won out this time.

Nike Air Max 90 (GS) "Valentines Day"

2010-02-14T20:00:00.012-06:00

It's Valentines Day, and being a sneakerhead it's only fitting that I bought my wife a pair of sneakers: these super-fresh Nike Air Max 90 (GS), part of the Nike Valentines Day (GS) pack. Being a fairly small girl, my wife can wear grade school (GS) sized kicks, and every now and then Nike drops some shoes exclusive to (GS) sizing. One cool thing about (GS) shoes is that they're often cute and cartoony, a trait she digs but usually can't find in adult sized shoes.

Also released with the Air Max 90s were a pair of Dunk Highs using the same hearts/bubbles artwork. I opted to buy her the Air Max 90s though, since she generally prefers low tops. Also, the color blocking on the Dunk Highs is a little more flashy and in your face, and while that's cool it's not gonna be as versatile as the clean colorway of the Air Max 90s. The white/pink/soft-pink/metallic-silver on them looks great, and the way the artwork shines in the silver area is really dope.

Speaking of artwork, here's some of what the hearts/bubbles read: Nike, Crush, Love, Cool, Call Me, Happy, Yeah, Yes, CU L8R, 24/7, I heart Nike, Be Mine, Run to you. Pretty cool, huh? Reads like the love notes you'd pass back-and-forth as a kid in school.

I cop'd these kicks from my homie Premium Pete at Premium Laces in NYC. I've mentioned his shop on this blog a couple times but I gotta say it again: Premium Laces is the BOMB, and Pete is the TRUTH.

PS - If you've ever wondered who the people are in the header image on this blog, now you know one: the girl in the red coat is my wife @crow_about_it

DFW Sneaker & Streetwear shops

2010-02-10T07:55:00.008-06:00

Are you planning on being in the DFW area for All-Star weekend? If so, you're probably already making plans to attend All-Star Sneakend, right? Well if you're coming in from out of town, you're probably thinking of hitting up some local sneaker and streetwear shops, huh? Well in case you don't know where all you should go, I've compiled a list of places you should consider hitting up.

Adikt
West Village
3839 McKinney Ave, Suite 140
Dallas, TX 75204
214.559.6154
This is one of my very favorite shops in DFW for both sneakers and streetwear. Very heavy on Nike sneakers, lotsa other brands as well. Adikt regularly gets the most exclusive sneaker releases in DFW, so you know the place is on point. Oh and yeah, they'll have several of the All-Star specific release--they already got em on display in the shop. I highly recommend checking this shop out. Just 1 exit north of Downtown Dallas off Hwy 75 (N. Central Expy).

Sport Sole
3207 W. Northwest Hwy.
Dallas, TX 75220
214.654.9522
This is a HUGE boutique shop that carries just about everything in streetwise footwear: Nike, Jordan, Puma, Adidas, Converse, Supra, ALIFE, you name it. This is the shop that Nike choose to officially release the All-Star Air Force 1s at--in fact there's gonna be an exclusive VIP party there Thursday night. Definitely check out Sport Sole, just 10 minutes north of Downtown Dallas off I-35 and Loop 12.

Shogun
3054 B University Dr.
Ft. Worth, TX 76109
817.923.4700
On the Fort Worth side of the DFW Metroplex, nobody does it up better than Shogun when it comes to premium streetwear. It's a relatively new shop so they're not too heavy in the sneaker game just quite yet, but I don't know if there's anyone else in the area that can match them on apparel. If you're gonna be going to Cowboys Stadium for the game, you owe it to yourself to make the 20 minute drive west over to the TCU campus to check out Shogun.

Centre
Mockingbird Station
5331 E. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 105
Dallas, TX 75206
877.799.0844
Centre is a fantastic sneaker and streetwear boutique located in Mockingbird Station, just 5 minutes north of Downtown Dallas off Hwy 75 (N. Central Expy). Of all the sneaker and streetwear shops in DFW, I think that Centre has the most unique aesthetic, which is most evident in their brand-new line of stupid fresh t-shirts. In addition to their regular store, Centre is going to have a special pop-up Annex store next door setup just for All-Star weekend. If you're into streetwear fashion, you will not want to miss this!

Index Skateboard Supply
Mockingbird Station
5319 E. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75206
214.824.9777
-and-
725 Airport Frwy., Suite 201
Hurst, TX 76053
817.282.9777
While you're at Mockingbird Station checking out Centre and their pop-up Annex, you'll also want to hit up Index. This is a bona fide skate shop with a gajillion boards and related items and they're stupid deep in Nike SB. Really, there's no one in DFW who can touch them in the Nike SB game. Naturally they're heavy into all the other major skate style sneakers as well. Also, they have another location in Hurst, just 15 minutes north of Cowboys Stadium. Both locations are equally well equipped to hook you up.

KidRobot
Mockingbird Station
5307 E. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 107
Dallas, TX 75206
214.887.6226
One more stop you should make while at Mockingbird Station is the KidRobot store. It's not very big (about half the size of the NYC SoHo shop I visited) but they've got a killer selection of vinyl toys as well as apparel and fitteds. I was in there this past weekend and they have both the blue and yellow Quasimodo toys--a must for any Madlib fan.

House of Hoops
Town East Mall
1012 Town East Mall
Mesquite, TX 75150
972.279.5614
-and-
Northpark Center Mall
727 Northpark Center
Dallas, TX 75225
214.373.0064
There are only 9 House of Hoops locations in the entire country so far, and Texas has 4 of them (2 in Houston, 2 in Dallas). What's that tell ya? Yeah well, if your hometown don't have one, you'll definitely wanna check one of the Dallas ones out. The Town East location (15 minutes east of Downtown on I-30 and I-635) is big stand-alone spot between Foot Locker and Foot Action while the Northpark location (5 minutes north of Downtown on Hwy 75) is stuffed into the back half of Foot Locker--oh and it won't be open until Saturday the 13th. If you're only gonna hit one, I'd recommend the Town East spot; it's stand alone, more fully developed at this point, and is next door to the best FootAction I've ever seen--which I've been told is the 2nd highest volume store in their chain, and I can see why: it's HUGE and they carry great kicks.

And for a little something extra...
There are two more places you might want to check out in the DFW area: the urban sneaker/fashion chain stores "DK Foot & Casual" (9 locations) and "Big Mikes" (2 locations). Neither have websites, but you can Google them to find location info. Both carry Jordan Brand and Nike urban accounts, they're both known to ignore Nike's release dates, and they're both usually located in very urban areas. They also tend to have a lot of older releases laying around that you can usually pick up at bargain basement prices.

Look who's coming to All-Star Sneakend

2010-02-09T08:02:00.009-06:00

Y'all don't understand how crazy this is getting. The list of special invited guests, celebrities, friends, and crews rollin thru All-Star Sneakend just keeps getting bigger and better:

DJ Greg Street
MAYOR
DJ Clark Kent
All Day
Franalations
Bun B
Erin Patton
Sole Supreme
Dave Jeff

Also heard a rumor that Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber knows about the event and is planning on swinging through to check things out. Turns out he's into kicks as well.

There's also supposed to be some local cats from the NikeTalk forum showing some kicks as well. I don't know their names tho, so I can't list em, but I've heard they got serious heat. And of course there will be displays from some of the groups helping put on the show, too.

With so many big names and local collectors, you know there's gonna be some heat on display. All-Star Sneakend is gonna be a helluva sneakerhead event. Don't miss it!

Sneaker Keychains

2010-02-08T07:36:00.002-06:00

Been buying these for a little while now, I think they're way cool. They're available online outta the UK, but I've been buying em all locally at Centre [website] which is one of my favorite DFW sneaker/streetwear boutiques, located in Mockingbird Station in Dallas.

These sneaker keychains run $10 and there's a wide variety to choose from. I picked all these up because they're kicks I'd love to have but don't own--mainly because they're highly collectible and crazy expensive on the aftermarket (well, except that Air Max 95, it's a general release). Shoot, my two "grails" are in there: the Staple Pigeons and the Wu Dunks. Doubt I'll ever own either of those. Haha!

By the way, Centre is doing it big for All-Star weekend; they're opening a special pop-up ANNX store next door to their main location that's gonna be full of all sorts of special products and deals exclusively for the event [link]. If you're from Dallas, or are just gonna be in town for All-Star weekend, do yourself a favor and go to Centre and check out their ANNX pop-up shop.

Fur Face Boy - Amazing & Black Friday

2010-02-03T08:08:00.001-06:00

Warning: this is probably the geekiest post I've ever made on this blog. You see, in a past life, I worked at a comic book store, which was a dream job for a teenager since I'd been into comic books most of my childhood. Growing up in the 80s, my favorite comic book was The Amazing Spider-Man, which was probably due to the fact that he had his own children's TV show in Japan [link] in the late 70s when I was a little kid living over there.

Created in 1962, Spider-Man's red & blue costume was a comic book icon, so it was a HUGE deal when Marvel Comics revealed an all-new, all-black Spider-Man costume in issue #252, May 1984. That summer, during the mega-crossover series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars [link] the origin of the costume was shown to have come from an alien machine. Unfortunately, it was soon discovered to be a living alien creature, a symbiote that was attempting to bond permanently with Peter Parker. With the help of the Fantastic Four, he was able to get rid of the alien, but continued to wear the black costume for several more years (made of non-threatening fabric, of course).

The alien symbiote continued to attack Spider-Man over the years, notably in Web of Spider-Man #1 in 1985, when Peter was able to kill the alien with a giant church bell (a story which was horribly butchered in the Spider-Man 3 film). Of course the alien didn't die, and eventually it merged with a nasty fellow named Eddie Brock to create "Venom", one of the most popular Spider-Man villains of all time, who we finally learned about in 1988 in issue #300 during Todd McFarlane's fantastic run on the series. Venom appeared several more times during the McFarlane years, solidifying the villains' popularity, and has continued to menace Spider-Man through several hosts.

So okay, enough with the comic book stuff!

As you undoubtedly know if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, one of my favorite apparel brands is Fur Face Boy [link] and this past fall, the FFB introduced his series 2 line of t-shirts, and wouldn't you know it, he made a blue Spider-Man themed shirt! Naturally I cop'd it (and from Shogun, the best streetwear shop in Ft. Worth [link]) and it turned out to be my favorite series 2 FFB design. No surprise considering how personally it connects with my comic book influenced childhood.

But that's not the end of the story. No, you see, Fur Face Boy released a hyper-limited web-only (ha-ha) run of 24 Black "symbiote" t-shirts on Black Friday. FFB's clever tag line? "Forget Eddie Brock, this shirt wants YOU to be it's host!"

That's not true, of course. The shirt is made of non-threatening fabric.

I think.

Premium Pete's Vision

2010-02-02T08:04:00.002-06:00

Premium Pete is the guy who runs Premium Laces, a great sneaker shop in NYC's SoHo shopping district that I visited last fall [link]. In addition to being a shop owner and sneakerhead, Pete also has mad crazy visions of sneaker designs floating in his head--evidence of that fact: the insane Elephant Print 3M Air Force 1 Bespoke he designed [link] which is probably my second favorite Bespoke so far (behind the incomparable Marcus Troy Bespoke). Pete's Bespoke is so hot it was even bootlegged!

So yesterday morning, Pete was watching ESPN and they were talking about Nate Robison's performance in last year's All-Star Dunk Contest, where of course he was wearing the KryptoNate Foamposite Lites [link]. Well as we all know, the Copper Foampsite Ones are one of the next big sneaker releases coming out soon, and Pete got the idea to put the green & yellow colorway on the Foamposite profile. I did a little 'choping in Photoshop and sent the mockup to Pete and *BAM* his vision was born!

Pete popped the pic on Twitter and on the Premium Laces blog [here] and Twitter lit up with folks cosigning the design--but Pete wasn't done yet. We talked on the phone a bit about his OTHER vision and I jumped back into Photoshop and we came out with this:

Yup, that's right: an Air Jordan XI Space Jam inspired colorway on the Foamosite One profile. Pete posted this one up [here] and Twitter went bananas! Cats went bonkers over the colorway, and everyone said Nike needs to make this one. Some folks even said they'd camp out for it. Haha!

Truth be told, I'm not personally a fan of the Foamposite One design, but I'd rock the shit outta that Space Jam Foamposite!

Look out for more in the Premium Pete's Vision series coming in the future. I know he's a wealth of ideas; I just hope my Photochop'n can keep up with what he's got cookin'.

*EDIT*
Holy shit, these Photochops made it onto SneakerNews.com, one of the very biggest sneaker related websites out there. Check it out! http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XKNE218S

Nike SB Dunk High - Gucci

2010-02-01T08:30:00.001-06:00

This Nike SB Dunk High Premium "Gucci", a November 2009 limited Quickstrike release, has an interesting and somewhat convoluted story behind it. You see, way back in 2004, Nike SB came up with the idea to put together a "Team Manager" series designed by a skateboard team managers to be released in 2005.

Stussy team manager Robbie Jeffers designed a Dunk Low by taking inspiration from Neopolitian ice cream, using chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry colors. The tongue even features a cherry on it. The shoe was well received but it didn't jump out and grab folks like the other two designs in the series. Nowadays it sells for around $300 or so, pricey but not astronomical.

