Author: Jake Archer

ASICS once again tap into their history and look to a relationship that once was the creation of a standout iteration within the history of the GEL-LYTE III.

When it comes to ASICS and AFEW, it all started back in 2015 with a rendition of the GEL-LYTE III known as the ‘Koi’. Once teased across the web, it had the sneaker community asking many questions and caused a sense of desperation for people to get their hands on a pair, resulting in multi day camp outs. With such fan fare surrounding the release, this ended up resulting in the duo revisiting the ‘Koi’ with the alternate ‘Orange Koi’ a couple years later.

Fast forward to 2022 and we see this successful duo team up once again to bring a new set of ideas to the GEL-LYTE III. Dubbed the ‘Beauty Of Imperfection’, this latest take focusses on the mindset and ideas of the Wabi-Sabi philosophy, a philosophy that finds the beauty within imperfections. In an effort to Make these ideas become a reality whilst also adding a sense of personalisation to each pair, the ASICS Stripes come equipped with a ‘wear away’ upper that allows each person to add their own imperfections… A great sense of encouragement to wear this latest iteration and to really make it your own.

Make sure to take a closer look at the AFEW x ASICS GEL-LYTE III ‘Beauty Of Imperfection’ below and make sure to be ready to grab your pair, launching in-store and online at Footpatrol on 25.03.22, priced at £150.

This Air Max Day 2022, the SNKRS app presents, Give Fresh Air: The Game Show. Sneaker lovers from 3 cities (London, Amsterdam, and Berlin) will come together to play for Nike-funded donations to give back and spotlight purposeful causes in their city.In collaboration with SNKRS, we are giving away tickets to Give Fresh Air: The Game Show, live in London this weekend on Air Max Day 3.26.  

For your chance to join us live, Head over to the Footpatrol Instagram for more details!

Alternatively, you can join us for the livestream at our community event by signing up here

Give Fresh Air is a rallying cry to unify sneaker culture around a shared passion to ignite change. Kicking off in 2019, Give Fresh Air was started as an initiative where Nike and partners created ways to give “Air” to support local organizations and champion the power of the community 

#GIVEFRESHAIR

The YEEZY 450 is the first YEEZY model to be made in Germany featuring a unique design language with an industry-leading technology that uses advanced automated manufacturing throughout the production process. The one-piece premium knit and sock-like construction provides an adaptable fit with exceptional comfort. Meanwhile, a soft PU injected midsole compound offers high-performance rebound and cushioning, delivering an innovative, one-of-a-kind aesthetic.

The YEEZY 450 ‘CINDER’ is made with a series of recycled materials, and at least 50% of the upper features recycled content, this product represents just one of our solutions to help end plastic waste.

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!

The London In-store draw is now CLOSED!

All online draws are now housed over on the Footpatrol Launches App, CLICK HERE to download!

To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on. 

In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.

To sign up to the Online raffle, you will need to download the Footpatrol Launches app and complete a pre-authorisation payment of the retail price of the product plus shipping costs. This will be held until raffle completion. Those successful will have their raffle win posted out to the address entered during sign up. Those unsuccessful will see a return of their funds, this can take up to 5 working days from when the winners have been drawn. The raffle is limited to one entry per household! Multiple entries will be cancelled!

When it comes to collaborations, Concepts and Nike go hand in hand. Having teamed up on numerous silhouettes throughout their history, the duo return once again for an eye-catching rendition of the Air Max 1 that sits perfectly with their usual statement collabs.

Often one to focus on a story telling concept, Nike have let the Concepts team delve into the history of mid-20th century festival goers and the self-expression, youthful and decorative energy that flowed throughout the festival scene.

Using a multi-layered upper, each panel focuses on a different print ranging from acid wash denim, Paisley all the way through to the camo that stretches around the mudguard.

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!

The London In-store draw is now CLOSED!

To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on. 

In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.

Continuing our lineup of anniversary collaborations, we had the pleasure to join creative forces with Manchester based artist and sneaker illustrator Steph Morris on an exciting apparel project. Steph Morris is renowned for her unrivalled realism and portitature of sought after sneaker silhouettes. Starting out with a faithful passion for drawing sneakers in University that quickly turned into a career venture for Steph.   

Creating something fresh, stylistically conventional but a true emblem of our brand, we tasked Steph to illustrate something a bit different from her norm. Landing with a hyper realistic rendition of the pound and euro coin that pays true accolades to both our stores. To provide an extra sentiment to our anniversary year, we have also decided to incorporate a 2002 version of the pound coin and euro as this signifies the year that our Footpatrol store first opened.   

The Steph Morris x Footpatrol tees arrive in a 260gsm heavyweight 100% cotton construction with ‘Steph Morris’ branding accented to the chest keeping things simple. A coin graphic coats the reverse including Steph Morris signature details. The t-shirt comes available in Black & White options.

