Ross Dwyer

It’s the most iconic sneaker of all time. Loved by everyone from rappers, to rockers, to fashionistas, to people who don’t care about shoes at all. It’s the Converse Chuck Taylor

Originally produced in 1917 as the “All-Star” before Chuck Taylor himself signed on to promote the shoe in the early 1920’s, the shoes were the go-to athletic shoe for everything from basketball to track for several decades.

As shoe technology evolved, the Chuck Taylor was pushed out of the forefront of performance sneakers….but that didn’t much matter, as by that time it was firmly ingrained as a casual staple. read more

Happy Sunday!

Hope everyone’s getting a chance to relax after a long workweek. The grind was real for myself and the rest of the KicksOneTwo staff, and I’m sure it was for you too.

Welcome to the first edition of a new thing I want to try out, Sunday Sneaker Ramblings! There’s a lot that goes on in the sneaker world week to week, and most of the news is small enough that it’s not worthwhile to write a full article on.

However, this news is still relevant to the culture and the game as a whole, and deserves to be touched on. I’m going to speak briefly about whatever caught my eye in the sneaker game this past week…and as always, discussion is encouraged! Feel free to drop your opinion in the comments, or hit us on Twitter! There’s nothing better than a good discussion. read more

One of the best things about the sneaker game is sneaker boutiques. Small, locally-owned shops full of employees who know and love their kicks. Boutiques provide a personal, authentic experience that you just can’t get at a larger chain store in the mall.

However, running a boutique is different than running a chain store. The clientele is different. The sales are different. The inventory is different, and sometimes small shops have to move differently.

Today, we’re talking about charging over box price for sneakers, a hot topic when it comes to shopping at smaller stores. Some understand it, and some are totally against it. read more

It’s that time of the week again.

Yes, it’s Throw Back Thursday, and yes, we’re going to be re-visting some classic KicksOneTwo content. With all the great changes that have been going on around here, I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the first few pieces we published, with links included if you want to look at some OG articles.

Wear What You Like: Elitism in the Sneaker Culture

The first “point of view” piece I ever wrote here, I still stand by what I said (even though I’d remove the “in the” from the title if I had a chance to do it again). If team Jordans make you feel good, go ahead and rock them. I’m not going to rain on your parade….although I might chuckle to myself just a little bit. read more

I enjoy reading the Star Tribune.

People seem to be content to receive the news on their phone or just watch it on the TV more than ever nowadays, but for me there’s still something primally satisfying about actually opening up the paper and seeing what’s going on in the world today. The sports section, the local section, the world section…I read them all.

However, I don’t agree with articles that they publish every so often, and they recently released an article that was rather irksome to me. read more