Diamond Supply Co. owner Nick Tershay--who got involved with the project through Sam Smyth--designed a Dunk Low by taking inspiration from the classic Tiffany blue diamond gift boxes. The tongue features a diamond, a clever nod to both brand name and the Tiffany box. The shoe's sales went bananas as demand far outstripped supply thanks to Nick posting a pic of the shoe on MySpace (remember when that was relevant?) and nowadays a pair runs well over $700 on the collector's market.

Girl Skateboards team manager Sam Smyth (aka RESN) designed a Dunk High, with assistance from Nick Tershay, by taking inspiration from the classic Gucci handbag colors. Well, there might be more behind the color inspiration [*cough*cough*] but we won't go there. Unfortunately, this sneaker didn't get released. While no one really knows for sure why--at least publically--the story goes that the parent company of Girl Skateboards, Girl Distribution, also owns Lakai Footwear, and the owners weren't happy that Girl was doing a collab with another footwear company, especially since their company was partially founded on the idea that they could make their own footwear brand rather than ride for a sponsored brand. Only 29 pair of the original Gucci Dunk Highs made it out to the public, and getting a hold of them was practically impossible. They now sell for well over $2,000 a pair.

Now fast forward almost 5 years to November, 2009.

For some reason, Nike finally decided to give the RESN Gucci Dunk Hi a proper release--and a limited Quickstrike one at that. I don't know what prompted them to finally drop em; I don't even know if Sam Smyth is even still with the Girl Skateboards team (he's not listed on their website, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything). I dunno, maybe everyone involved just finally got over the beef, if there even was one in the first place? Whatever the reason, they finally came out. The only differences between the original 2005 unreleased sneakers and the 2009 released ones are the tongue logo (original simply had a NIKE SB logo) and the amount of fraying on the edges of the denim.

I managed to snag a pair at retail from Index Skate Supply, thanks to my crew, Heat Seekers. Shoutouts to @Process817 and @Akuma471 for holding me down on this one.

A Message From MAYOR

2010-01-31T11:30:00.001-06:00

Check out this YouTube video where MAYOR gives you a sneak peek of what to expect at ALL STAR SNEAKEND! Friday, February 12th from 3pm-6pm at the House Of Blues Dallas. For more information, check out my post from last week [here] and of course follow @ALLSTARSNEAKEND on Twitter to catch updates and extra info on the event.

January Record Dig

2010-01-29T08:25:00.004-06:00

Alright I feel a lot better about this dig than the last one [here]. 7 of these albums are actually pretty damn good on their own rights, and two are flat out crazy. Naturally, I'm talking about the two Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 albums. Those are a pair of bossa nova jazz/funk masterpieces. I'm sure both have been sampled to hell and back over the years, but I'm still gonna have a lot of fun flippin em.

The "I ♥ NY album" has a bunch of Tourist Bureau compiled 70's era New York anthems, including disco (!) that should be fun to work with, and of course the Issac Hayes is a treasure trove of sample sources. The Vangelis album is full of wonderful synth sounds, as you'd expect from him, and any Genesis album is always good for drums. And shoot I couldn't pass up the Live and Let Die soundtrack; the title track alone is worth owning.

Not a bad dig, especially since I spent a whopping $5.50 haha!

Air Jordan III Retro - True Blue

2010-01-28T07:53:00.002-06:00

The Air Jordan III, introduced for the 87-88 NBA season, might have been the third sneaker in the Air Jordan line, but it's really defined by firsts. The first Air Jordan designed by the now legendary Tinker Hatfield. The first to feature the now ubiquitous Jumpman logo (the 1 and 2 featured the Wings logo). The first use of the iconic Elephant print. The first Jordan with a visible AIR unit in the sole. The first to be heavily marketed in TV ads (the famous Spike Lee "Mars Blackmon" series). And the sneaker Michael Jordan wore when he won his first league MVP award.

The Air Jordan 3 was originally released in four colorways, all of which have been retro'd at one time or another, and a several new colorways have been introduced over the years a well. No surprise there since the Jordan 3 is one of the most loved designs in the history of the brand. It's even been reported that the Jordan 3 is Michael Jordan's personal favorite sneaker design. He even occasionally wore the True Blue colorway in his last few years while playing with the Washington Wizards, since they color matched that uniform.

Originally, the design on the rear featured the Swoosh and the words NIKE AIR, and the sole read NIKE, but starting in late 2001 these elements were switched to the Jumpman logo on the rear and JORDAN on the sole. The same modifications were made to other retros released after 2001 as well. To most sneakerheads, these were unwelcome changes, and many are hoping Jordan Brand will eventually switch back to the original NIKE branding--but no one's holding their breath waiting for that to happen anytime soon.

As for these 2009 True Blues--well there was some controversy with these, too [link]. Everyone got hyped about em when the retro was first announced, and it quickly became one of the most eagerly anticipated sneakers of the year, but then Jordan Brand revealed that it would be an International Only release, unavailable in the United States. Sneakerheads suddenly found themselves trying to track them down from overseas connects when they dropped in August, but most were left out in the cold.

I actually first held the True Blue back in September--as you can see in that first pic--when I visited Flight Club in New York [link] and seriously considered buying it at $275. Glad I didn't since I was able to cop em a couple months later at retail price on a surprise restock from Size? in the U.K.

After all was said and done, this Air Jordan Retro True Blue ended up making several "Best Sneakers of 2009" lists, most notably coming in at #4 [link] on DJ Clark Kent's Top 10 sneakers of the year, and finishing #1 [link] on Mayor's Top 10 list.

PS - After I cop'ed the shoes, I just had to buy this t-shirt --> [link]

All-Star Sneakend - Event Details

2010-01-26T08:45:00.002-06:00

Alright y'all, here are details on the upcoming All-Star Sneakend event that my crew, Heatseekers, is helping put together:

ALL-STAR SNEAKEND
Sneaker Show & Expo
Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 from 3pm - 6pm
House of Blues - Dallas
$20 cover; all ages welcome
(Tickets will be available at the HoB box office)
Facebook Page [link]
Twitter Page [link]

Do you understand how epic this is? It's so epic that every major sneaker show organizer in the entire state of Texas is joining together to Form Like Voltron, organizing this event as a single force, a collective. Kixpo, Dead Stock, Heat Seekers, H-Town Sneaker Summit, and San Antonio Sneaks Up acting as one! Our objective wasn't to have the biggest show, but rather to have the BEST show with the BEST HEAT at a level no one has ever seen before.

So how do we plan to accomplish that? By bringing the biggest sneakerheads in the game from all across the country to showcase some of their hottest kicks at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas!

Listen, I cannot stress enough just how big these special guests are: DJ Clark Kent, MAYOR, and DJ Greg Street (all members of the ATF crew) are probably three of the most important, most well known sneakerheads in the world today. If you were climbing a ladder in the sneaker culture, these are the cats you'd find sitting on the top rung. There are a few other significant sneakerheads near their level, but I really don't think you could put together a better group than these guys. Between them, they own well over 5000 pair of kicks, and they're packing up some of their best, rarest sneakers to bring to Dallas and display for all to see. On top of that, it looks like they might be bringing some of their sneakerhead friends (wink-wink) along for the show as well.

So Lemme say this again:

Arguably the three biggest dudes in the sneaker game--plus some of their friends--are coming to Dallas to display some of their biggest heat. This is an opportunity you don't get to see very often ANYWHERE, much less in Texas.

Do not miss this! If you live anywhere near North Texas, go ahead and put in NOW for that day off of work. The NBA All-Star game is the single biggest stage in the world for this kind of event that can bring out this level of show guests...and the last time we had one in Dallas was 24 years ago. Do you want to wait til the year 2034 for your next opportunity?

DJ Clark Kent

2010-01-20T08:00:00.016-06:00

Wow. I just watched DJ Clark Kent spin the turntables LIVE for 2-½ hours* on the Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles) Ustream channel, Krupt Mob Radio. If you ain't seen Clark deejay before, whew, y'all got no idea how hot his DJ game is. As a hip hop music geek, I gotta say Clark blew my mind.

In case you didn't know, DJ Clark Kent is a hip hop DJ, music producer, music tour coordinator, CEO of his own entertainment company, and founding member of the "Supermen" DJ crew (which consisted of Richie Rich, Scratch, Alladin, Miz, & Supreme). Oh wait, did I forget to mention that he used to be an A&R for Mowtown and Atlantic records? Yeah, well while he was an A&R he signed and/or was responsible for a few artists you might have heard of: Das Efx. MC Lyte. 98 Degrees. Oh yeah, and a young kid from his own neighborhood by the name of Jay-Z. Maybe you've heard of him? Ha ha!

Just look at those albums--how many classics are in there? How many top tier artists? Those are just SOME of the albums that DJ Clark Kent produced songs on. Maria Carey, Jay-Z, Biggie, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Slick Rick, Mariah Carey, Poor Righteous Teachers, 50 Cent, Das Efx, and Rakim. Damn! Clark's been a beast in the music industry since the mid 80's when he was the DJ for Dana Dane--Cinderfella himself.

But on top of all that--as if it weren't enough--DJ Clark Kent also has THE hottest sneaker game around. No one can touch him--PERIOD--and most of the ones who can hang with him like All-Day, MAYOR, and DJ Greg Street are in his ATF sneaker crew (Addicted To Fresh, All Things Fresh, etc). Not only does Clark have several thousand pair of sneakers, he's also had the opportunity to design sneaker colorways for Nike--that's incredible. He has been featured in Sole Collector magazine (even though he doesn't consider himself a "collector", instead just a guy who buys and wears a lot of sneakers), has had his Top 50 Air Force 1s list featured in Complex magazine [here], and was on their panel of sneaker experts (along with MAYOR) that ranked the Complex.com Top 10 Sneakers of 2009 [here].

DJ Clark Kent: Music industry legend and the biggest sneakerhead in the game.

* Note - the live show Clark played is supposed to be archived on the Krupt Mob Radio Ustream channel [here] if you're interested in watching it--which of course you should be. It was hot; even Pete Rock and Prince Paul were watching/chatting the stream! BTW the last 20 minutes was a discussion between Clark and Freddie that broke down into sneaker talk, so sneakerheads should definitely peep that.

Speeches by King, Beats by Dre, Mixtape by Street

2010-01-18T21:00:00.001-06:00

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and in honor of the civil rights leader's birthday celebration, DJ Greg Street released this mixtape featuring the speeches of Dr. King mixed with beats by Dr. Dre. The cover art cleverly flips the cover of Dr. Dre's classic 1992 album, The Chronic, and caps it off with a pair of "Beats by Dre" headphones on Dr. King.

Here's what DJ Greg Street had to say about this mixtape:

This mixtape is dedicated to the biggest movement of all times. Every time I listen to these speeches it makes me realize how deep life really is. This man’s legacy is amazing & ask yourself after all he did for man kind. Did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. die a millionaire? How much is your legacy worth?

Download the FREE mixtape [here].

MAYOR-TV on Ustream

2010-01-17T14:00:00.000-06:00

The man you see right here is MAYOR and in case you didn't know, he's kind of a big deal in the sneaker game. No, he ain't a celebrity, he ain't an athlete, he ain't a rapper or a producer or a DJ or nothing like that. MAYOR's just a regular dude like you and me. Well, except that he's got 1,500 pair of sneakers (including over a thousand pair of Air Force 1) and most of it is so rare that you've probably never even seen or heard of em before.

MAYOR shows these rare sneakers to hundreds of online viewers every Sunday and Thursday night, from 11:30pm-til-1:00am or so, on MAYOR-TV at Ustream.com and personally, I've been watching it pretty much from the very beginning (back on his old Ustream account). So what's the show like? Well basically, MAYOR sits in his sneaker room with the webcam on his MacBook Pro and chats with the audience, talks about upcoming releases, shows what he rocked that day, shows a fitted cap or two, checks his Blackberry, calls his friends, watches ESPN, praises the Yankees, and then blows everyone's mind by showing the MAD HEAT in his sneaker collection. Oh yeah and occasionally he has a guest or two on the show, like DJ Greg Street, SneakerQueen, Feets Malone, and his sneaker assistant Coco. But really, what makes the show great is the interaction between MAYOR and the audience--if you got a question, he'll answer it.

Go to Ustream.com to sign up (it's free) and then watch MAYOR-TV [here] every Sunday and Thursday night at 11:30pm EST.

All-Star Sneakend - Feb 12, 2010

2010-01-15T08:59:00.013-06:00

BREAKING NEWS -- In conjunction with the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and related weekend activities in Dallas-Fort Worth, four different sneaker groups from across Texas are uniting to host the All-Star Sneakend Sneaker Show & Expo, being held Friday February 12, 2010 from 3pm - 6pm at the House of Blues in Downtown Dallas.

The four groups organizing the even are: Dead Stock (Dallas); HeatSeekers (Ft. Worth); Sneaks Up (San Antonio); H-Town Sneaker Summit (Houston). With that many groups coming together, you know it's gonna be a helluva show.

I can't divulge too much right now as there's still some ironing out of contracts and legal documents and what-not, but lemme just say that the sneaker celebrities involved are HUGE--we're talking some of very biggest names in the sneakerhead circle. THE BIGGEST NAMES. And they're gonna be showing heat you can't even imagine. Y'all ain't ready for this!

