When I was 10 years old, I asked my beloved mom for Adidas sneeskin sneakers. Instead, she came home with a pair of NBA and noted how perfect they are because I wanted to play in the NBA. I said, “You’re right, Mother. I’m going to be the next Dr. J.”
For the winless, NBA Adidas were the knockoffs. They had four straps, not three, and instead of being displayed in the store, they were stuffed into a giant overflowing bin with shoes tied together. NBAs were not very good for a showbox. But they were so cheap, and I was growing so fast, and we were so poor. So Canal Street “Adidas” It was for a little gale.
I remember walking tall at school, wearing my new kick and being absolutely roasted. My ruthless classmates said that the NBA stood for “Never Buy Adidas”.
That memory returned when I started interviewing shoe guru Joe La Pama for this week’s “Renaissance Men”. As the host of the complex Online show “Sneaker Shopping,” La Puma uses sneakers as a window to the lives and values of celebrities, artists and athletes who share heartfelt stories about their philosophy, their collections and sometimes soles on Kick.
“What I like is that everyone has a specific sneaker story,” La Puma told me.
“But also about how the first pair made you feel, how the worst pair made you feel. Maybe you were made fun of. You may have bought a fake by mistake. ”
He said that rapper Lil Yachty, who is a guest, was sold to fakes back in middle school, and, like you, laughed out of the hall. But he is laughing now – from his large Georgia home with two sneaker cupboards. “And now if you see that he has every sneaker and he goes back, it tells the story full circle. So that’s what I love about the show … It gets personality through shoes . “
La Puma had very little painful memory of their first pair, which her parents said she would have to live in for a full year. “So from what I remember, I miss the Jordan 6 infrared, white and pink, which is interesting now because I don’t wear white sneakers.”
UCN Grad, which began as an intern at the complex and is now also the site’s content strategy, has been hosting mass popular shows for almost eight years now. He has interviewed celebrities such as Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Alicia Keys, Vice President Kamala Harris and Pete Davidson. But his most memorable guests were my man, comedian, actor and all around dandy, JB Smoove, aka Leon “Ankush Your Enthusiasm”.
“This episode wasn’t the biggest episode … and we have other people the kids may know more about. But to me she’s like Pound, my favorite episode. I can’t believe she was this early. I Just thinking it has made the comedian’s mind sharp. He was talking about basketball basics. He’s a big naughty guy. He talks about Michael and Pippen and stuff like that. ”
But you can’t negotiate a sneaker without Michael. Ultimately, the Jordan brand is the core of this culture craze and continues to reach a generation that did not even know MJ as a player. Joe stated that “The Last Dance” documentary was a visual timeline of the brand as it featured the Bulls star in all classic genres.
“Three weeks ago, I’m in Atlanta, and Yachty has the best 1985 Jordan 1 collection. I think he’s 23 years old and had nowhere to go when he came out, but he went back and Instagram But these kids are sourcing these old sneakers … I’m looking at these for like six hours. You can get them for $ 4,000 and up. I liked them for $ 1,500, which is a lot , But it is relative in price. “
Kicks have apparently been a big part of my journey. As a member of the Fab Five, we wore Nike Huerches and then Black Barclays. And a much appreciated addition to the University of Michigan, La Puma had a pair of classic Michigan dunks behind them in this episode.
He smuggles in publicity, but his foundations of a good collection are mostly standard. “Classics never die…” he said.
“I always say, like the top five sneakers to make are a Nike Cortez, an Adidas Stan Smith, an Air Force 1, a Jordan and then a running shoe of your choice.” If he can bring back any shoes, he is eyeing the Naik Air Zoom Citizen.
“It’s an obscure sneaker that I ran cross-country in that Naik hasn’t been brought back in a decade and a half … Yes, I need Naik to bring these posts back.”
The online response was similar to the one I met back in grade school. “Yes, no, they don’t,” said Joe with a laugh.
And not everything that is popular looks really good. For example, in January, Kim Kardashian posted a photo In her Kanye’s controversial white Yeezy foam runner and a bikini. I wanted to go into it, but I thought they were ugly. The complex put him in the top 10 shoes of the year for 2020, and much of what was said was hotly debated, noting that it was more like a croc than a sneaker.
We talked at Ucino Hoops, and he is the biggest fan of Karen Butler. He said that Travis Scott has excellent taste in kick and is influencing the younger generation. And Victor Cruz has an impressive and notable collection. But my last question was in honor of the Black History Month. I asked him which black figure did he think should be his own signature shoe. He mentioned MLK or Malcolm X and then we both agreed on Muhammad Ali. “It would be amazing if, like, boxing but the UFC also gets it. Make it both, ”he said.
There you go, sneaker companies. Here is your golden idea.
You are welcome.
Detroit natives Trap daily Is a member of the University of Michigan’s Ecoclastic Fab Five, which rocked the college hoops world in the early 90s. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, before making a media personality change. Rose is currently an analyst for “NBA Countdown” and “Get Up” and co-hosts “Jalan & Jacoby”. He produced “The Fab Five” for ESPN’s “30 for 30” series, the author of the best-selling book, “Want to give people what they want, ”A fashion tastemaker, and co-founded Jalan Rose Leadership Academy, a public charter school in his hometown.
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