The hoodie iteration arrives in a 100% Black loopback cotton construction with ‘Steph Morris’ branding adorned to the front chest and drawstring hood ensures things are well adjusted. The fit is finalised with the respective pound and/or euro coin graphic detailing coating the reverse complete with Steph Morris’ signature details.

Since 1906 Mizuno has become a household name known to many across the globe by producing top quality products to help improve all-round lifestyle and sporting performance. From baseball to athletics, the Japanese outfit prides itself on quality. Getting to know the story behind a particular piece of footwear is something we love to find out at Footpatrol. From the initial concept, through to the development stages and finally the finished article… But how is this achieved? Recently, we chopped it up with the man behind the legendary Mizuno Wave Rider, Tuan Le and took a dive into his life and career as a design specialist within an ever changing, fast paced industry. 

Footpatrol: Tuan we want to thank you for giving us the time to speak to you! How are you?

Tuan Le: I’m good thank you, I am also very honoured to be able to speak to you guys. You are my type of people, all we want to do is talk about shoes! 

FP: Before we talk about your career let’s kick things with a bit of an introduction on yourself, who you are and you found yourself getting into footwear design?

TL: I was born during the craziest time of the Vietnam war of which we lost, I later moved to America when I was 15 years old when the war ended. My communication to the war around that time was through drawing, I am really good at drawing and it became my way of expression to anyone around me. 

I went to college to study and after a little bit got asked to join Reebok for about 8 years. I joined at just the right time too, it became hugely successful off the back of the little thing called Aerobics! It even became bigger than Nike at the time. [However], my career at the time wasn’t in line with what I wanted to do, I didn’t want to be a fashion designer as such, but more of a function/practical designer where what I produce has purpose. On the back of [my early successes] I received many recruitment phone calls from many brands but, one brand stood out for me and that was Mizuno. Mizuno were known for their technical product and that’s what I wanted. I wanted to help come up with comfortable and technical cushioning devices to avoid injury etc… Mizuno asked me to move to San Francisco and strangely enough it snowed in Boston that winter. That snowfall was the defining moment that I packed my things and moved over the West Coast. 

It ended up being a 30 year partnership between me and Mizuno and to this day I love to work with them! I absolutely love what I do, it turned into a career of which I could have never imagined. I hope I will get to this forever even if it’s just through my love for drawing. 

FP: I love that whole story! One thing I love about Mizuno is that they have dominated nearly every sport since they were founded in 1906, the best part about it is that they never feel the need to rave about the success because they know what they do works. 

TL: I agree! 

FP: Just to talk about your role itself. How has the job developed over the years? We read that once upon a time you were known as a graphic designer as sneaker design roles weren’t really a thing. 

TL: [When I started my career] you had a factory, the shoe maker and a pattern cutter who designed the uppers for the shoe, so there was never a need for shoe designers as such within the industry, it was like they never heard of it. It was a whole thing of a foreign office working with far away factories. I would sit in the office and make a design with input from the marketing and sales teams, that would then go to the factory to be made, the sample returned, I’d make the corrections and then send it back to the factory again. What I didn’t realise at the time 30 years ago, is that this way of work would become the way we design shoes today. No one in the offices ever goes to the factories, we sit at our far away desks, draw a beautiful drawing and then email it over to the factory. 

FP: You are known at Mizuno for designing the legendary Wave Rider 1 and also the lesser known Wave Rider 2 model. How did you conceptualise the Wave Rider 1?

TL: It was around the late 80s when Nike dropped the first Air Max trainer with the big Air unit. Mizunos shoes at the time were going downhill from the back of it and were struggling with sales. Mr. Mizuno himself even said to me, you got one more chance or we may have to close the whole shoe department! So we went away and had a think and came up with the idea of rather than having a really big air bag like Nike, why not create a super thin piece of mechanical that goes down as its compressed and springs back as its released, so we then drew the Wave plate into the midsole, I felt it was the perfect shape to create this effect. When we sent the ideas to the factory to try, they had never even attempted anything like that before so it took many attempts before we got it right. By the time we released Wave Rider 1 it ended up being a big failure and no one cared about it! When you put EVA and plastic together you need to create enough open space for the Wave plate to be able to contract and expand as it’s worn to create that energy return. At the time it was something our factory couldn’t quite get. By the time we released the Wave Rider 2, we figured it out, the Wave Rider 2 was really the groundbreaking model for Mizuno Running. Even Mr. Mizuno came up to us and said you guys got it, I’m not going to close the shoe department anymore! 

FP: Knowing that you are a very keen runner. Is the running part of that your mental prep for the day?