We will have much more information to come about All-Star Sneakend next week, but for now, just go ahead and mark your calendar, talk to your boss and schedule that day off, WHATEVER you gotta do, just plan on being at All-Star Sneakend in Dallas, Feb 12.

For up-to-the-minute info, follow All-Star Sneakend on twitter @allstarsneakend

Full Disclosure:
I'm a member of HeatSeekers, so yes I'm helping organize the event. In fact, I designed the logo and am working on the flyer/website/ads/t-shirt.

Nike Air Safari x Air Force Ones

2010-01-12T07:30:00.001-06:00

The Nike Air Safari x Air Force Ones are a 2008 release of the iconic Air Force One sneaker featuring the classic Nike safari print colorway that originated on the 1987 Nike Air Safari created by legendary sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield.

From what I've read, the original 1987 shoe wasn't initially popular, but quickly gained respect as a trail running shoe. I dunno; maybe the wild safari print made folks think it belonged outdoors in the woods? Whatever the case, the pattern itself eventually became iconic in its own right, leading to a retro release in 2003 (with additional new colorways) and a slightly modified retro release in 2009 as well as being splashed across a number of other sneaker styles over the years such as the Air Max 1, the Air Oasis, the Terminator low, the Hyperize, and of course this Air Force One.

My favorite little design feature of these Nike Air Safari x Air Force Ones is the altered toe box perforations. Instead of the standard Air Force One perfs, Nike actually changed them to better reflect the perfs on the original Air Safari. Totally unnecessary, but a much appreciated little detail.

I cop'd these by total accident. I was out on a random sneaker browsing trip, showing my buddy Tom one of my favorite little local mom & pop sneaker shops, and *POW* they had these sitting there, left over, in a pile of clearance shoes. Tom and I each cop'd a pair, couldn't pass up a classic like this, especially at 40% OFF.

DJ Premier x Nike Air Force 1

2010-01-08T08:08:00.018-06:00

These Nike Air Force 1 lows were designed by DJ Premier as a counterpart to the DJ AM x Nike Dunk High Premiums I posted yesterday [here]. Originally, these were to be part of Nike's East-West "Rivals Pack" series, which I've blogged about before [here], but the Rivals aspect was dropped in respect to DJ AM's untimely passing.

For those not in the know, DJ Premier (aka Premo) is one of the most important Hip Hop producers of all time. In fact, I mentioned him in one of my very first posts here on this blog [here]. Look up any "best Hip Hop producers" list and you're bound to find Premo on there, likely occupying the top spot. As the deejay half of the seminal group Gang Starr, along with emcee Guru, he helped define the New York Hip Hop sound of the 90s. Premo is one of those producers who has a signature sound--usually a repeating 2-bar structure with scratched choruses--that is instantly recognizable as his own. When you hear a DJ Premier beat, you know it's a DJ Premier beat.

Gang Starr dropped four truly significant albums in the 90's, with Premo handling about 99.9% of the production on them. If you wanna know what classic New York 90's Hip Hop is supposed to sound like, just listen to any of these albums: Step in the Arena (1991); Daily Operation (1992); Hard to Earn (1994); Moment of Truth (1998). Yeah it's true, Guru isn't the most exciting emcee, but something about his monotone voice works with Premo's beats. Of course, since you're reading my blog, you probably already know all this, right? I mean, you're probably a hip hop head, am I right? Well if by some chance you're not, but you still wanna know what a Premo beat sounds like, go watch this old Gang Star video from 1992 [here].

As for the design of these Air Force 1 lows--whoo! SHIT these joints are as hot as a Premo beat. The quality of the materials used are top notch; smooth black suede, smooth dark green leather, embossed brown and blue leather, orange contrast stitching, leather tongue tag, lasered logos, customized lace tabs, and that clear icy sole with turntables printed underneath. Damn! They look nice in pictures, but they're so much better in person--really an outstanding choice of materials in these kicks.

BY THE WAY...

One thing I haven't seen any sneaker news website mention is what that logo on the insole pattern and front of the shoe stands for. You know, the circle with the "yR" in it. Most sites point it out but just call it "DJ Premier's logo" or just gloss over it completely. But hey, since no one else seems to know what it's about, allow me to drop that knowledge on you:

The logo represents DJ Premier's independent record label, Year Round records.

If you don't know, now ya know

DJ AM x Nike Dunk High Premium

2010-01-07T08:00:00.008-06:00

These Nike Dunk High Premiums were designed by the late Adam Goldstein, known to the world at large as DJ AM, one of the highest-profile club DJs in the world--but within the sneaker culture, he was probably better known as a celebrity with a serious sneaker collection [peep it in this video]. After Adam passed away last summer, hundreds of his sneakers were auctioned on eBay with 100% of the proceeds going to the DJ AM Memorial Fund, a charity helping people struggling with drug addiction.

Last year, LA-based DJ AM designed this Dunk High Premium as part of Nike's East-West "Rivals Pack" series, which I've blogged about before [here], to match up against an Air Force 1 low designed by NY-based DJ Premier that I'm posting about tomorrow [here]. Out of respect for his passing, Nike dropped the "rivalry" aspect of these and just released the kicks with his logo on the tongue--very classy move from the folks in Beaverton.

As for the shoe design itself, it really combines DJ AM's passion for both DJing and sneakers: the BRED colorway is as classic as it gets; the Dunk is one of the most loved sneaker profiles in Nike's catalog; black patent leather always makes sneakerheads excited, and the shiny black looks kinda like a vinyl record; and the turntable platter strobe markings just scream out "DJ" in the most obvious, awesome way possible. In fact, when I first saw a photo of the sneakers from the front I thought "those are hot" but then when I saw the turntable markings, I instantly knew I'd own these kicks--I see that pattern everyday on my own tables right next to my Mac. How could I not buy these?

I mean geez, just look how the reflective 3M material shows through the perfed black patent in that pic where the sneaker is sitting on my tuntable--it's a perfect rendition of strobe markings, reflection and all! Wow, just incredible.

If you like this sneaker, make plans to try and track it down first thing when it releases this Saturday, January 9th. This is a limited quickstrike release that's bound to sell out instantly. I managed to snag mine a bit early, and from what I've seen these are already selling online some places at well over $200. Don't sleep.

RIP DJ AM. You passed away far too young.

REMEMBER: go read about the other half of this pack, the DJ Premier x Nike Air Force 1 low [here]

Fur Face Boy - Ft. Worth Exclusive

2010-01-04T07:49:00.020-06:00

Happy New Year! In honor of undefeated #4 TCU playing Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, I'm going to wear my Fur Face Boy Fort Worth City Exclusive tee today, which is done up in TCU colors. Why TCU? Because the shirt was originally designed to convince a certain Fort Worth store, Shogun, to carry the Fur Face Boy brand...and Shogun is located on the edge of the TCU campus.

Like other FFB city exclusives, this shirt was limited to just 48 shirts, with only 10 of those available online. I received mine as a gift from the Fur Face Boy himself at an FFB event held at Shogun last year. And hey, don'tcha just love the included collector's card? Reminds me of a Jordan retro card, very cool. Just another one of those details that makes the Fur Face Boy brand so endearing to me.

BTW - go read this post on FFB's "2009 Fan Appreciation" where you'll see a few folks rockin this very same shirt...and oh yeah, pics of me and my wife, too!

Go Horned Frogs!

Favorite Albums of 2009

2009-12-30T10:15:00.001-06:00

Music nowadays might now be what it once was (especially hip hop) but there's still a lot of quality stuff coming out. I mean come on, you know there's still some heat left in the oven when two certifiable bangers, BP3 and OBFCL2, drop on the exact same day.

Raekwon - Only Built For Cuban Links II
Direct sequel to the 1995 classic which was one of the very best Wu-Tang solo efforts. Picks up right were the first left off and the Chef don't miss a step. My favorite hip hop album of 2009.

El Michels Affair - Enter the 37th Chamber
Wu-Tang inspired live instrumental album. I thought it might be stupid at first, but damn I keep playing this one over and over--gonna wear the vinyl out!

Ghostface Killah - Ghostdini, Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
Pretty Tony gets a little bit RnB on us but doesn't cheese out. Maybe not as good as his last couple albums, but still a very solid effort. Spun this one a lot.

Jay Z - The Blueprint 3
The third installment of the Blueprint trilogy spawned one of the best NYC anthems in years. A bit long, but nowhere near as sprawling as the BP2 mess.

Lee Fields & The Expressions - My World
My favorite album of 2009 hands-down, and one of my favorites of the whole decade. Authentic soul that coulda been lifted straight outta the 1970s. Highly recommended.

Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
White kid from Detroit channeled 60's-style Motown proper. Totally unoriginal, but that makes it even more perfect. I even cop'd the heart-shaped 12" single for my wife.

Mos Def - The Ecstatic
He dropped two classics early in his career--Black Star with Talib Kweli, and Black on Both Sides--and then fell off, seemingly focused on acting. He came back strong on this though, back in true form.

Drake - So Far Gone
This man seemed to come out of nowhere, caught me totally by surprise. This isn't the style of hip hop I typically listen to--it's definitely a softer, pop-ier sound--but I like it.

Wale - Attention Deficit
Another album that's outside my normal preferred style of hip hop. I admit I slept on this at first; glad I woke up tho, it's a solid album that caught me on the first listen.

Honorable Mentions:
These are some more albums and mixtapes I liked this year, but didn't quite make my top-9 list for one reason or another. Good stuff tho, definitely worth checking these out too.

Braille & Symbolyc One - CloudNineteen
Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood Ferguson - Suite for Ma Dukes
De La Soul - Are You In?: Nike + Original Run
Diz Gibran - Soon You'll Understand
Doom - Born Like This
Exile - Radio
Fashawn - Boy Meets World
Frank Ramz - Make The Road By Walking
Has-Lo - You Can Live Thru Anything If Magic Made It
J Dilla - Jay Stay Paid
Jabee - Must Be Nice
Jazz Liberatorz - Fruit of the Past
KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon: The End Of Day
Large Professor - The LP (originally recorded in 95/96)
Madlib - Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: A Tribute To...
Method Man And Redman - Blackout! 2
Panacea - Corkscrew Gaps EP
Royce Da 5'9 - Street Hop
Saigon - All In A Day's Work
ScholarMan - The Pull Forward EP vols. 1 & 2
Waxolutionists - We Paint Colors
Wu Tang Clan - Chamber Music

December Record Dig

2009-12-28T08:05:00.001-06:00

Here's a bunch of mostly junky vinyl records I bought for 50¢ each. Now, I've bought plenty of crappy records before, but most of this stuff here is just flat out unlistenable--but thankfully that's not why I bought em. You see, crappy records like these can provide all sorts of sounds suitable for sampling. One of the fun aspects of creating sample-based music is trying to flip a wack record into something good...and I got plenty to work with here. haha

The one real gem here is the Smokey Robinson album, A Quiet Storm. It's actually one of the great soul albums of the 1970s.

You know, this might sound weird, but I really love buying and playing vinyl records (click the vinyl records category tag to see all my posts about the subject) and even when they're total crap, I still love 'em. I'll hit the "next" button on an iPod or CD player in a heartbeat when a bad song plays, but on vinyl I just let it ride--and it doesn't bother me one bit when the music sucks.

Strange, huh?

Fur Face Boy - Space Fur

2009-12-24T09:46:00.000-06:00

Installment four of my official "Space Jams Week" features one of my favorite brands in the world, Fur Face Boy. Anyone who'd been reading this blog for a while no doubt already knows about FFB, but if you don't then go read these posts [one two three four]. This black "Space Fur" shirt was a hyper-limited, web-only run of just 18 shirts, with another 18 available in the Royal Blue colorway [here]. And as you can see, the Space Jam tie-in comes in the form of the black/royal-blue color and of course the sideways alien-esque Jordan type.

It doesn't quite come across in the photos, but the blue ink used on this shirt has a little bit of a shimmer to it. Is that on purpose? Or is it just the nature of the ink? Hell I dunno, but it's really cool in-person.

Now about that sideways type: back in 1995 when the Air Jordan XI first came out, the words on the tongue confused a lot of people (was it supposed to be an alien language?) until they turned the shoe sideways and the words "JUMPMAN - JORDAN" became clear. In the original 2001 Retro of the Space Jam, Jordan Brand modified the words a bit to read "JUMPMAN - JAM". Unfortunately, this new 2009 Retro uses the more pedestrian "JUMPMAN - JORDAN" on the tongue. That's a shame, but at least it does give OG Retro owners something to brag about (besides their more yellowed soles).

The way "Fur Face Boy" is set on the shirt is reminiscent of the sideways tongue type, but it's not quite a straight rip of it--and I think it might be stronger because of that. The design is obvious to anyone in the know, but strengthens the FFB brand better than if it was sideways and completely abstract.

Oh yeah, one more thing...

On the Fur Face Boy website, this shirt was announced with the headline "I believe I can (Fur)..." and no shit ever since then, that freakin' R. Kelly song has been in my head! I can't get it outta there. In fact I'm singing it right now--arrrg, so annoying! It's one of those songs that simultaneously makes me cry AND want to go piss on something.

Space Madness

2009-12-23T07:57:00.010-06:00

Installment three of my official "Space Jams Week" is a post that can only be called Space Madness. Yep, that's right, we camped out all night for more Air Jordan XI Retro Space Jams [Read about those in installment one HERE]. Please forgive me if the writing sucks worse than usual because I'm really tired--oh my God is it 8:00am? Crap I've just spent all night camping out for sneakers that I already own! Hahaha!

