Sneaker History Podcast - Sneakers, Sneaker Culture and the Business of Footwear

Pete Forester and I have been circling each other in the sneaker and streetwear editorial world for well over a decade. Pete worked at Kith under Ronnie Fieg, wrote news for Complex Sneakers, covered the industry for Esquire, hosted two seasons of High Snobiety's From the Ground Up, and was editorial director at StockX. He also wrote the Sole Collector article that introduced the world to StockX before he ever worked there.We finally connected... and barely talked about shoes.The Highsnobiety show ended because the owner didn't like Pete's haircut. That story says everything you need to know about working in editorial inside someone else's brand, and it's just the starting point. What followed was a conversation about creative independence, the ethics of sneaker media, what happens to work when it gets deleted, and what two decades in this industry actually teaches you.Pete is currently writing books and publishing at his Substack: Okay, So.Find him at @Pete_Forester on most platforms.

Amado Rodriguez Jr. started his blog, The Official Encyclopedia Sneakérica, with one goal... to do for sneakers what Encyclopedia Britannica did for everything else. No hype. No "buy it now" buttons. Just the deep cuts, the real history, and the stuff that gets lost when everybody's chasing the algorithm.He's @SneakerProfiler on Instagram, a B-boy whose parents came from Puerto Rico, a military veteran who ran constantly during his time in the Army, and a marathon runner who might know more about the ZX Series than most people at adidas right now.We talked for a long time over video. He had shoes. A lot of them. Here are some of the places we went.Amado traced the entire modern running shoe back through the Osaga cantilever outsole, the dual-density foam on the SL 72, and the torsion system in the ZX 1000, making the case that most of what we consider revolutionary in 2015 was figured out in 1972. He held each one up to the camera to prove it. He also showed off a Wales Bonner SL 72, an adidas Rivalry 414 collab from a Milwaukee shop, a Saucony Jazz 81 he wore the day his daughter was born, and an Osaga that the brand's founder's grandson sent him.We got into the ZX 8000 and the AZX collaboration series, and why adidas doesn't do enough to connect the dots between their performance history and the retro shoes sitting on boutique walls right now. We talked about Jacques Chassaing and why someone needs to keep crediting him, because he's too humble to do it himself. And we talked about Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl... not the shoes specifically, but the moment, and what it meant for people who understood the full context of what was happening on that field.This is one of those conversations where the shoes are almost beside the point. Almost.In this episode: The NBA knockoff shoes that started everything. What Puma Suedes have to do with b-boy culture. Why the Osaga cantilever outsole from 1976 feels better than most shoes made today. The ZX Series as the skeleton of every running shoe that came after it. Jacques Chassaing and what adidas owes him. Why brand copywriting for sneakers is just a "brick of text" most of the time. Bad Bunny, Residente, and why adidas going quiet during the Super Bowl halftime show might have been the right call after all. And why the stories being built now, the blogs, the podcasts, the substacks, are the encyclopedia that the sneaker world actually needs.Find Amado: Instagram: @SneakerProfiler Blog: The Official Encyclopedia SneakéricaSUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistorySubscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@sneakerhistoryIf you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected] OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS:For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: https://exhaustnotes.fmFor the Fitted Hat Fans - Crown and Stitch: https://crownandstitch.comFor the Cars & Sneakers Fans - Cars & Kicks: https://carsxkicks.comFor the Creators & Creatives - Outside The Box: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/outside-the-box-convos-with-creators/id1050172106[Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbGET IN TOUCH:Robbie - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected]: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

