Since Footpatrol’s birth 20 years ago, we’ve always had a strong connection to the adidas Originals Campus. Since our first collaboration on the Three Stripe silhouette way back in 2007 on a set of three colour ways, we revisited the silhouette again in 2012 to complete a pack of four and who knows where we’ll take our love for the silhouette in the future.

To celebrate the adidas Originals Campus and our 20th anniversary, we invited down Superstar and Campus collector Dave Robertson who brought down some of his favourite pairs including those four Footpatrol pairs.

Take a closer look below at some unique, rare and simply out there pairs!

Footpatrol: Dave before we get into everything, how are you?

Dave Robertson: I’m good, very well in fact, I have recently moved back to the seaside where I’m channelling my inner seagull.

FP: For people that are unfamiliar with who you are and what you do, could you tell us a little about yourself?

DR: What? Unfamiliar? I have over 25 followers on Instagram don’t you know who I am? I’m 46 going on 12, my Internet name is Lurky and that’s because 15 years ago I used to hang around on Internet message boards but was too shy to post and was branded a lurker. I tweaked it and here I am, not the best nickname but I had to roll with it. I’m also not shy anymore.

FP: How did your love for trainers, specifically adidas, come about?

DR: One word, the Internet. I had no idea about the styles and colourways available, they only sold cricket bats and fishing rods in my local sports shop but the more you find out the more you want.  It’s a very dangerous place, I’m sure many of your followers will understand. What I will say is, you don’t have to have every pair, it’s a marathon not a sprint.

FP: Tell me a little bit about your Instagram page endorsed by Dave, what was the motivation behind starting this? We can see a lot of custom tongue tabs there.

DR: Endorsed by Dave came about because I wanted to do something different. I had a fairly successful account but it demanded a lot of my time so I decided to do something fun for myself and be more creative, it was time to take a step back and a break from the old routine. I decided to design Stan Smith-esk tongue badges for shoes that would probably never see the light of day. It was a way of learning Photoshop and I found it very therapeutic. It also gave me pride that I could make something unique instead of showing off with my collection. I get the odd request for personal badges but I always ask that they make a small donation to a charity and that’s usually The Dog’s Trust.

FP: Why is the adidas Campus silhouette special to you?

DR: The superstar is my first love and always will be! But the campus, the campus 80’s in particular comes a very close second. I wanted something for my non shell days. The first time I held one in my hands I knew they were something special, it was about the shape, the construction, the smell and quality. 90% of campus are suede and the majority are made in the Vietnam adidas plant to a very high standard.

FP: We love that you have collected so many pairs of adidas Campus’ from all eras over the years, what era of Campus would you say is your personal favourite in terms of shape, quality and releases?

DR: The French-made pairs from the Mid-eighties are spectacular. They came in a black with silver stripes; Argentinian blue and burgundy; black with red stripes and also a light grey and a light green. For me, they are the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. It’s the same silhouette that Footpatrol used for the original collaboration, there’s some good people behind this eighties reissue.

FP: If you could only wear three pairs of adidas Campus from your collection for the rest of your life, what would they be?

DR:  House of Pain from 2008 with its shaggy suede upper, Irish accents and embroidered HOP shield on the tongue, limited to 1000 pairs and released for the US market only, they always get a run out on Saint Patrick’s Day. The simple but effective scarlet Footpatrol is my favourite from the 2007 pack with its very tasteful instep snake stripes and butter suede. The iron greys are great also but crazy hard to come across nowadays.

Olive undefeated/ Bape with a subtle camo hint, super soft suede and stripe free design. Only sold in the adidas flagship shop number 6 and the bape store in the Uk. No doubt they will look great with my pyjama bottoms at the residential care home watching a rerun of Love Joy.

FP: If you could design your own pair, what features would you include?

DR: I have already done it, the pair I’m wearing in the feature, I commissioned with a very good friend. There hadn’t been a campus with a full camouflage upper so we went for duck camouflage fabric and who hunts ducks? The Looney Tunes of Elmer Fudd of course. We featured him and added oily leather lace stays and white heel, tongue and stripes, and some very simple detailing.

FP: To finish off we would like to thank you so much for the interview! Is there anything you would like to share with the Footpatrol friends and family? A message of positivity, whatever you like.

DR: Trainer collecting is fun and it always should be.. As my great grandpa used to say “only buy what you like for retail In your size and wear them”

Thank you so much for having me, it’s been A-blast.