Alright so here's the story: Terrance, Stan, myself, and Claudia all got to Town East between 11pm and midnight, set up camp chairs, and talked about sneakers. The weather was a nice dry 60º, we ate some burgers and junk from a 2am Jack-In-The-Crack run, Terrance made fun of a couple of scrubs, everything was cool. Then sometime around 3:30, while Terrance and Stan were on a convenience store run, *BOOM* everybody all the sudden bum-rushed the mall entrance!

Goodbye organized line, hello unruly mob.

Now realize, this rush made NO SENSE AT ALL because it was still gonna be well over 2 hours wait, and the mall doors were still locked! People started getting push, people started yelling, and the very irate Mall Cop threatened to send everyone home. After about 15 minutes of crowd hysteria at the front door, the Police showed up and kinda halfway got things settled down.

At 5:00am-ish, the employees from Champs came out and started giving away reserved 'hold' tickets for Space Jams; they had a little over 100 pair to sell and quickly ran out of tickets (almost instantly in the common men's sizes). After much more pushing, shoving, and crowding the front door, it finally hit the magic hour to allow people in to the mall: 6:00am.

Mall employees let four people in at a time, handing them off to waiting employees from Foot Locker/House of Hoops, Foot Action, and Finish Line. Terrance worked his way to the front of the line pretty quickly and got in the mall before the big crowd, hitting up Foot Action for all the pairs he needed. Stan, Claudia, and I were near the back of the mob--because come on, we're not crazy--but a few minutes later we got in. My hook up at Foot Locker/House of Hoops got my size order and ran to the back (totally bypassing the big line by the way) but unfortunately my size was ALREADY SOLD OUT. This was, like 6:20am. I quickly ran next door to Foot Action, where Terrance was at, but they were also out...however they did manage to get me a half-size off shoe (which will honestly be fine).

FINAL STATS
Length of campout: 6-7 hours
Line-to-Mob conversion casualties: 1 campchair + 100% of the Mall Cop's wits
Number of cans thrown at Mall Cop's head: 1
Length of time spent making fun of Hulen Mall: approx 30 minutes
Number of people in the mob: somewhere between 300-400
Rumored number of SJs available: approx 1000 pair
Total number of Space Jams we cop'd: 8 pair
Success rate for our group: 99.5%
Camping out just for the fun of it: PRICELESS

Shogun + Space Jam

2009-12-22T10:03:00.003-06:00

You read yesterday's epic Space Jams post, right? If so, you already know I've officially declared this "Space Jams Week" (and if not, go read that post) so here's the second installment of the week: a Space Jam themed t-shirt from the best streetwear/sneaker shop in Fort Worth, Texas: Shogun.

As you no doubt already know, Space Jam is the 1996 live action + animation movie starring Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny and pretty much the entire pantheon of Warner Bros. cartoon characters: Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Tazmanian Devil, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Pepe Le Pew, Granny, Charles the Dog, and of course Marvin Martian. Honestly, the movie itself ain't all that great and Michael Jordan is not a very good actor, but it did introduce something monumentally important to the sneaker world: the Air Jordan 11 (XI) Space Jam.

The Space Jam, which is being released this wednesday, is easily one of if not the most highly anticipated retro Jordan releases of the year. Hell to be honest, it's probably one of the most highly anticipated sneakers PERIOD of the year, not just Jordans. Consequently, there are a ton of Space Jam related t-shirts being made up by a wide number of brands and shops out there. I mean, since everybody's gonna buy Space Jams (you ARE gonna cop some for yourself, right? Right?) it makes sense to have some matching tees out there for people to rock with the sneakers.

Of all the Space Jam related tees I've seen, this one is easily my favorite. When I first saw it, I immediately knew it was Space Jam shirt but unlike most it doesn't rely on a black/varsity-royal colorway. Instead, it cleverly apes the movie's Looney Tunes inspired logo. I mean come on just look at how perfectly "Shogun" replaces "Space Jam". That's what's up! And then to top it off, the art on the back does it up even better: Marvin the Martian and two space guns to mimic the Shogun logo? Fire, absolute FIRE! In fact that design was also available on its own [see it here] and both shirts, along with everything else Shogun-related from what I understand, were designed by John Hoang (follow @johnAtShogun on Twitter).

I'll be wearing this shirt and my Space Jams for the campout tonight/tomorrow morning at Town East Mall. If you want to follow the Space Jam campout live, follow me on Twitter @dsicle should be Tweeting starting around midnight tonight.

If you haven't been to Shogun in Fort Worth, go check em out. Easily one of the best streetwear boutiques around and well worth the trip to Funky Town.

Air Jordan XI Retro - Space Jams

2009-12-21T14:30:00.004-06:00

I'm officially declaring this "Space Jams Week" so to kick it off, here are the infamous Space Jams that are releasing this coming wednesday Dec 23. So alright, what's the big deal about these sneakers, anyways?

To answer that, you first gotta remember that Michael Jordan shocked the world when he retired from basketball in 1993, right in the prime of his career. By that point, he was already considered the greatest basketball player of all time. He'd won Rookie of the Year, back-to-back Slam Dunk contests, two Olympic Gold Medals, three NBA MVP awards, was an NBA All-Star every year, had the highest scoring average (32.3 PPG) in the history of the NBA, and of course had just lead the Chicago Bulls to a Three-Peat: winning the NBA Championship three years in a row--and then topped it off by winning the Finals MVP each time. As Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics described him, he was "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

Jordan retired from the NBA on October 6, 1993 due to a series of personal issues, including the death of his father, but he didn't exactly disappear out of the limelight. He chased other dreams, including playing baseball. But then on March 18, 1995 Jordan issued a two-word press release: "I'm Back"

The next day, a year-and-a-half since he'd last worn a Chicago Bulls uniform, Jordan scored 19 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers--and apparently, the whole world was watching as it earned the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975. Then a few days later, in just his fifth game back, he scored 55 points against the New York Knicks.

"God disguised as Michael Jordan," indeed.

That year, the Bulls didn't have much success--the season was half over by the time Jordan returned--but his return did boost the team to the Playoffs, where on May 7, 1995 Michael Jordan laced up what many in the sneaker world consider the Greatest Sneaker Ever: The Air Jordan 11 (XI).

The whole world was watching as Jordan came out on the court wearing Concords. Sneakers with shiny black patent leather? That'd never been done before. They were classy and sleek and elegant and futuristic all at the same time. They blew everyone's minds. Cue mass hysteria. High school kids wearing Concords with Tuxedos for Homecoming and Prom. Insane. Jordan was even fined by the NBA for wearing them (not respecting the team colors), similar to the fines he received for wearing the Jordan I in his first season.

And then in his first full season back, Jordan wore the 11s as he led the Chicago Bulls in most dominating season in NBA history, a record-setting 72-10 asswhoopin' of the entire league--and of course another NBA title (and the beginning of the second Bulls Three-Peat). People, we're talking about a dominance level never before seen in the NBA; hell sports in general. The accomplishments of the pre-retirement Michael Jordan were legendary; the dominance of the now un-retired Michael Jordan wasn't even fathomable. It was just flat out stupid. How could anyone be that good?

"God disguised as Michael Jordan."

As the next season began, Jordan mania was still in full effect as Warner Bros. released the feature film SPACE JAM starring Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan. Live action actors mixed in with the cartoon world, sorta like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? but with a Basketball twist. Yeah okay, the movie kinda sucked, but every kid in America went and saw it...and saw those shoes. The Space Jams. What were they? An all-new colorway, never seen before? Well that's because there were only five pairs made, just for Jordan to wear in the movie. FIVE PAIRS.

So here you had the greatest player ever wearing the greatest sneaker ever in a brand-new color that no one had ever seen...and you couldn't actually buy em! Talk about pent-up frustration! They weren't available to the public until a Retro release in 2001 (which sold out quick) and haven't been available ever since. Until now, that is.

This wednesday, December 23, Jordan Brand is officially re-releasing the Air Jordan 11 (XI) Space Jam sneaker. As you can see from the pictures, I've already got mine (cop'd em last week) but I'm still gonna go to House of Hoops and stand in line starting tuesday at midnight to snag another pair, but mostly just for the fun of it. I'll post up afterwords about the event, of course, but if you wanna stay up late and catch it live, follow me on Twitter @dsicle or better yet, come out to Town East Mall and freeze your ass off with us as we wait outside Tuesday at midnight.

Uncommon Burners 2

2009-12-15T13:59:00.009-06:00

Whoa, check this out: an album cover I designed is actually out there for real, like gracing an actual album! Sweet, huh? Yeah I know, I never really talk about graphic design stuff on my blog--I mean come on, this blog is supposed to be about stuff I like, not my day job. But this is different because I designed this project strictly for the fun of it; to do something other than the typical day-in, day-out corporate work I do .

Oh and guess what? This album is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD from Above Ground magazine (get it here).

About the cover art: Uncommon Burners 2 is the second in a series of compilation albums put out by the label Uncommon Records. When trying to come up with an idea for the artwork, I kept circling around the thought of using fire, but didn't have any concrete way of tying it back to "burners" or "burning". Then I ran across an image of a Chinese Fire Breather and it hit me: hot MCs "spit fire" on the mic. So then I went and found a photo of a Shure SM58 mic and Photoshoped it in there, painted up the background some, and added the dragon line art to represent how the fire comes from inside you. The "Uncommon Burners 2" text I struggled with a bit, finally ended up sitting down with a sketchbook and hand drew a mess of thumbnail pencils to come up with how to work the various elements together, and then finalized the type in Illustrator.

FYI here's the back cover that I also designed:

Notice how I credited myself with my Twitter screen name? I dunno why I did that, guess it's partly because I've been meeting so many people from Twitter in real life recently that I've repeatedly been hearing "Dsicle" said out loud--first time since San Diego really. So I guess it's kinda sticking in my head now. Thanks, Wade. LOL

All said, I had a blast designing the cover art for this album. Big ups to Tyler for thinking of me to design the project, and also to my homie Ross for the advice/critique.

Nike "Spike Lee" Big Nike High

2009-12-14T07:38:00.003-06:00

Actor/Director Spike Lee is a well known figure in the sneaker world, no doubt stemming from his 1986 movie She's Gotta Have It and the famous "you scuffed my brand new Jordans!" scene (video). After the film, Spike Lee directed and stared in several Air Jordan commercials in character as Mars Blackmon from the film (video) making the phrase "It's Gotta Be The Shoes" a household catchphrase. Seriously, I don't know if there was a soul alive in the early 90's who watched television and didn't know about Jordans and those black-and-white Spike Lee commercials. They were everywhere, and everyone knew em. Those commercials--along with the introduction of the III--are a big part of why Jordan Brand became the sneaker powerhouse they are today.

Because of the historic relationship between Spike Lee and Jordan Brand, a hybrid Jordan shoe called the Spiz'ike was released in 2006 combining elements of the III, IV, V, VI and XX shoes (the models Lee directed commercials for) but until now, all of Spike Lee's ties to the sneaker world have been through Jordan Brand. This fall, Nike itself finally created some sneakers honoring Spike Lee / Mars Blackmon with a Nike Blazer and this Big Nike High.

Obviously the big kicker here is the Mars Blackmon glasses icon on the tongue, but perhaps more important is the colorway of the shoe, which is done up as an original Air Jordan I. The overall profile of the two sneakers are similar enough that it looks a lot like the Jordan I from just the color blocking alone. While there are a couple of similar models of the same era (Dunk, Terminator) that could have pulled off the same general look, the Big Nike is probably the best choice Nike could have made in creating a Spike Lee shoe without actually using a Jordan Brand product.

Someday I'd like to own a pair of Jordan I highs in the OG colorway--and the black toe version as well--but until then I'll just rock these Spike Lee Big Nikes.

Air Jordan XII Retro - White/Red

2009-12-10T07:18:00.012-06:00

Jordan Brand released a slew of Air Jordan XII (12) retros this year, some of which were a slap in the face to collectors (Nubucks) and some that had some lame controversy around them (Rising Suns) and some that radically changed materials (flu games), but after a year of releasing 12s, I think they saved the best for last. This white/varsity-red/black Jordan 12 is a classic and they didn't screw it up one bit.

The Air Jordan 12 (XII) is the signature sneaker Michael Jordan wore in the 1996/1997 season when he led the Chicago Bulls to a 69–11 record, their 5th of 6 NBA Championship titles (the middle year of their second three-peat) and earned his 5th of 6 NBA Finals MVP award. Jordan was so dominating, so crushing during those years--and so were his sneakers. The shoes of the second three-peat era (XI, XII, XIII) are some of the best designed, most loved of the Jordan line.

The Air Jordan 12 was originally released in five colorways. The shoe, designed by legendary Nike/Jordan designer Tinker Hatfield, was inspired by 19th century womans' dress boots and the Japanese Rising Sun flag, which you can see in the style of the ribbed leather stitching. The design is even carried past the leather and into the rubber midsole, making it seem as if the lines reach all the way to the ground. The tongue features the Jumpman logo and the unique "TWO 3" text denoting Michael's jersey number, and the Jumpman is even integrated into the front of the sole. From a technology standpoint, the XII was the first Air Jordan sneaker to feature the Nike Zoom Air unit, a tighter and more responsive air system than the older air technology. Lotsa great details in this shoe, but it still retains a clean and uncluttered overall look.

