Top 15 Kicks I’ve Ever Owned- #11- Nike Air Strong Mid

1994.

8th grade is a magical time. You’re emerging from childhood, starting to figure out who you are, and who you want to be (yet you are nowhere close), and more importantly getting comfortable in your own skin.

I was banking on this skin to stretch, A LOT.  But in the mean time, I was content working to strengthen my vertical game.  Enter Jump Soles!  I’d go through the program driving my parents crazy jumping in the den and in the backyard.  I supercharged the system by adding ankle weights.  Any player worth his salt could grab rim.  I had to get my fast twitch fiber game up!

When that growth spurt came I was gonna be ready.

I grew early in 8th grade- a power forward in terms of my school’s hoop squad- pretty much my adult height now, (but in 8th grade, or thereabout).  I was filled with so much hope, so much promise.  Grandpa was about 6 foot 4, and I wasn’t done growing yet so the prospect of growing up an NBA prospect was very much a realistic impossible dream.  Chris Webber had just been picked up by my favorite hoop team (for a whole year then) the Golden State Warriors.  His drop step to dunk was lethal.  Wingspan for days (put a week on it!).  I wanted his shoe.  I mean, I was about to be 6 10 and NBA bound, I needed it!  He was the hottest thing in 1993-1994.

I could see myself on draft day walking to the podium, grinning, moms crying, bending that draft day cap, shaking david stern’s hand.

I wanted his shoe to be him.

Speaking of Webber, this was one of my favorite Nike Ads of all time and I had it on the cover of my binder:

And the way he just poo-pooed on Barkley, it was just obscene:

And as every kid from my generation did- to be him you had to wear the shoes he wore (OBVIOUSLY!).

He had a few shoes before his signature shoe, and one of them was the Nike Air Strong Force.

I picked these up at my local Footlocker (Del Monte Shopping Center) and I remember thinking wow, these shoes are amazing.  I think they’re the most obscure shoe mikej and I have both owned and share such a mutual fondness for.  Not only did the color match all 15 of my Warriors Jerseys, the neoprene sock liner had your foot slide in like a glove.

This shoe was noteworthy because it was my first Nike shoe with an air bubble (Mervyn’s shoes just didn’t have air bubbles).

How about we hop in a time machine and see what Eastbay Catalog had to say:

“Something for everyone on the team, from the powerful player to the finesse shooter.  An excellent combination of cushioning, stability, and light weight.  Durabuck upper with supportive arch strap and Dynamic-Fit innersleeve.  The most cushioning available is captured in the maximum-volume heel and forefoot Air-Sole units.  Forefoot outsole grooves”

Yep, definitely need all of that.  The scary thing is I had half the shoes on the page (LWP’s, Air Ups, and the Strongs)

They are also featured here briefly in this Nike spot:

Needless to say, my growth spurt saw it’s beginning and it’s end that fateful summer.  Things didn’t exactly work out the way we planned in the NBA for Chris or for me.

But I still employ that drop step.  Get’s em every time.

#15- Reebok Ice Creams, Diamond Flavor

#14- And 1 Tai Chi

#13- Nike SB Blazer

#12- Nike Air Force Adjust

#11- Nike Air Strong Mid

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Almost

Shame on you America

Shame on you.

So gross.

Michael Jackson Tee- COPPED

Mom n Dat know how big of an MJ fan I am (who isn’t?)

Christmas time come up ftw!

Top 15 Kicks I’ve Ever Owned- #12 Air Adjust Force

The Top 15 Kicks I’ve owned: by no means a definitive list, nor is this providing some sort of historical commentary on the best shoes of all time.  Ya ya Jordan XI’s are the best, we all know that…

Now that I’m all but removed from the hypebeast standing in line for a shoe game, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at the top 15 shoes I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning.  I’ll talk a little bit about the shoe, where I was in my life at that time, as well as why I picked the shoe.

1996.

Olympics were in Atlanta.  Michael Johnson went dumb on them sprints.

Say the name Michael Johnson.  Not Jordan.  Not Jackson.

Michael Johnson- what do 99.8% of people think of?  Those Golden Shoes.

No one remembers what world record he beat (without googling it,) but  ask anyone and they DO remember these:

I believe that this is the first year where nike really upped their Team USA game, branding all sorts of stuff from shoes to track suits.  My kicks were no different featuring the USA logo on the strap.

 

I was still at the age where I had to beg my parents for a few months for a new shoe- so I got hip to it- buy some shoes that I could switch out the strap, and hence switch out the color.  This is the mid 90’s we’re talking about so “being too matchy matchy” hadn’t been invented yet.  Well, we were in the midst of inventing it.  I remember Jason “I no longer participate in fashion” Spear used to obsess over finding a NY Knick themed shoe to match his jersey.  It didn’t matter what the shoe looked like, it only mattered that it matched!  Matching was that serious!

Red White Blue Polo? Check Red White Blue Shoe? Double CHeck

Air Adjust Force solved a buncha my problems.  Instead of being able to pick up a closet full of shoes like I do now, I had to make one pair work, and last through all my outfits.  The forces let me switch them bitches up:

Under the forefoot and across the top.

50 said go ‘head and switch the style up, and if they hate then let ’em hate and watch the money pile up

Here’s an example of the red strap on a black shoe:

And green (sorry for the crappy pic):

There were a few models of shoes that were strap compatible and John had a black pair, I think like these (Air Modify, nice writeup on these here:):

Minus the coke under the sole.

Please believe Johnboy and I traded all kinds of colored straps- carolina blue, black, green, orange, red, yellow.  I went nuts on them straps.

