LeBron James - Chalk Commercial

Was that Lil Weezy in there?

Trainer Confidentials: I-Saw

Dremel Drill! Why didn't I think of that! Nice work.

And The Winner Is...

The Boston Celtics for getting their banner and their rings... AAND Ray Allen for having the craziest kicks on opening night.

Oklahoma City Thunder

It's still hard to believe that the Sonics are gone. As a matter of fact I completely forgot that they moved to Oklahoma. I didn't even know they were called the Thunder now. Here's Kevin Durant showing us the home and aways.

Hell Nah!

I can't believe he done stepped on my Js!

PEAK

When I first heard of PEAK, I wanted to have absolutely no preconceived notions of the brand.. you know give them a fair shot. I wanted to believe that a new performance basketball shoe brand could come outta China and come up with some innovative sh*t.  Welp.. so far, they've leaving me with a BRUTAL first impression. Check out these straight rip-offs that PEAK has not only gotten away with, but have also managed to put on NBA feet. 

The Wade 2.0 impostor is the funniest one to me. Shane Battier actually strapped those suckers on as his very own signature shoes. That's HILARIOUS. It's absolutely amazing to me that a company that is producing fakes essentially is making it. Aren't there laws that prevent this from happening? Absolutely shameless in my opinion... but maybe they're okay with that.. and obviously J-Kidd and Shane Battier don't have a problem with it either. In some ways its kinda like how an artist starts out.. by biting other more successful artists' steez or perhaps its like a music producer rippin an ol skool beat and making it their own. Look how successful Diddy is! Perhaps this is a way to make a starting point, I can't help but think its f*ckin WACK, but watch out I don't think PEAK is going away anytime soon.

Its Gotta Be

I'm gettin psyched up for the upcoming NBA season. I'm even more psyched up about all the shoes that will be on premiere NBA players' feet. Here's a pic of former VanCity Grizzly Mike Bibby in some AJ II lows in some pre-season action. It always amazes me when a player opts for an ol skool classic over today's ultra hi-tech ball shoes. I remember seeing a pic of Stephen Jackson in some Jordan Spizikes.. now you know those weren't made for hi performance! I mean, these are the highest caliber basketball players in the world playing in kicks designed in the 80s. I guess this confirms that shoes don't make you jump higher and that its the player not the shoes. NAAAAHHH!!! I'm still a BELIEVER!! IT'S GOTTA BE THE SHOES!

Black Cement On The Gridiron

This one's for Lester. Available next year sometime are these AJ III Black Cement cleats. The Baseball version is also supposed to be released around the same time.

Run Forrest Run!!

Imagine how much faster Forrest would've completed his coast to coast personal marathon with these joints. Is this hilarious or ingenious? The Nike Sportswear Cortez Flywire not only features Flywire technology, but it also has a Free midsole/outsole.. making this old classic a potentially up to date technical runner? Its almost like putting a NSX engine in a 88 Civic.

All Day I Dream About Sneakers

There have been some incredible pieces of art made from sneakers in the past, here is an attempt from Adidas and Lifelounge to take it one step further.

Quoted from Hypebeast:

As many of adidas’ recent campaigns have embodied the slogans, “Impossible is Nothing” and “Celebrate Originality”, together Lifelounge and adidas Originals have teamed up to showcase the work of fictional sneaker freak Herr Fritz Träumer through these ideas. The bold and outrageously designed shoes of Herr Fritz Träumer find themes beyond that of the usual sneaker conventions. The results are far-fetched and bold to say the least with them all being made into a book exclusive to select sneaker stores around Australia and New Zealand.

Nike Air Royal Mid Premium

Nike's a bit late on these... due for release Summer 09. They should've been released Summer 08.. or even Spring 08. Anyway these are lookin sleek and makes me wonder what else they have in store for this category.

Swims

A nice innovation for the ladies by Swims. These City Slippers give you better traction and protect your precious heels from the rain.. which we get plenty of here in Vancouver. Featured on the outsole of these galoshes are maps of NYC, Paris or Tokyo which create a texture that makes for good traction.

Asics : HOW DO THEY DO IT?

I caught this on the Discovery Channel years ago, wondered if I could find it online and voila!!.. its on Youtube! Of course it is! The sound isnt great.. but its worth pumping up the volume to listen to the commentating. The egg experiment is awesome!! I remember way back when I worked for Superstar (athletic footwear and apparel store) Jay, the Asics rep came by for a Product Knowledge meeting. One of the things he showed us was a big slab of Asics Gel much like the one used in this video. He also had a pieces of glass about the same size and a hammer. He then proceeded to put the gel on top of the glass and challenged any one of us to slam the hammer down on the gel as an attempt to break the glass. Of course, no one could do it. I was a believer after I saw that. Gels and Silicones just disperse the shock like nothing else.

Hyperdunks : Reviewed

A very thorough and detailed review on the Hyperdunks has been posted on Sole Collector by Nick DePaula. Check it out here.

AAAAAAs

Wow.. my last 6 posts.. (now 7) all start with the letter "A"! Hahaha.

Weird.

Alex Nash

AWESOME video of Alex Nash doin his thing... transforming a pair of Jordan IVs. Dood is meticulous. The level of craftsmanship is amazing.

Athletic Wear

Been meaning to enter posts about athletic apparel... cuz hey, kicks and clothing go hand in hand yes? I probably wont dip into the streetwear scene, instead I'll try to stick to technical sportswear. I kinda missed the boat on all the uniforms from the Olympics this summer.. tons of exciting stuff happenin there... (hmm...actually maybe I WILL backtrack and write about it, theres still quite a few things i wanna get off my chest). 

With all that being said, here are a few images from the Christopher x Reebok Capsule Collection. Some really nice sports fashion ideas going on here. I especially like the colour blocked pants.. dang I gots to get me in those pants! Dun worry E, I want to get into your pants more. ANYWAYS... I think Reebok is definitely on the right track here, updating their heritage, making their look relevant once again. Gotta love the tights under the shorts and those Classic Leathers are looking good on the runway.

Quoted from Hypebeast:

Making his debut at the MAN Fashion East Show in London this past month, designer Christopher Shannon re-engineers vintage Reebok pieces with a contemporary twist to form his collaborative capsule collection. After completing his stay at Central St Martins, Christopher Shannon has been heralded for his re-working of shell suits and sports pieces. He has collaborated with Judy Blame on a project for Comme Des Garcons as well as having pieces stocked at colette Paris.

Air Max BW

Never owned a pair of B-Dubs before. Always thought they looked funny. But since Stash got a chance to re-do them years back, I've gotten a second chance to observe this classic shape and I can appreciate its aesthetics... fitting in quite nicely into the history of the Air Max lineup.

Amare Hyperdunks

Seriously.. I wanna know if Lunar Foam is supposed to last more than one game for big men. For now though, I'm just happy to look at this great lookin PE.

Art & Sole

Nice lookin book from Innercity Design. You can cop it from Amazon in mid-October.