One important historical note: 1997 is the year Nike launched Jordan Brand as a stand-alone subsidiary, so the XII was the first Air Jordan that didn't have a Nike Swoosh or logo visible anywhere on the shoe, including the insole. Since then, no Jordans have had a Nike Swoosh on them, and JB has even gone so far as to remove them from most older Retros, replacing it with the Jumpman. The only Jordan left with the Swoosh is the Jordan I which, of course has the Swoosh integrated into the design.

The Air Jordan 12 (XII) Retro white/varsity-red/black sneaker has an official release date December 19. Of course, as you can see here since I took these photos, I got mine early thanks to a hook up from a buddy. Thanks, T.

Nike Zoom Hustle

2009-12-09T07:41:00.007-06:00

Sure, the Nike Zoom Hustle is a new sneaker design for the 2009/2010 basketball season, but the story goes deeper than that: The Zoom Hustle part of the new Nike "Refresh" product line where they take classic Nike sneakers and "refresh" them for modern performance and aesthetic appeal. In this particular case, they refreshed the 2001 Nike Air Hyperflight--you can see it in the overall profile, the shiny patent leather material choice, the shape around the ankles, and on a more subtle note the adhesion to minimalism like the original Hyperflights exhibited.

There are several colorways available, but the yellow was the one I had to cop--these trip people out when they see me out wearing em because they're just CRAZY GAUDY. Are they my most attention-grabbing shoes? Yeah, probably so. Shock value to the max.

By the way, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs (you know, the guy married to Eva Longoria) has a pair of these in gray/black P.E.s...now really, I'm not into P.E.s but come on--who wouldn't wanna be in Tony Parker's shoes?

Nike x DQM Air Max 90 Current Huarache

2009-12-07T07:45:00.026-06:00

There's a long story behind these sneakers, but before I get into all that, let me just say that these are without a doubt the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. The neoprene sock is soft and squishy and squeezy, the forefoot has incredible movement thanks to the Nike Free sole, and of course impact is minimized with the Nike Air unit in the heel. Honestly I can't believe how soft and squishy these are; they feel comfy like a pair house slippers more than they do sneakers.

I did buy a half-size larger (11.5) than I normally wear (11), which is actually a full-size larger than my feet really are (10.5) so if you're planning on buying Air Max 90 Current Huaraches, take that into consideration. I purchased these at Adikt Footwear in the West Village shopping district in Uptown Dallas. Darren, the shop owner at Adikt, also tried these on and said they felt like they ran a bit small too, so it's not just me.

Alright, so here's that long story:

About five years ago, Nike released a Air Max 90 sneaker nicknamed the "Bacon" designed by Dave's Quality Meat, a famous Nike Tier 0 sneaker shop in NYC (which I visited/blogged about here). Get it? Bacon...Dave's Quality Meat...bacon colored sneakers....butcher-inspired sneaker shop? Yeah, well the kicks were hot and a whole lotta people slept on em when they first dropped but nowadays they sell on eBay for $500/pair. It's a certified classic sneaker colab.

Now around two years ago, Nike released another Air Max 90 collab called the "HUFquake" designed by HUF out in San Francisco, another one of the rare Nike Tier 0 shops. Get it? Crackly lines....earthquake....San Francisco. Yeah, well these too became a sneaker classic.

So now, fast-forward to today.

Nike has introduced several sets of high-end, out-of-the-ordinary sneakers in what they've dubbed "Rivals Packs", usually focused on some aspect of an EAST-WEST rivalry. Lots of celebrity sneakerheads have been involved in the project like DJ Clark Kent and DJ Premier repin the East Coast, and Eddie Cruz and DJ AM (RIP) repin the West Coast. There have also been a few seemingly random EAST-WEST Rivals that have dropped without much name recognition behind them.

As part of this ongoing EAST-WEST "Rival Packs" series, Nike created a pair of rivals that take their inspiration from the original designs of the famous Bacon and the HUFquake sneakers--perfect "rivals" since both shops are Tier 0 and each rep a different coast. As an update, Nike switched from doing a straight retro of the shoes and instead applied the respective colorways to the new Air Max 90 Current Huarache.

As you can see, the new models are obvious descendants of the originals but don't just straight ape 'em; in both cases, the colors used are the same but they're applied differently and feel a bit darker overall.

As for the new shoes themselves: the new Air Max 90 Current Huarache is hybrid of two shoes: the overall profile and sole of the Air Max 90 Current (which itself is a hybrid of two shoes, the original Tinker Hatfield designed Air Max 90 and the Bruce Kilgore designed Air Current, updated with a Nike Free sole) fused with the neoprene sock, toebox, and rear strap of the 1991 Nike Air Huarache. Nike even went the extra mile and replaced the thick plastic strap of the Huarache with a thin and light Flywire strap. The end result is a supremely comfortable shoe built using modern technology but with a retro profile that's still very reminiscent of the original shoes they're modeled after.

The DQM Bacon-inspired EAST colorway was released as a Quickstrike on November 27th to select Nike retailers. If you're in Dallas, stop by and see Darren at Adikt Footwear to see if they've got any left in your size. Better hurry though, Quickstrikes are always limited in quantity and sell out fast.

The HUFquake-inspired WEST colorway supposedly hasn't hit the streets yet (originally should have dropped in October), although it's rumored to be coming out as a Christmas release, so it could potentially drop any day now. Or later, who knows. Guess I'll try to pick that one up if/when it drops, too.

Wu-Tang Dekline sneakers

2009-12-01T08:06:00.004-06:00

If you know anything about my taste in music, then you know I'm a big Wu-Tang clan fan, easily one of my favorite groups of all time. And of course if you know me at all, you know I got this sneaker thing, right? Ha ha. Yeah so here's the best of both worlds: Wu-Tang sneakers! This obviously ain't the first time the Wu have done up a sneaker (Wu Dunks, anyone?) but it's the first ones I've been able to put my hands on. Truth be told, I actually almost missed out on these. When they dropped a month ago, I decided not to chase them but then when my buddy Tom mentioned he cop'd em, my jealously kicked up to high gear and I had to go chase down a pair. Ended up snaggin 'em from Active Ride Shop outta So Cal.

These Dekline Belmonts are a limited collab of just 500 pairs between Dekline sneakers, Rival Skate Shop in NYC, and the Wu-Tang (through Oli "Power" Grant, one of the Wu-Tang managers). Oddly enough, I found out about these sneakers from following the RZA on Twitter--don't ever say Twitter is pointless, LOL. Dekline is known pretty heavily in the skate scene, but they don't really make sneakers just for skaters; that's just who they seem to be the most popular with. Guess that's why I didn't know anything about them till these were announced since I ain't connected to the skate scene at all.

The colorway of these sneakers is called "Killa Beez, Black and Yellow" which, come on, could they be any other color? The detail work on these are incredible; black leather with yellow accents, including inside the perfs which is just sick as hell; the Wu-tang logo on the tongue and on the gold lace locks; the Wu-Tang name on the heel; the Ws on the insole; even the gold embossed Dekline logo adds to the look. They even threw in a Dekline keychain.

All in all, these sneakers kill, and they'll go great with one of my favorite tees, that Wu-Tang Manifest shirt that I blogged about way back when. Seriously, I get more comments from random people on that shirt than any other tee I own.

Fur Face Boy NYC Exclusive

2009-11-25T07:41:00.003-06:00

It feels like it's been Fur Face Boy week on my blog--I've made a string of posts about 'em lately. Hey what can I say? I like the brand. Anyways, this is probably the last one of these posts for a while; I'm not gonna post about every FFB shirt I've got otherwise this would just turn into an FFB blog. LOL! But I just had to post about this shirt because it's got a cool story behind it.

In case it's not obvious to you (should be to anyone who's ever watched basketball) the design of this shirt is a homage to the great Patrick Ewing, #33 of the New York Knicks (1985-2000). But what's special about this shirt is that FFB made five different city exclusives in limited runs of 48 shirts, this one for New York City. These shirts were availably only in New York at FFB retailer Vault in Harlem (read about that here) but I was able to cop one of the 10 that were made available directly online.

I wasn't sure I was gonna like it because, let's face it, the Knicks suck right now and I thought it might feel silly to rep them. But it's Patrick Ewing, so I can get over it. I mean the Bulls ain't exactly been hot since Jordan's days, but I'd rock a Jordan Bulls jersey in a heartbeat. Lemme just say tho that I'm glad it's a Knicks colorway instead of the other orange and blue NYC team.

Fur Face Boy + SHOGUN Collab

2009-11-23T07:54:00.009-06:00

So I just posted about the SHOGUN store last week (here) and Fur Face Boy twice already (here and here) but now it all comes together in this awesome and highly exclusive FFB+SHOGUN collab tee. Only 36 of these were printed up--and after the FFB hooked up the Sho crew and keept one for himself, only 30 were made available to the public at the Fur Face Boy Series 2 release party held at SHOGUN earlier this month. Needless to say, this was a hot item destined to sell out in just minutes (which is exactly what happened) so I made sure I got to the event early--three hours early in fact, and I was still the third person there. The FFB made it easy for us early birds tho by handing out a special blue ticket, complete with a hand drawing on the back, to people as they arrived to ensure they got the shirts without having to suffer waiting in an actual line.

Some interesting details about the shirt: notice that the tag is from SHOGUN, not FFB, but there's still an official "Inspected by" and logo flag from FFB. Also, on the back, check out the Fur Face Boy and Shogun names. And of course the artwork integrates elements from both; the FFB face is part of the mecha robot's chest, and the robot's head is actually the same as a design that Shogun uses on their website (which looks to be an interpretation of the Japanese anime super robot Mazinger Z). Even the gun in the right hand of the mecha is connected to Shogun, one that's used in some of their other materials. This shirt is a great example of collaboration done right, on every level.

Another cool thing about the shirt is the rest of the robot; the body is a sort of homage to arguably the most important Japanese anime mecha robot, Mobile Suit Gundam. I've actually posted about Gundam before (here) which is really kinda trips me out. I mean, I grew up in Japan with Mazinger Z and Gundam cartoons/toys/models...makes me feel a little like the FFB was reading my mind and reaching directly into my early childhood when designing this shirt. Weird.

So yeah, it's a wicked cool shirt, but no you can't get one. Too exclusive, and basically sold out before they even went on sale. But hey don't cry, you can still buy tons of other awesome--even limited edition--shirts from Fur Face Boy, and of course a wide range of cool streetwear from SHOGUN.

SHOGUN

2009-11-19T07:45:00.005-06:00

SHOGUN is a premium streetwear and sneaker boutique in Fort Worth, and in my opinion is easily one of the finest street fashion stores in the DFW Metroplex. Hell for that matter, it's one of the finest in the country. It's actually better than a whole lot of stores I've seen in NYC, and that's really saying something since New York is probably the epicenter of streetwear fashion.

SHOGUN carries sneakers, caps, apparel, and accessories from some of the biggest brands in the business like 10 Deep, Clae, Crooks & Castles, Freshjive, Fur Face Boy, Mishka, Stussy, Undefeated, Undrcrwn, and Upper Playground. That's an impressive lineup for such a new shop--they only been open about six months. They've also got a killer location on University, the main shopping district by TCU.

Dallas has a handful of streetwear fashion boutiques, but SHOGUN is really the first of its kind in Fort Worth. Do yourself a favor and go check out what Keith and the gang are serving up over in FunkyTown, you won't be disappointed.

One final note: does SHOGUN have the best damn logo, or what? So clever, so deep.

Highly recommended.

Fur Face Boy - Astro Fur shirt

2009-11-17T07:44:00.002-06:00

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you already know that I'm a big fan of the Fur Face Boy brand. It's one of my three favorite brands out there, along with Benny Gold and Staple--all three of which are run by graphic designers, which is endearing to me since I'm also a graphic designer.

This Astro Fur shirt is a limited run web exclusive with only 48 shirts made. It really hits me hard because I'm half-Japanese and grew up with Astro Boy. I mean come on, you can't grow up as a kid in Japan and not idolize Astro Boy; he's pretty much the equivalent of Mickey Mouse in Japanese pop culture. FFB flips the script on Astro Boy here by combining it with the Fur Face Boy logo and colors. Such a sweet design that seems so obvious once you see it--a hallmark of great design.

House of Hoops - Mesquite now open

2009-11-16T07:48:00.005-06:00

Previously I mentioned that House of Hoops was opening in Mesquite, a suburb on the east side of Dallas. Well as of this weekend, it's open--but the big Grand Opening Event with Dallas Mavericks players isn't until next weekend, Saturday the 21st.

If you're into Nike (and sub-brands Jordan & Converse) basketball sneakers--both current styles and retro releases--then House of Hoops is tailor made for you. Even though HoH is really just a Nike basketball-specific division of Foot Locker, you will find some things there that won't hit the shelves at most mass merchandisers. The Dallas 214/972 Hyperize are a HoH exclusive, and really you're probably not gonna run into that Lebron VII China Moon at your typical mall store. Of course being a quickstrike, you probably won't find the Cassette Playa Dunk at most places, either.