The whole crew is back together... Nick, Mike, Robbie, and Rohit are all in the same (virtual) room for the first time in a while, and things get weird before they get good. From confusing their Thugs (Young vs. Slim, no disrespect to either) to breaking down the Reebok Engine A26 and the adidas x Spider collab dropping March 3rd, the guys cover a lot of ground this episode.The real meat of the conversation though? That ESPN story by Baxter Holmes about the Jordan 19 and the Black Mamba origin... it turns out the snakeskin concept that defined Kobe's entire identity was originally pitched for Michael Jordan, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Nick, Rohit, and Mike dig into why that story matters beyond the history books, what it says about how sneaker media used to work, and why moments like this one don't happen nearly enough anymore.Then the conversation shifts to Formula 1, sneaker partnerships in motorsports, where the real opportunity is, and why Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari might be more interesting for the sneaker world than anyone is talking about yet.Oh, and somewhere in there, Robbie gets off a line about MJ having too many animal nicknames that you just have to hear for yourself.Topics covered:Reebok Engine A26, adidas x Spider Superstar Super Modified, Jordan 19 Black Mamba origin story, WNBA Jordan Heir II, Hyrox vs. CrossFit, Formula 1 sneaker partnerships, NIL deals and the future of basketball culture.ESPN Story: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48016100/inside-secret-history-black-mamba-kobe-bryant-michael-jordan-air-jordan-19Nick's Story: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.com/p/sometimes-the-universe-proves-yourSUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistorySubscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@sneakerhistoryJoin our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/xJFyWmWgzaIf you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected] OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS:For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: https://exhaustnotes.fmFor the Fitted Hat Fans - Crown and Stitch: https://crownandstitch.comFor the Cars & Sneakers Fans - Cars & Kicks: https://carsxkicks.comFor the Creators & Creatives - Outside The Box: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/outside-the-box-convos-with-creators/id1050172106[Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbGET IN TOUCH:Robbie - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected]: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Steph Curry's sneaker free agency has him wearing heat from every brand, while Under Armour gets petty by stealing Curry Brand's Instagram followers. We debate where he should sign next (spoiler: maybe nowhere), compare this to Kobe's free agency, and break down why UA's downfall feels inevitable. Is Sunday Red the move? Should he just keep wearing whatever he wants? And why does Under Armour's logo look like a linebacker?Sole Retriever's Curry Tracker: https://currywatch.com/Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.comSUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content on Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistoryIf you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected] OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS:For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: https://exhaustnotes.fmFor the Fitted Hat Fans - Crown and Stitch: https://crownandstitch.comFor the Cars & Sneakers Fans - Cars & Kicks: https://carsxkicks.comFor the Creators & Creatives - Outside The Box: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/outside-the-box-convos-with-creators/id1050172106[Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbGET IN TOUCH:Robbie - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected]: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

JT, AKA The Sneaker Savant, has been in the sneaker world long enough to remember when eBay was church, when Dadas sold out, and when nobody questioned either of those things. He's been a fixture in the Sneaker History Discord for years, built a following on Instagram under @TheSneakerSavant, writes over at thesneakersavant.substack.com, and has been quietly one of the most interesting thinkers in this whole space... he just doesn't always show his face.This one gets personal pretty fast. We talk about the Portland gathering and what it meant to finally be in a room full of people who just get it, without needing to explain themselves. We get into why Instagram is broken, why eBay is still our church, and why the algorithm is really good at exactly one thing... flattening culture. JT makes the case that the Dadas were absolutely a thing in Northern California and he's completely right, and we both wonder what stories are being lost because the internet only amplifies what everybody already agrees on.We also get into the sneaker card JT made for the Portland trip, a Jordan card with MJ in a Blazers jersey, how that one piece of cardstock led to a conversation with Ken Black, one of the architects of Nike team sports, which somehow led to JT learning who designed a jersey he'd wanted since he was a kid living in Great Britain. That story alone is worth the listen.This is a conversation about sneakers, but honestly it's more about community, memory, and why the stuff that mattered to us deserves to be documented before it gets lost.In this episode:The Foot Locker chaos on February 13th and what sneaker riots say about where the culture is right now. Why JT stopped buying shoes and started routing them to people who'd actually want them. The eBay rabbit hole that both of us still fall into on the regular, and why eBay is still the best place for actual sneaker knowledge. JT's 265-days-on-Instagram calculation and why the math kind of ruins you. The Portland gathering, getting the invite, and what it felt like to finally be in that room. Making 60 Jordan/Blazers cards by hand, how that one move changed the whole second night. Ken Black, Drake Ramberg, the Arsenal jersey, and how sneaker passion creates these connections that genuinely could not be planned. Why Steph Curry wearing Chris Webber's Dadas matters more than most people gave it credit for. And the argument that Substack might be the only platform left where regional sneaker stories and real cultural memory can survive.Follow JT the Sneaker Savant:Substack: thesneakersavant.substack.comInstagram: @TheSneakerSavantWebsite: TheSneakerSavant.comSUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistorySubscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@sneakerhistoryJoin our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/xJFyWmWgzaIf you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected] OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS:For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: https://exhaustnotes.fmFor the Fitted Hat Fans - Crown and Stitch: https://crownandstitch.comFor the Cars & Sneakers Fans - Cars & Kicks: https://carsxkicks.comFor the Creators & Creatives - Outside The Box: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/outside-the-box-convos-with-creators/id1050172106[Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbGET IN TOUCH:Robbie - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected] - [email protected]: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/