All White Everything…

Wednesday June 19 2013
Aside from the all white, a gum outsole always looks good.

The timeless combination of Gum & White always looks perfect. Here’s another.

We can’t really tell you where our fascination with white shoes started.
It might’ve begun in 1996 with Ed Templeton’s Welcome to Hell part. Ed’s part stood out for countless reasons aside from the ‘then’ groundbreaking tricks. Compared to the level of skating today, Templeton’s WTH part is still relevant & more so, has inspired a complete alternative subculture of kids wearing their dad’s chino/dress pants when they go out to skate. The lack of flip tricks, the lengthy grinds, his at ease pushing compared to his rushed pushing in Heavy Metal and a carefully selected & flawless Sonic Youth track (only when suited with the perfect individual) always brings together the ideal assembly for a “simple yet perfect” skate part. As white canvas shoes became an alternative choice for vegan skateboarders, it slowly became a fashionable & iconic symbol for skateboarder’s to grab hold of. Granted, our obsession started with Ed but took off with other skateboarder’s as the years past. Can’t say whether they themselves had the same rite of passage towards wearing white shoes as we did but, when we think of white shoes, Ed certainly comes to mind. Whether it be the contrast of white shoes on black griptape or the fact that wearing tarnished white shoes accelerates the skateboarder’s “I don’t give a fuck how I look” mentality, white shoes can only be carefully suited with those who can properly pull it off. The same standards are also withheld for those trying to sport a bucket hat. Just because it’s cool after a brief hiatus, doesn’t mean you should do it. As far as we’ve seen, Ronnie’s the only person who’s been able to pull off the white shoe & bucket hat combo, along with some proper cargo pant’s too. Possibly the best outfit hammer to date? Definitely in the top 3.

In recent times, only a few are brave enough to challenge the status quo. After all, the combination of a true white shoe couldn’t be further than what a traditional skateboarder would ask for. Skating a leather or canvas shoe is a huge sacrifice for anyone willing to wear an all white shoe. It’s ultimately the price you pay to look unique/artsy/cool, even though the shoe will only last you (if canvas) 3 days. In the case of leather, 3-5 days of torturous break-in time. In some cases, there are ways around it, just ask Richard Angelides. The Adidas shell toe has managed to keep him looking fresh & protected. As a result, he’s become a long-time ambassador of the white shoe society. The same could be said about white shoe newcomer, Neen Williams, thanks to Supra’s TUF technology on their SkyTop 3. Other notable skateboarder’s are Biebel & Daewon for their embrace of skating the least popular white shoe option, leather. Chad Muska was another who was never scared to wear white, along with Jeron Wilson, Marc Johnson, Kareem Campbell, Rowley had a brief stint wearing white shoes (probably as a result from hanging out with Ed a bunch), Jason Lee, Chris Dobstaff and many more considering how prominent white shoes were back then.

Two members of Team Handsome have done the all-white look. How much longer till they all look like this.

Two members of Team Handsome have done the all-white look. How much longer till they all look like this?

Read More

Exclusive: Emerica Westgate Photos

Thursday June 6 2013

EmericaWestgateBlackHere are some exclusive photos of the new Emerica Westgate due to come out in Spring 2014.

The heavy anticipation behind this shoe all started when Brandon was spotted wearing these in his Zoo York 20 years strong web clip. Not too long after that, it started a frenzy within the skateboarding community about the return of the retro/runner toe look. Although many have been forthcoming about their distaste of this new model, (mainly kids born after 1999) we’re excited about Westgate’s upcoming pro model. Not only does this shoe reinforce Emerica’s “Higher Quality” campaign but it also shows promise of some incredible comfort. The likelihood of being able to walk, rather than limp, after an exhausting session just increased.

More news to come on this shoe in the coming weeks, including pricing info, release date & more. As far as we know, it should have all the latest technology & improvements that Emerica’s been implementing into all of their Higher Quality shoes.

EmericaWestgateBlackBlue

DC Nyjah Review

Monday June 3 2013

What do you give a person who has everything in the world? After dominating practically every skate competition there is, Nyjah Huston’s work ethic goes beyond the competitive playing grounds. It’s no secret that in the past years, the general consensus among skateboarder’s were to label Nyjah as a Contest skater but after a series of video parts, web clips and more, Nyjah not only earned the respect from skateboarder’s worldwide, but it also ensured his career to go down as a legendary one. So again, what do you give the teen who has everything at such a tender age? How about a pro shoe on one of most respected skateboarding brands ever? Sounds good to us.

Review information:
This review was done during the course of 3 weeks and gathered about 15 hours of skating in the process. Check below each section to view our grading system. We base our ratings from 1-10. 10 being the best and 1 being the absolute worst. Enjoy.

Sizing:
Despite being a cupsole, the Nyjah Pro surprisingly fits true to size. As with any cupsole, it’s going to take some time to break-in, but after approximately 2-3- sessions, you should be in the clear to finally enjoy the Nyjah’s to their full potential. Even after the break-in point, the Nyjah’s will still have a sturdy feel without getting all floppy due to their thick leather heel counter.

