Ross Dwyer

Ah, culture vultures. Those who steal traits, language or fashion from a certain group in order to create their own false identities. People who leech the good out of something, and cause outsiders looking in to stereotype. Every subculture has their own set of culture vultures, and the sneaker world is no exception.

There’s three main kinds of culture vultures that you may come across during your experiences in the sneaker game, and we’ve got them all listed here for you so you can identify them easily and keep them at arm’s length. Let’s get right into it. read more

There are few things better in the sneaker world than when a dope celebrity comes together with a sneaker company to create a collaborative sneaker. Kanye with Nike, Adidas, Reebok (S. Carter if you were wondering) and Louis Vutton. Drizzy with Jordan. Kendrick Lamar with Reebok. High-profile collaborations usually bring out the best in the two involved parties and make for an inspired sneaker. However, this isn’t always the case.

There have been some truly awful collaborations, where an artist and a brand have linked up to produce steaming piles of garbage. I’m talking the kind of shoe where your first thought is “what the fuck is this??” when you lay eyes on them. I’m talking the kind of shoe that makes Sketchers look like Saint Laurents. I’m talking the kind of shoe that….alright, that’s enough. Let’s get right to it. read more

Collecting kicks isn’t a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. The time you have to invest in checking release calendars, attempting to acquire new releases, attending conventions, going to the mall to fill out raffle tickets, cleaning off your shoes, and a million other things is substantial. If you’re really about it, it’s not something that you can do halfheartedly.

Thankfully, there are many great benefits to collecting kicks. Believe it or not, there are several skills you can pick up along the way and life lessons that you’ll learn. “Ross is full of shit” you’re probably muttering to yourself right now. “How can something like collecting sneakers teach you anything?” I’m about to tell you. Pull up a chair and grab your 320z Haterade. Here’s what you can learn from collecting kicks. read more

This week belonged to Adidas.

Yes, Adidas. The perennial second banana in the athletic footwear world. The brand with the three stripes that, no matter how hard they try, just can’t seem to unseat Nike from their spot atop the athletic footwear food chain. The brand that can endorse everyone from Jeremy Scott to Pharrell to the almighty Yeezus himself, and crank out dope designs and ideas like Boost foam and Primeknit uppers, but is still perpetually viewed as #2.

Well #2 was #1 in the sneaker world this week. Let’s start back on Monday, when two Adidas x Bape x Undefeated Superstars were announced (They release today…may be the Force be with you if you’re trying to cop). The signature Bape camo adorned the uppers of the shoes, while suede stripes, Bape and Undefeated branding on the heel and an off-white midsole and toe box made for a crazy collaboration. With how hot Bape is right now, the time was right for another collaborative release and the week started on a high note for the Three Stripes read more

I’ve never grabbed a pair of sneakers off of NIKEiD.

Sure, I’ve messed around with wild color combinations, and tried my hand at making a dope monochromatic shoe just like most sneakerheads have at some point, but I’ve never actually copped anything off of the site.

I’ve seen both very clean designs, like Yoosh‘s Air Max 1’s (click here if you’d like to see them for yourself), and Moh‘s animal-print pattern Air Max 90’s, and I’ve also seen horrible, poorly color-blocked monstrosities (there were a few truly awful iD’s on a few basketball teams I played on back in the day), and boring and bland Roshe Runs. read more