I really think there's something for nearly everyone at HoH, from casual sneaker fans or general basketball fans, all the way up to hardcore sneakerheads. No it's not the greatest store in the world, but it's pretty cool and definitely well focused, so I'm glad to see one here, especially so close to my house in East Dallas.

Benny Gold Doughboy

2009-11-12T08:08:00.001-06:00

Just cop'd the new fall 2009 re-released Benny Gold Doughboy New Era 59Fifty fitted cap. This second release is a follow up to his fall 2008 release which I stupidly passed on that I'd been trying to chase down ever since, so I was glad he decided to re-release them.

This time around, Benny updated the satin paper airplane plaid liner on the inside a bit as well as introducing a new green & gold Oakland A's inspired colorway. There's also a sweet khaki "Dickeys" colorway, but I opted for the classic black color.

The original inspiration and namesake of the cap comes from the classic John Singleton film Boyz in the Hood in which Ice Cube's character, Doughboy, wore a black Detroit Tigers baseball cap. Benny flipped the blackletter "D" into a "B" for his brand. Genius.

Honestly, this is one of--if not the--finest caps I own. The embroidery is a super thick metallic silver and the silver plaid satin liner covers the entire inside of the cap, not just the underside of the bill. Naturally Benny popped that paper airplane logo on the side, opposite the New Era logo, and instead of the MLB logo on the back there's a simple wordmark that reads "GOLD".

I've mentioned it on my blog before, but I'll say it again: Benny Gold is my favorite brand out there today. He's a graphic designer, as am I, and I really dig his design work. Doesn't hurt that he went to the art school (SCAD) that I desperately wanted to attend myself. There are a handful of graphic designers out there producing apparel who's work I really admire (Jeff Staple and Fur Face Boy for example) but Benny Gold is tops in my book.

I picked the cap up friday at Adikt in the West Village shopping center in Dallas, one of my favorite shops here in town. They didn't have many, so if you want one you'd better hurry. These are selling out all over the country.

October sneakers

2009-11-09T07:55:00.008-06:00

October was a weird month. I didn't really buy much because we just spent all that money in NYC last month. In fact I originally said I wasn't gonna buy any shoes for the entire month...but well, ya know how that goes. See some sales on kicks ya wanted to pick up but passed on, but now are dirt cheap. Pretty sure I didn't pay more than half-price for any of these. So basically, I ended up with some fun everyday beaters.

I think the best pickup is the first sneaker here because it was made to match my Adidas + Def Jam t-shirt.

Adidas Forum Mid Def Jam collab (black/silver)
Adidas Forum Mid Def Jam collab (cardnial/gold)
Adidas Goodyear OS (white/green)
Nike Dunk Hi (white/black/blue)
Nike Zoom Phenom (black/white/varsity royal)
Nike Air Force 1 (white/orange peel)
Stan Smith Adikids (white/pink/green))
Stan Smith (black/black)
Superstar 2 Adikids (black/blue/white)

Oh yeah and obviously those ones at the end are my wife's--she likes cartoons on her sneakers.

House of Hoops - Mesquite

2009-11-02T15:18:00.005-06:00

House of Hoops, the basketball-specific Nike + Foot Locker "high concept" store, is coming this month to Town East Mall in Mesquite, Texas (eastern suburb of Dallas). From what I hear, it's supposed to open November 14th. Nike, Jordan and Converse (a Nike owned brand) are the only things you'll find at HoH, since it's half put up by Nike, but that's not a bad thing since Nike and Jordan pretty much rule the basketball shoe market anyways.

Now in case you didn't know, the first HoH opened at the end of 2007 in NYC, and in 2008 two additional locations opened in Chicago and LA. Earlier in this year, a store was opened in Cherry Hill, NJ and then last month two new stores were added in Houston (and yeah, two HoH in one city pissed a lotta people off around the rest of the country) as well as one in Hyattsville, MD.

DFW is next on the line in the HoH expansion. I'll be there on opening day, that's for sure, if only for the frenzy.

Rugged Sole

2009-10-19T07:30:00.006-05:00

Rugged Sole is a sneaker shop I visited deep in the heart of Brooklyn--Crown Heights to be exact. Wait a minute, the Crown Heights where the 1991 riots took place? The Crown Heights where Biggie and Jay-Z grew up in? Yup, that's the place.

The store is located on Utica Ave just about a block south of Eastern Ave, the big tree-lined main street that runs through the neighborhood. To get there, we took the B line outta Manhattan, over the East River on the Manhattan Bridge (great views of the city) and into Brooklyn, then transfered to the 3 at Atlantic, and finally got off at the Crown Heights - Utica station. Musta taken us 45 minutes including the wait at Atlantic. Once we got up to street level, we realized just how different this part of the city is from Manhattan.

This is the New York that tourists don't see. Dirty, decrepit, forgotten. Trash everywhere. People just hanging out on street corners, going nowhere, doing nothing. Every restaurant--except for McDonalds--seemed to operate their cash registers from behind a protective glass wall. The hustle and bustle of the Manhattan shopping, all those tourists spending money, none of that is anywhere to be found in Crown Heights. Just the people who live in the neighborhood, trying to make it. That's it. We actually bought a fresh cut mango in a Ziplock baggie off a woman on the street corner who was sitting there with a box, a knife, and a cutting board. What the hell? You'd never see that in Manhattan. LOL

But on the corner of a small three story building, behind a bus stop and an overflowing trash can, is this great little sneaker shop, Rugged Sole. I think just about every brand was represented: Nike, Jordan, Adidas, Puma, Vans, Alife, Asics, Converse, DC, Clae, Creative Recreation, Keds, New Balance, PF Flyers, Dr Martens, Timberland, Sperry, Red Wings, Clarks--damn I mean, it's hard to come up with a sneaker brand they didn't have. On top of that, the entire back wall of the shop was covered in New Era 59fiftys, including some unique Brooklyn collabs.

What really made the place stand out, though, was the prices--and the random old deadstock they had laying around. So like, there's these pair of Jordan 1s in the metallic red Do The Right Thing colorway that I'd had my eye on the whole trip. Every single sneaker shop in Manhattan had them, and everyone was selling 'em at full MSRP of $110, but Rugged Sole had them for $80 bucks. You know I had to cop em right then, didn't even blink.

Then, while I was looking around at other stuff, I found a pair of Jordan 5s in the original colorway from the 2008 Countdown Pack--the ones that came with the 18s no one wanted. But they were selling the 5s alone, split outta the CTP without the 18. They only had two pair left, and one was in my size. But the icing on the cake was the price: they were originally marked $310, marked down to $260, then $150, and finally were tagged at $100. WTF??? I'd literally held the exact shoes in my hands the day before at Flight Club for $195--and had considered buying them. At $100 it was a no brainer. Cop'ed!

I don't know if it was because of their location, or clientele, or what, but they had tons of older sneakers that they just hadn't sold, colorways that other shops had run out of months or even years ago. So many Air Max 95s and Dunks and Blazers that you haven't seen anywhere else in forever, and at killer markdown prices. This place was a gold mine!

NOTE #1: Rugged Sole has another location in Manhattan in the West Village, which I also stopped by. Even though it's smaller, current brands and products were well represented, but the crazy good deals and the old stock were nowhere to be found. You know those $80 Jordan 1s I bought at the Utica location? They were $110 at the Manhattan shop--and it was the same day.

NOTE #2: In the month since I was there, the Utica location and phone number has been removed off their website. When I called their old number, it was disconnected, so I was afraid the location had been closed, but I called their Manhattan shop friday and they said the Utica location was still open. Dunno why the info is off the website; maybe they're gonna close it or maybe move in the future? Who knows. Probably worth giving them a call first before you head down there tho, just to make sure it's still open.

Recommended for adventurous sneakerheads

Alife Rivington Club

2009-10-14T07:58:00.008-05:00

Alife Rivington Club (A.R.C.) is sneakerhead heaven. Flat out, there's no better place in NYC to buy hot new kicks than the Rivington Club. Damn, let's not limit that to just NYC; it's the best place in the entire world. Seriously, this is the pinnacle of high concept sneaker shops.

First off, you'd better know the address of the shop is 158 Rivington Street because that's how you gotta find it--there's no big sign outside like you'd find at any normal store. Other than the address, the only external marking you'll find is a small bronzed plaque on the wall between two locked doors. Locked? Yeah, that's right, locked. You gotta press a button to be buzzed in.

Once you're in the door, you'll find the richest looking shop ever. On the right is a long leather bench along an ostrich-skin wall, and across the plush green carpeting is a wall of individually illuminated dark wood cubby holes showcasing each sneaker like a work of art. Above the cubbys, locked behind glass, are rare Air Jordans. Hanging from the ceiling is a lavish chandelier. At the back is a wooden podium with an old time red telephone. Then out the back is a large open air courtyard to chill in. Spend one minute in the shop and you'll instantly know why it's called the Rivington Club.

As for the kicks, what you'll find is the absolute best selection of the newest sneakers available. Being one of only six Nike Tier Zero accounts in the entire country, the Rivington Club gets the hottest and rarest new Nike kicks. Of course, being consistently rated as one of the best--and often THE best--sneaker shops in the world, they also get the new hotness from other manufactures like Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, Fila, and more. Watch out tho; they sell out of sneakers fast, and they don't restock old joints (gotta keep it fresh) so if you see something you want, you better jump on it fast because it'll probably be gone if you wait--and then you'll be stuck slummin it at your local mall searching for leftovers hoping to find the heat you seen and shoulda bought at the Rivington Club.

About the staff--I met Chris and Jesse, and they were two of the coolest doods I met in NYC. They treated me like I was their best friend, talked about sneakers, music, made fun of some rude dumbasses, just all kinds of shit. I happened to be wearing my Wu Tang shirt and Chris asked me if I was going to the Raekwon show @ Santos that night (which unfortunately I wasn't) and we got to talking about the music video that was filmed there that summer; it was for a Dilla song featuring Raekwon and Havoc that of course I'd already seen. Chris mentioned that the dude in the video that gets tied up was Jesse--that's cool as hell. Who wouldn't wanna be in a music video, and a Wu + Dilla one at that? Damn.

In addition to the Rivington Club, you'll find two other Alife stores in the vicinity. Next door--through the other locked door out front--is the Alife brand store where you'll find sneakers and apparel from the Alife brand themselves. Across the street is their third store, A.R.C. Sports, where you'll find the Alife collaborations with companies like Nike, Fila, and other major brands. I ran over there to pick up some of the limited edition Black, White, Gum & Bang! A.R.C. Nike Dunk High Supreme TZ sneakers--and as luck would have it, I bought the next to last pair of size 10.5 they had.

Yeah okay, so can you tell I liked the place? Ha ha! What's not to like for a true sneakerhead? Freshest kicks, rare heat, unique collabs, best atmosphere imaginable, and the coolest staff. Absolutely without a doubt, Alife Rivington Club is the shit. If you're going to NYC, you absolutely must hit this place up.

Highest possible recommendation.

Academy LPs

2009-10-13T07:34:00.001-05:00

Academy LPs in the East Village is one of three stores run by Academy Records, each with its own unique focus. The Flatiron location sells Classical and Jazz LPs and used CDs, the Williamsburg annex sells rock and jazz LPs, while the East Village shop specializes in Jazz, Rock, Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop. Naturally, that's the location I was most interested in.

The selection at the shop is extensive--in my opinion, one of the best in NYC for diggers looking for sampling material. The dollar bins are deep and full of gems. I bought an armload in there, more than any other shop I hit on my vacation.

There's also a very respectable selection of classic hip hop joints and even some new reissues. You may not find exactly what you're looking for if you're hunting for something specific, but you certainly won't have any trouble finding lotsa good stuff to buy. There's also a listening station where you can check out your potential purchases.

Nice spot for diggers. Recommended.

Reed Space

2009-10-08T07:06:00.006-05:00

Reed Space is store that sells--well, cool. That's the best way to describe it, really. They carry such a wide range of street lifestyle goods that it's hard to pin down exactly what they specialize in, except to say that it's all really cool shit.

Shirts, jackets, caps, sneakers, books, magazines, mixtapes, toys, jewelry, watches--man you name it, if it's part of the streetwear culture, Reed Space probably sells it. Brands represented include 10 Deep, Acapulco Gold, Crooks & Castles, Burton, The Hundreds, Stussy, Rogue Status, Alife, Benny Gold, Diamond Supply, Freshjive, Kangol, In4mation, Mighty Healthy, Mishka...man it just goes on and on and on.

Of course the star attraction--at least in my mind--is the brand Staple, purveyors of the Pigeon (complete with poop). Staple is one of my very favorite streetwear brands--probably because I got a soft spot for pigeons, comes from living downtown I guess--which is the brainchild of graphic designer Jeff Staple, who also happens to own Reed Space.

They literally put a picture of shit (pigeon shit) on clothing people step all over themselves to buy it--including me! If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what else is.

If I could only shop for streetwear at one store in the whole world, Reed Space would be it.

Highest possible recommendation.

The Sound Library

2009-10-07T07:46:00.002-05:00

The Sound Library is a great little vinyl record shop located in the Lower East Side neighborhood of NYC. The selection seems to be focused on Hip Hop with a bit of Funk, Soul, and Disco as well--which pretty much describes the kind of records I buy, so needless to say I was impressed.