Short Answer: True to Size (feel free to go a half size larger if you like wearing your shoes a bit looser)

 
Comfort & Cushioning:
With this newly integrated Impact G system, exclusively for the Nyjah pro, there’s a bunch of information that we have share about it. Firstly, compared to DC’s other technology, specifically the Airbag system in the Centric S, the Impact G is not as “bouncy” but is capable of taking more impact than the Centric S. Why, you ask? Well, for one, it’s a thicker cupsole. Secondly, with the specific technology in the heel of the outsole, it makes for a better distribution of energy when you’re landing these high impact tricks. This is also made possible because of the gel insert in the heel.

Read More

Agenda Sneak Peek: HUF Fall 13

Sunday June 2 2013
Porto-Overview

The HUF Porto might remind you of the 1984. Same outsole with some minor changes. $80

All of the goods that we’ve featured in our Agenda posts are due to come out within the next 2-3 months and we couldn’t be more excited to finally get our hands some of the promising footwear. Leading up to this year’s Agenda show, it’s only right to show you guys what’s to come. One of the brands that showed some of the most promise, in our eyes, is the ever growing HUF brand. As of lately they’ve been coming out with some pretty original designs in their footwear and happen to be filling a unique void within skateboarding. And no, we’re not talking about the weed print clothing boom that’s taken place. We’re actually referring to their potential of filling the “Dressy & Grown” gap that Gravis left behind when they moved their operations to Asia. Someone’s got to do it and by the sneak peek we saw in their SP 14 catalog, you’ll think so too. But for now, we’ll show you what to expect for Fall 13.

Porto-Ash_BlackThe Porto has really been attracting some eyes. It definitely resembles a early 2000 cupsole in some ways but that claim probably comes from it’s bulky exterior. We’re not gonna lie, it just might be bulky but that’s a kind of good thing. With the treads that we’ve been noticing, apparently kids have finally embraced puffier shoes in hopes of being able to walk when they’re 25. We’ve had the pleasure of skating the 1984 shoe and the outsole on that shoe happens to be the same on the Porter. The 1984 grip was strong but nothing overwhelming, had a good amount of impact support in the gel heel and felt pretty good. We can only imagine that the Porter is going to be just as good.

One of the better lifestyle shoes to come out of a skate brand. $120

One of the better lifestyle shoes to come out of a skate brand. $120

Skate shoe brands never before had to worry about appealing to any other consumer but  skateboarders, but since the growth of skateboarding’s commercialism, regular skate shoe brands are now creating products for the masses. At first, you’ll feel all “Oh, I’m not so special anymore” but upon thinking about it a little longer, you’ll realize that it’s good for the brand and skateboarding alike. This point brings us to the first non-skateboarding shoe that Huf has made, the HUF Runner. Keith Hufnagel is no stranger to designing a runner. Although his previous runner model and this one are held within the same catagory, they’re completely different. The HUF Runner is, unlike most skateboarding related runner’s, a hiking inspired shoe and has a bunch of style. From a hip-hop aficionado to Williamsburg’s newest hipster, we can honestly see this model on anyone. All of the colorways featured in the photo above have a premium leather upper and a canvas or mesh ventilation system. Sure, we won’t be skating them but you can bet that they’ll be featured in our winter report to ensure that they stand up to the chilling elements.

Last but not least is a favorite of anyone who’s tried them, the Pepper Pro. We had a good time reviewing them and it was probably because of how quick they broke-in. These newer colorways have us wanting every pair we see. Like the HUF Runner, the Pepper Pro looks to be falling into the category of “anybody can wear these” but it’s probably because of the unique colorways that have come out in the last couple of drops. Not only is HUF becoming known for their durable & diverse footwear but also because their amazing color pallet. Can’t wait to see what they’ll have at this year’s Agenda show.

25 Skateboarders in 2013 Without A Shoe Sponsor: 20-16

Wednesday May 22 2013
This needs to happen again. The shoe, the brand, everything.

This needs to happen again. The shoe, the brand, everything.

Disclaimer: The order in which these pros are listed has nothing to do with who deserves what over who, we’re simply just listing names and going on as we please. Number 25 is no different than number 1.

20. Dennis Durrant

In the comment section of the initial 25-21, we were told that we only mention American skateboarder’s and no one else. Well, that’s all changed with Dennis Durrant, the aussie who never made it in the states (like he should have). For reasons unknown to us, he’s had numerous parts, all of them exceptionally mind blowing and full of style, yet still hasn’t earned the respect or stability of his sponsors. His shoe sponsor situation is as dire as his current board sponsor situation. Rumored to be on Skate Mental and Adidas in early 2012, he’s since then disappeared and has left us wondering whether he’ll slowly resurrect out of nowhere with one of the best parts in 2013 or vanish for good. Here’s a video of Dennis sitting through his old parts and talking about the business nature of skateboarding. He’s sounds like he hates it.

Pros: Can kickflip into any grind with speed, style and grace.
Cons: None that we know of.

Recently seen in: All Black shoes…
Would be nice to see him on: Adidas or Nike, this dude deserves to get paid. Read More