I originally omitted this shoe from the list- in fact it hadn’t even entered my mind when starting this project.  As I was writing up the post for my #11 shoe (ooh cliffhanger!) I came across a pic of this and was totally reminded!  There’s not a lot of pictures out there but because I know Nike retros everything they’ll be back sooner than later.

I got a box of these straps still chillin in my closet- come on Nike, I’m waiting…

#15- Reebok Ice Creams, Diamond Flavor

#14- And 1 Tai Chi

#13- Nike SB Blazer

#12- Nike Air Force Adjust

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Shwood Canby Zebrawood- COPPED

I’m an admitted sunglass whore.

Young Jerm came through with some dope frames for big bro for christmas:

I saw these babies at Flight Club in NY last year and considering they are hand crafted I think they’re a pretty good value.

Here’s what Obama looks like in em:

Here’s what batman looks like in em:

And here’s Lil ol me:

Thanks bro!

But what if i dont like it?

I’m all for leveraging facebook to build buzz

But today when I wanted to preview Kanye/Jay-Z’s newest single for their upcoming album I had to like it in order to hear it.   I take issue with having to tell the world I like something before being able to actually experience it for myself.

It’s unamerican.

Top 15 Kicks I’ve Owned #13- Nike SB Blazer

I was skateboarding before skateboarding was cool, before it was en vogue, before it was outlawed everywhere you look.

This was my gang-

Well part of the gang.  We skated everywhere.  Some of the dudes we rode with did the knee push (like they show in Boyz in the Hood) because they couldn’t stand and roll.

I’m not saying it like I invented skateboarding, I say it because when you’re about to turn 30, saying you did something 20 years ago sounds cool.  Sounds official.  At 8 we’d skate 2 towns over to the Aquarium on the bike trail.  Skating 6 miles away at 8 is like an ant carrying 100x its own weight.  Peep the route:

Then we stopped.  My friends who were all skating in the late 80’s/early 90’s found basketball, girls, drugs, apathy.  Skating alone sucks but I kick myself every day in the ass for not keeping on it.  I could be Rob Dyrdek with a fantasy factory of my own. Ok probably not, but hitting a tre flip here n there would be nice.

But that was 20 years ago.

Fast forward to today and suddenly I find myself wanting to ride.  I already detailed the motivations for why we roll, John with his moto (or enjoi deck), Phil on the fixed gear, RTY en monopatin.

But when I stumbled upon this deck, I was transformed, better, transported back into time.  Eyes open.  Next thing I know Vans are everywhere.  Fantasy Factory is on TV.  Not a night goes by that I dont hear a skateboard, with the trademark sidewalk crack “clack-clack clack-clack” rhythm and rumble on the street below.  Every kid in America is now a skateboarder, even if they’ve never stepped foot on a deck.

But I noticed something funny going on.

I’m not the only one.

BUT what motivated me to pick up the board in the late 2o’s, like what was THE first thing that did it?  Nike got me again- they don’t just sell products, they sell a lifestyle:

Click (tail).  Silence (air).  Brrrrrrr (land it).

When I saw this video I’m like yo, I need to be back on a board STAT!  The way he wakes up and just jumps on a board on a sunny day.  Ollie that errant bike. Paul Rodriguez makes skateboarding look dumb easy.  It is dumb hard.

Nike SBs (SB=Skateboarding) have been around for a minute but I had no real connection to em.  Fools were waiting in line for Tiffany dunks and pigeon dunks and it never drew me in.  Mike didn’t score 63 in em so I’m not interested.  But as a natural progression and extension of my Nike allegiance, SB’s were a logical next step.  I bought the Blazers not to skate in but to rock casually (though when they are too run down I plan to turn them into shoes for riding.)  The Blazer first debuted in 1973 as a basketball shoe, worn by such greats as Mr. George “One Thing I could Do was Finger roll” Gervin.

Design wise I believe they are a thing of beauty, and because they are SB’s nike adds extra cushioning for the rigors of riding, so they’re comfortable to boot.

The vulcanized sole is really an under-appreciated design element.  Vulcs are the hallmark of skateboarding shoes and is usually embodied by a stark white sole.

Wikipedia says: Vulcanization or vulcanisation is a chemical process for converting rubber or related polymers into more durable materials via the addition of sulfur or other equivalent “curatives.” These additives modify the polymer by forming crosslinks (bridges) between individual polymer chains.^[1] Vulcanized material is less sticky and has superior mechanical properties. A vast array of products are made with vulcanized rubber including tires, shoe soles, hoses, and hockey pucks. The process is named after Vulcan, Roman god of fire. Hard vulcanized rubber sometimes sold under the brand names ebonite or vulcanite, and is used to make hard articles such as bowling balls and saxophone mouth pieces.

RTY Says: The sole adds something by what it takes away- it breaks up, in this case, the blackness.  It’s like you’re chillin’ on a hoverboard of white floating through the streets. The swoosh pops and because it is rounded and exaggerated like an artist’s brush stroke it is much more aesthetically pleasing than the Oregon behemoth’s more angular modern day incarnation of the symbol.  They look good with khakis and they look good with jeans.  They were cool in ’73 and they’re cool today.  It’s definitely a departure from the gaudy HEY LOOK AT ME look that a lot of kicks go for these days.  They’re not exclusive.  You’re not gonna break necks.  You don’t have to camp out for them. Exactly what I need in my life right now.

#15- Reebok Ice Creams, Diamond Flavor

#14- And 1 Tai Chi

#13- Nike SB Blazer

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Cross-eyed opossum capturing the hearts of Germans

Yahoo is no longer a credible news source.  BTW Why don’t I get any cross eyed love from the Germans, I been doing it for years!

Thanks Mikej!

 

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