The vast majority of their well-organized and extensive selection is used vinyl, and there are a couple of listening stations so you can drop a needle on most everything you might be interested in to see if you really wanna buy it. That's a good thing since the prices--while very fair--are exactly what you'd expect them to be; that is to say, they know what they got and they price accordingly. Most LPs seem to be in the $5 to $15 range, but there are some classics and rare joints that command more. If you wanna do some diggin, there are plenty of dollar bins to sift through as well.

All in all, I'd say this is one of the best hip hop centric used vinyl record shops I've ever been to. If this place was in Dallas, I'd be broke as hell!

Highly recommended.

Russ & Daughters

2009-10-06T07:42:00.002-05:00

Russ & Daughters Appetizers is another place in the Lower East Side that I found out about from watching Anthony Bourdain’s Disappearing Manhattan episode of No Reservations.

This tiny family owned storefront is a New York landmark that's been in business since 1914 seving the quintessential New York dish: lox on a bagel with cream cheese. Until you've tried it, the thought of cured salmon with cream cheese might not sound appealing, but once you take a bite you'll understand why it gets so much hype. Very unique flavor that I can't quite describe better than "yummy".

If you're ever in New York, do yourself a favor and get a bagel with Lox at Russ & Daughters. Sit on the bench outside, watch the city, and enjoy.

Recommended.

Katz's Delicatessen

2009-10-05T07:22:00.003-05:00

At first, I felt like such a tourist whore for planning to eat at Katz's Deli in the Lower East Side, but after I watched Anthony Bourdain’s Disappearing Manhattan episode of No Reservations, I just knew I had to go. One of the many reasons I was going to NYC was to eat like a pig, and what better way to do that than stuffing an old school New York pastrami on rye down my gullet?

At $14.95, the sandwich ain't cheap, but it was large enough that my wife and I split it--and we were both stuffed. It's a sloppy mess of a sandwich, but it's friggin' delicious. Hell, I didn't even know I liked pastrami--maybe that's because until now, I'd never had good pastrami.

Thankfully our Hotel was only 3 blocks away because after that meal, I needed to take a nap.

Ninth Street Espresso

2009-10-02T07:53:00.002-05:00

I found out about Ninth Street Espresso from a blog post on Gizmodo--and after reading about the one-of-a-kind, hand-built $15,000 La Marzocco espresso machine, I just had to check the place out.

Their main location is on 9th street in the Alphabet City neighborhood of the East Village, just a few blocks east of Tompkins Square Park, but they have two other locations as well, including one on 10th street on the other side of the park--but I wanted to see the La Marzocco machine, so we went to the main location.

It's surprisingly large for a coffee shop in NYC; so many others I saw were tiny in comparison. Ample seating indoors and a large front patio. The place has a nice independent vibe.

Of course, the real star here is the espresso. Holy shit is it good--I ordered a macchiato and honestly, it was probably the most perfect cup of coffee I've ever had. My wife had an espresso, which was dead on perfect with the most beautiful creama ever, but I personally feel a macchiato is a better balanced coffee drink than straight espresso. But that's just my opinion--drink whatever floats your boat, because I believe everything they serve is just about as good as it gets.

Highest possible recommendation.

Turntable Lab

2009-10-01T07:25:00.005-05:00

I was really excited about heading down to the East Village and checking out Turntable Lab--and the TTL Annex next door--because I order stuff from them all the time. Hell, I check their website everyday for the new goods.

Turntable Lab sells music, gear, and related accessories while the TTL Annex sells clothing, caps, bags, books & magazines, gadgets, toys, sunglasses and...well pretty much anything they deem cool. You never know what's gonna be popping up for sale next.

The stores are really pretty damn small, even by NYC standards, but they seem to pack a helluva lot of product in there. I imagine that if you have a need for something turntable or DJ related, they can hook you up. And if you just want to see what's new and cool in the scene, they got you covered there, too.

Highly recommended.

McSorley's Old Ale House

2009-09-30T08:01:00.001-05:00

McSorley's is and old pub--really, really old. Founded in 1854, it's the oldest continuously operating bar in New York City. It even operated through the Prohibition era, albeit secretly in the basement. This little bar in the East Village is just dripping with age; absolutely everything about the place seems ancient. From the tables to the walls, the photos and newspaper articles on the walls, the original bar taps, even the front doors, everything seems to have an antique yellow patina to it. Stepping in McSorley's feels like going through a time warp.

The only thing they serve to drink (not counting sodas) is their McSorley's Ale, available in either light or dark. Each has their strengths, and while the dark is more my taste, I'd suggest having both. They're served in small glasses, two at a time, but they're dirt cheap. Everything's on the honor system, so keep track of what you drink. And be aware: cash only!

There's a little kitchen in the back serving a nice selection of bar-style food. It's certainly not a restaurant, but you won't have any problem getting something to eat if you're hungry.

Sure, place is a definitely a novelty, but it's a good one.

Recommended.

Dave's Quality Meat

2009-09-29T07:25:00.003-05:00

Dave's Quality Meat has the weirdest shop name (there's a story behind it with this name-changing meat/veal shop in the Meat Packing district, kinda funny) but there's no denying it's one of the coolest shops in NYC. Sneakers, streetwear, and skater gear in all its glory. Skaters sitting on the stoop smoking cigarettes talking about where to score some weed. Unique sneaker collabs with the biggest names in the sneaker industry. Sneaker exclusivity at it's finest, being one of only six Nike Tier Zero accounts in the entire country. Dave's Quality Meat is fresh, no doubt.

Of all the places in NYC that I wanted to hit up, DQM was near the very top of my list--I was not disappointed. Like most other sneaker and streetwear boutiques, the shop is very small, so they're limited in how much they can possibly carry, but what they do have is dope as hell. Prices on t-shirts are very affordable (as low as $15 on sale), but some of the pricier outerwear can run into the hundreds of dollars. Sneaker prices are in line with most other places, but what really sets this place off is the DQM-specific products, both original and collaborations. Some of it is very affordable, some not, but that's the nature of unique shop-specific collab products.

One extra cool thing about DQM that they carry my favorite streetwear brand, Benny Gold. Anyplace that rocks his gear is golden in my book.

Highly recommended.

Bleecker Bob's Records

2009-09-25T07:25:00.004-05:00

Bleecker Bob's is a famous vinyl record store in Greenwich Village; it's one of the oldest record shops in New York and has one of the weirdest and most eclectic collections of music you'll find anywhere. There are categories for every music taste imaginable, and probably entire genres of music you've never heard of. There are plenty of rarities behind the counter as well, one of the better selections I saw for collectors.

Unfortunately, while I was able to find some interesting stuff, there really wasn't a lot there that really interested me. The hip hop section had plenty of odd, off the wall records, but nothing I'd really pay money for in order to listen to that I didn't already own. Their dollar bins might have been fun to dig through, but I didn't have the time to do that right then.

There's a strangely large selection of water pipes for the pot heads--in fact from the outside, the places looks more like a head shop than a vinyl record collector's store.

I'd go again if I was looking for something oddball, especially if I wanted something outside of my normal genres, but it's not really my kinda shop.

Fat Beats

2009-09-24T07:32:00.001-05:00

Fat Beats is a vinyl record shop in a second floor walk-up on the edge of the West Village in Greenwich Village, NYC--and it's the best hip hop centric vinyl record store I've ever seen.

I've been ordering online from their website for several years now, so it was sweet being able to hit up their actual brick & mortar store, but even though I knew sold new vinyl I had no idea just how extensive their selection really was. I mean really, it's crazy how much shit they got--I kept hearing myself say, "damn I didn't even know this was available on vinyl!" And on top of that, every one of my favorite classic hip hop albums was there, available for purchase, on shrink wrapped virgin vinyl. It was like heaven, but it hurt the hell outta my wallet. I spent more at this record store and any other in NYC.

You know that this place is for real when you see the lineup of folks who do album signings, promos, releases, and other events here: Q-Tip, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Talib Kweli, 88-Keys, EPMD, J. Rocc, Large Pro...and then the day after I was there, Raekwon was gonna be doing a signing event for OBFCL2 that dropped that week. Damn.

If you're looking for hip hop on brand new vinyl, either classic releases or new joints, then Fat Beats can hook you up better than probably anywhere else on earth.

Highest Possible Recommendation

New Era Cap Flagship Store

2009-09-23T07:25:00.007-05:00

If you're into streetwear, or baseball, then you know what the New Era 59fifty cap is: the original fitted ball cap, and the official on-field cap for all MLB teams. New Era only operates a handful of Flagship stores in the world, and only three in the US: Buffalo, Atlanta, and NYC.

Located in the NoHo district near a few blocks east of NYU, the New Era Flagship Store is practically a museum dedicated to the iconic flat billed 59fifty cap. In addition to every on-field MLB cap, the store also sells licensed NHL, NBA, and NFL caps as well as collaborations with a diverse range of streetwear brands--and even licensed DC and Marvel Comics caps. They also sell other New Era hat styles and some apparel, but the store mostly deals with the 59fifty.

People ask me all the time why I wear fitted baseball caps, especially since most folks seem to wear adjustable or flex-fit golf style caps. In my opinion, wearing an adjustable/flexible cap is like wearing stretchy pants. I mean come on, I wear shirts, pants, socks, underwear, and shoes fitted to my size; why wouldn't I wear a cap that's fitted as well?

Recommended for fans of the New Era 59fifty.

Flight Club

2009-09-22T07:50:00.006-05:00

No doubt, Flight Club is a hardcore sneaker collector's heaven. There are three locations in NYC: Green St. in NoHo; Nassau St. downtown just outside of Tribeca near the WTC; and Lafayette St. in SoHo. I did hit the Lafayette shop (which mostly has apparel and used sneakers) but the real heat is at the main Green St. location next to the NYU campus.

Unlike most sneaker shops, Flight Club sells consignment shoes, but that doesn't necessarily mean used; at the Green St. shop, everything on the walls are all brand new (but there are a few highly collectible kicks in a display case up front). What this means is they have shit in stock that you probably cannot find for sale anywhere else outside of eBay.

I went in looking for a few specific pair, and to their credit they had them in stock on the shelf, available in my size. Unfortunately, they were priced way outta my league. That's what I get for wanting highly desirable and collectible sneakers. Ha ha!

One surprise I found was the new international-only Jordan III in the True Blue colorway. That shoe flat out isn't available for sale in the United States--but if you want em, they got em in stock for just $275.

If you're a Jordan sneakerhead, Flight Club will blow your mind. I think they had every relatively recent release and tons of various colorways of just about every Air Jordan ever released, including many premier releases. Most were priced between $175 to $400, but the rarer releases went up as high as $2000 (maybe more, but that's the highest price I saw). They even had the 2009 Jordan XI Space Jams in stock--and that shoe don't even come out for public release until this Christmas!

While their strength is probably in Air Jordans, they had plenty of Nike Blazers, Dunks, and Air Force 1s as well as many Adidas, Puma, Converse, Vans, Reebok, and others. Basically, if you're a sneakerhead, then Flight Club on Green St. is a must hit.

Highest Possible Recommendation.

A Bathing Ape (BAPE)

2009-09-21T07:37:00.008-05:00

A Bathing Ape, or BAPE, is an ultra-hot premium lifestyle brand based out of Tokyo, Japan founded by a designer, DJ, and music producer known as "Nigo". BAPE is popular with many hip hop artists like Kanye West, Pharrell, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kid Cudi.

Exclusivity is the word with BAPE, as their products are notoriously difficult to find. They only operate five stores outside of Japan, located in Hong Kong, London, Taipei, Los Angeles, and New York. Other than their company-run shops, your best bet to getting BAPE apparel is from their website. BAPE shoes are, thankfully, more universally available at a variety of boutique sneaker shops.

The exclusivity doesn't come cheap; their popular Bapesta shoes typically run from $180 to $225, shirts range from $73 to $175, jackets and hoodies from $275 to $500. In certain cases, some extremely limited apparel items are rumored to run well over $1000.

The BAPE store was one of the very finest merchandised shops I saw in NYC--feels more like an art gallery than a store. Apparel and accessories are downstairs, sneakers upstairs. The place is incredibly well designed; it's straight up hot shit, y'all.

I had my eye on a Baby Milo t-shirt that I'd seen online some time ago, and I got lucky that they had one left--and in my size, too. Of course, that's if you think paying $73 for a t-shirt is "lucky". I keep telling myself that it cost so much because it's imported from Japan. Ha-ha!

Highly recommended, even if you just wanna windowshop.

Adidas Originals - SoHo

2009-09-19T11:46:00.000-05:00

The Adidas Originals store in the SoHo shopping district of NYC is much like any other Adidas Originals store--they carry nearly the same product as the one here in Dallas, although they seem to have much more product in stock. Perhaps that's just my perception though, since the store is merchandised so differently than the Dallas store, which strangely seems more cosmopolitan with its gallery-like design than the SoHo location.

One unique difference of the SoHo store is the pair of barber-style chairs connected to Internet kiosks that allow you to design your own customized Adidas sneakers via the "Adidas Mi" program. Yes, you can do this from your own computer on the Adidas website, but the advantage of doing it in the store is that you have access to actual samples of all the available materials and colors as well as a wall of other Mi sneaker examples to look at. Plus, it's just kinda cool to be able to sit in the store to design your own sneakers--it's just not quite the same doing it at home.

One more note: we went to the store twice, the second time during the city-wide Fashion's Night Out event kicking off the NYC Fashion Week. Adidas went all out for the event, clearing a large space in the middle of the store for an old school B-Boy group to showcase their breakdancing skills, and an artist on-site to custom paint sneakers for you. On top of all that, they were giving out a one-time only limited edition Adidas t-shirt that was only available during the Fashion's Night Out event. My wife picked up a pair of baseball-inspired Adidas Superstar PTs celebrating the 60th anniversary of Addidas and copped the t-shirt.

Premium Laces

2009-09-18T07:59:00.003-05:00

Premium Laces is a highly regarded sneaker and apparel shop in the SoHo shopping district of New York. It's actually a fairly simple looking store compared to the rest of the typical high end boutiques in SoHo, so much that it almost seems a bit out of place for the district. If it wasn't for the cool art on the walls, it'd be completely devoid of decoration. That's actually cool tho; you know the focus here is on the product--and they ain't playin!

There's a stellar selection of Nike sneakers along the left side of the shop, as well as other brands like Puma, Reebok, Vans, New Balance, and Alife, but it's obvious their forte is Nike. If you like Blazers, Dunks, SBs, Air Max, Air Force 1, and of course Jordans, you'll like this shop. There's also a very nice selection of shirts, jackets, hoodies, and caps on the opposite wall. They have a particularly nice selection of LRG brand clothing. It seems most things are priced at MSRP, but there's plenty of sale items scattered about for those seeking a good deal on some kicks.

One of the best things about Premium Laces is the location relative to the subway; you pop up out of the 6 line directly in front of their front door.

It's not the fanciest sneaker store in NYC, but it's well worth the trip.

EDIT - October 5th
Pete from Premium Laces recently posted on their blog that the shop got a little renovation. The plain white walls are gone, replaced with a wicked purple paint job. Big improvement, good looks Pete.

Ray's Pizza

2009-09-17T07:29:00.002-05:00

If you've ever been to New York, odds are you've seen a Ray's Pizza. As the New York Times reported way back in 1991, there are well over 30 different pizzerias using some form of the name Ray's: Famous Ray's, World Famous Ray's, Original Ray's, Famous Original Ray's, Ray Bari's, Real Ray's or One and Only Famous Ray's. I've eaten at several of these, but until now I'd never been to the oldest one, Ray's Pizza on Prince Street in Little Italy.

The Prince Street Ray's, which opened in 1959, is actually split into two parts, an Italian restaurant on the left and a tiny pizzeria on the right. They serve half a dozen different types of slices in a tiny space about the size of my dining room at home. Needless to say, the slices are typical New York style thin crust pizza with generous portions of fresh mozzarella, ricotta, fresh tomatoes, basil, spinach, beef, and of course pepperoni--and they are all delicious.

Famous Original Ray's, one of the other competing Ray's pizzerias I've been to, is also quite old, founded in 1964, but I didn't think the Pizza was anywhere near as good as the older Prince Street Ray's. So be warned, just because a pizzeria in New York is called "Ray's" doesn't mean it's worth a damn.

But the 50-year old Prince Street Ray's is well worth the trip. Recommended.

NYC vinyl purchases

2009-09-16T07:55:00.002-05:00

While in NYC last week, I hit a whole slew of record shops and bought quite a bit of vinyl. Most of it was cheap 50¢ and $1 records for sampling, but I bought a few things just for my own listening pleasure:

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988; reissue)
De La Soul - is Dead (1991; reissue)
De La Soul - Art Official Intelligence 2: Bionix (2001)
Common - Resurrection (1994; reissue)
El Michels Affair - Enter the 37th Chamber (2009)
Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab (2007)
Blu & Mainframe are - Johnson & Johnson (2008)
Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement (2009)
Mayer Hawthorne - Maybe So, Maybe no 12" single (2009)

Except for De La's AOI:Bionix (top right), all these were brand-new, shrinkwrapped virgin vinyl. I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of slicing open vinyl shrinkwrap with a pocket knife, but there's just something about it that makes me so much happier than fudging with a CD jewel case and a bunch of dumbass security/ barcode stickers.

And then whew, playing that fresh virgin vinyl? It sounds so sweet, ain't nuthin like it.

NYC Vacation

2009-09-15T07:42:00.003-05:00

Okay, since so many friends have asked "how was your New York vacation?" I figured I'd post up about it here. So basically, my wife and I spent a week in NYC on vacation, mainly to do some shopping, go to a few little events, and just chill. Here's a recap of the trip.

We stayed at the Hotel East Houston because it is affordable, modern, in the right location (Lower East Side) relative to our planned shopping, and because it has a kickass outdoor rooftop terrace that we could drink and smoke cigars on. The rooms are small, like most others in the city, but it was very nice with a damn comfortable king size bed. I heard some of the smaller rooms have chintsy bathrooms, but ours was great with a huge shower, much bigger than the one I got at home. I highly recommend this hotel, especially considering the rooftop terrace and awesome location.

The hotel is right in the middle of the areas we were planning on checking out: Lower East Side, East Village, Little Italy, SoHo, NoHo, and Greenwich Village--which are basically the areas where most of the big time vinyl record stores and sneaker/streetwear shops are located. We pretty much spent Monday through Wednesday just shopping. I'll be blogging about those places over the next few weeks, so keep reading this blog to check them out.

Also in the area around the hotel are several famous old timey restaurants and pubs. In fact, right before we left, I caught the Anthony Bourdain's “Disappearing Manhattan” episode of No Reservations, and two of the places are just a couple of blocks east of the hotel. Also, Little Italy is only three blocks to the west, so there is plenty of food around.

Speaking of Little Italy, every September the streets transform into the famous Feast of San Gennaro where you can eat yourself to friggin' death on Italian food. We've been before on past NY trips, so we knew to plan this trip to coincide with the event. The "Holy Cannoli" gelato from Cha Cha's alone is worth the trip.

The SoHo shopping and fashion district is just two blocks west of Little Italy, and the Fashion's Night Out event was taking place on Thursday night, kicking off New York Fashion Week. The streets fill up with taxis and a bunch of really tall, skinny women drinking champaign and shopping their asses off til 11pm. It's a complete zoo, for real, really neat to see in person.

Speaking of taxis, we spent a week in the city and never took one! Instead, we bought week-long MTA passes at LaGuardia airport and got around exclusively via subway trains and city buses--even back and forth to the airport. By the end of the week, we had a firm grasp of how the subway works, and I gotta say, big ups to the MTA for making that shit easy to ride. I don't think we ever walked more than 6 or 7 blocks at a time; anything more than that and we just hopped on a train. The iPhone subway maps make it real easy to figure it all out.

The best ride we took was probably the B train out to Crown Heights in Brooklyn to hit a specific sneaker shop. It was a totally different experience than the touristy shopping in Manhattan--and the coolest part is that the train goes over the river on the Manhattan Bridge, a really scenic (if somewhat seedy) little trip.

Another subway trip we made was on Friday, September 11th, down to the World Trade Center site. The place is mostly a giant construction site right now, but being there on the anniversary of 9/11 was pretty surreal and somber.

Friday evening, we rode the subway up to midtown to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which was having Target Free Fridays. It's a real tourist trap, way too damn many people to properly enjoy the art I suppose, but hey, it's hard to bitch when it's free.

Finally, a music related comment. On Tuesday, two significant new NY-based albums came out: Raekwon's long awaited Only Built For Cuban Links II and Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3. For real, it seemed like every single record and sneaker shop we hit all week was playing one of those two albums. Everywhere we went in the city, those albums was playing. New York was most definitely representing.

NYC sneaker purchases

2009-09-14T07:37:00.012-05:00

I just spent a week in New York, and naturally I hit up as many sneaker, streetwear, and record shops as I could fit in the trip. I'll be posting about those places for the next few weeks or so, but I thought I'd start off by showing the sneakers we picked up on the trip, plus a couple I got right before the trip that I haven't posted about yet.

A few notes notes:

The Jordan XX3 and Adidas Superstar PT 60ths are my wife's sneakers.
The A.R.C. x Nike Dunks are an exclusive collaboration by the famous Alife Rivington Club.
The Air Jordan Vs came out of the 2008 18/5 Countdown Pack.
The Big Nike with the Japanese text is actually my second colorway; I've already got the orange/white pair.
The Reebok Club DGK Pump is made out of rubber basketball material--crazy kicks!
The Adidas ZX 600s are ugly as sin, but I picked them up because they were only $5 bucks.

Adidas + Def Jam T-shirt

2009-09-01T08:19:00.001-05:00

Seriously y'all, this might be the Holy Grail of T-shirts for me. It combines so many of the things I love: Adidas sneakers, vinyl records, Hip Hop, and of course T-shirts.

So now you might be asking yourself, "what's the deal here, how's all this connected?" so lemme tell you the story: back in the day, Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons founded Def Jam, which turned out some of the most important Hip Hop of the 80's and early 90's, including RUN-DMC, LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, 3rd Bass, and EPMD. Now at the time, music singles destined for radio airplay came out on 12" vinyl in relatively simple sleeves--as opposed to the more expensive photographic album covers found in retail--and Def Jam had a great iconic logo incorporating a large "DJ" and a turntable tone arm on the sleeve; they was basically screaming, "hey DJ, put me on!"

In 1986, Def Jam artists RUN-DMC put out a song called "My Adidas" extolling the greatness of the Adidas Superstar "shell toe" sneakers--which I've got a closet full of--and thus began a deep connection between Adidas sneakers and hip hop.

This summer, Adidas celebrates their 60th anniversary in collaboration with Def Jam's 25th anniversary, and when they announced the product line I just knew I had to cop this shirt. The 12" single vinyl record design is classic, and then they topped it off with shiny reflective silver ink, silver thread shoulder stitching, and a nice crown logo on the back.

I'm lovin' this shirt.

Shure Record Tote Bag

2009-08-31T07:33:00.008-05:00

I'm going to NYC soon and got plans to hit several record stores while I'm there--and Manhattan ain't exactly car friendly, so I'm gonna have to hoof it on foot with whatever records I purchase.

To help me carry records all over town, I picked up this Shure heavy-duty record tote bag a few weeks ago. It's got big heavy handles on top, a shoulder strap, pop-out backpack straps, a bunch of interior pockets, a strong fold down floor, cinch straps, and can hold 50 records. That'll probably be enough space. Maybe. Hopefully? LOL

For those not in the know, Shure is one of the leading brands of record needle cartridges--they're what I use on my turntables.

If you're looking for one, they run around $40 on Amazon.com

Coffee Drinks Illustrated

2009-08-30T14:25:00.000-05:00

I found this great coffee infographic the other day created by graphic designer Lokesh Dhakar. Reading the blog comments are interesting; seems he altered the graphic as coffee experts described how the drinks should be made. Cool.

He's set up a Cafe Press store if you wanna buy this design on a t-shirt, or better yet a coffee mug.

Adikt Footwear

2009-08-20T07:33:00.004-05:00

You're looking at one of my very favorite stores in Dallas: Adikt Footwear located in the West Village shopping center in uptown. They sell sneakers, shirts, caps, toys, skateboards, and sometimes even bikes. They carry some of the best brands in the business like 10 Deep, Benny Gold, Huf, Rogue Status, Crooks & Castles, The Hundreds, Stussy, as well as major name brand sneakers like Nike, Puma, Vans, and even Alife.

I've bought shoes, shirts, and hats from them--I like just about everything they carry; their aesthetic is right in tune with my tastes.

Adikt just celebrated their three year anniversary so they must be doing something right. If you haven't been there yet, you should definitely go check them out.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Adidas Originals - NorthPark

2009-08-19T07:27:00.004-05:00

I've already posted about the Adidas Outlet, but somehow I haven't posted about the actual Adidas Originals store located in NorthPark Mall. Being a massive Adidas Originals whore, this store is pretty much shopping heaven for me: I swear it sucks the money straight outta my wallet! LOL

For those that don't know, Adidas Originals is a separate heritage product line that's done up completely different from their athletic performance line. You can instantly tell the difference from the logo; instead of the modern 3-stripe triangle logo, Adidas Originals uses the old pre-1991 Trefoil logo. The products are all retro inspired reissues, everything from Superstars to track suits.

Even if you hate going to the Mall, it's worth making the trip just to check out the Adidas Originals store.

Highly recommended.

EDIT (January 2010) - Adidas has unfortunately closed this store.

Nike Outlet

2009-08-18T07:41:00.007-05:00

As I posted last week, I made a trip out to the Allen Premium Outlets to check out the Adidas and Nike outlet stores. I was impressed with the Adidas store (bought eleven pairs of sneakers in two weekends) and had high hopes of the Nike store being just as awesome.

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

The Nike Outlet store is gigantic, but it really seemed focused on apparel and athletic performance shoes. If that's what you're into, then you're golden, but if you are on the hunt for kicks, you might be disappointed. They hardly had any Air Force Ones (what I was on the hunt for) and what they did have were in awful colorways and limited sizes. Their selection of Jordans were weak, too. I guess it shouldn't surprise me since they're popular enough they don't need to clearance them. Hard to believe, but I didn't buy a thing.

Recommended for athletic shoes, but not so much for sneaker heads.