TL: For many years I found a certain kind of click that makes my mind work. Every morning I go out for a run and whilst my mind thinks about living and eating healthy, I think to myself about how I am not here to train for a marathon but here for a lifelong marathon, I want to be able to do it for 50/60 years. So when someone comes up to me and says I have the crazy idea, can you help me, I always say yes because I am constantly mentally prepared for these things. 

FP: Speaking of pens actually! As the industry has developed, have you joined the paperless world or stuck to the classic pen and paper?

TL: Pen and paper always! I read a study from some scientists once, that as you draw and the outer part of your palm touches the paper as you’re resting your hand it sends signals to your brain and gets your ideas following! I never want to give that feeling up. 

FP: Tuan What is the perfect shoe for you?

TL: I don’t know if there is one yet. I tend to spend the winter time in my house in Florida and usually only take one pair of shoes. Within one month I will throw them out because I am always running. I need shoes to be light, simple and last longer than a month, I need them to last at least 6 months!

After a while of wearing EVA although it has its benefits, after a while it gets so compressed that it loses those benefits. So as for the perfect shoe we haven’t made it yet but we are always striving with the industry to produce it. 

FP: Something I wanted to ask you that I saw on your website was the Mizuno car design you had. Did that ever become a real thing?

TL: Back in 1990, Mr. Mizuno said we have sponsored a Porsche for the 24hr Le Mans race, can you draw up a graphic. I said with so much excitement yes! I did the design and they ended up placing 8th on the day. I think there is even plenty of footage out there if you want to see it. 

FP: We’ve heard you had or have a Mustang too. Have motor sports had an influence on your designs?

TL: I do yes, I have a 1966 Mustang red with 2 racing stripes down the middle. A friend of mine sadly passed away and his family sold it to me after his passing to look after it, so I have a duty to make sure the car is maintained. I’ve always been a big fan of motorsports, the history of car design on how they have got to where they are now fascinates me, my favourite example of this is the Porsche 911. The way they have kept refining it over the years is what makes it the best car in the world to me, it looks the same as it did when it first came out. Same with aeroplanes, there are lots of planes that are produced but like cars they look the same but they make adjustment after adjustment to make it perform better. I can’t help but appreciate the thought process these designers go through to be able to do that.

FP: Now the real focus of this interview is actually Mizuno Mujin TL. The upper that you once designed and never came out. Could you tell us the story of how it all came about and why it got held back until now?

TL: If you ever find yourself in Portland, Oregon I will show you. One of the easiest conversations I had with our guys in Japan was about a bunch of drawings that I have stacked up in boxes. When I say boxes I mean boxes! You could stack them up and they would be taller than me. They asked me if they could come over and see them. So the team from Japan flew over, we laid out all the drawings everywhere and they all took a stack each. Some of these drawings I believe will be coming out in the not too distant future! 

FP: Did you intend for it to be a trail based shoe? I know the sole unit is from a Mujin 8.

TL: So the idea actually came from Saito-san, when he came over to go through the drawings, he saw the upper and thought this would be cool to do on a trail shoe. I naturally agreed simply because I always run on trails. When I first designed the upper years ago though I don’t think we planned for it to be a trail based shoe though.

FP: If you had to do a special edition Tuan Le colourway how would that look to you? What would be your ideal look for it?

TL: As long as it looks fast I don’t mind. Fast and bright colours! 

FP: Take a little side step now. In your opinion, how would you compare the past, present and future of Mizuno?  

TL: The way I was attracted to the brand is the true sense of what Mizuno does best. Functional, well made product that doesn’t need much marketing because of how good they are. There have been times over the years where Mizuno have tried to take a different direction and failed. So we felt that for Mizuno things need to stay the way they always are because it works and it’s what they do so well at. The times where they have tried to compete with brands like Nike and try to be them and later realised we are just too different and need to stay in our own lane. We need to focus on providing functional footwear in the best materials and the best technology. That’s why I love it here because Mizuno still does just that.

FP: What about the concept of 3D printing shoes? Giving consumers a space to see their purchase come to life in front of them.

TL: I love the idea! I think it’s amazing, we had a few products in the works aiming for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which would have allowed the customer to see the shoes made whilst they were waiting. Unfortunately that never happened due to the circumstances for the Olympics. I would like to do more of that, I think it would really help out with the sampling process too in design saving the wait from the factory. 

FP: Tuan just out of interest did you have any influence on the Mizuno Right Here Right Now releases?

TL: No, I wasn’t a part of that project. I have been working with the Advance Concepts team in Osaka though and some of the things we did in that got passed down to that project.  

FP: Tuan I want to reiterate our thanks for sparing us some time to speak to you. It’s been a real pleasure to talk to the man behind some of Mizunos best shoes. Before we let you go, are there any words of advice you can give to any young enthusiasts trying to make their way into the industry?

TL: Your own personality is key. If you are a designer, find who you are as a person, maybe you are special, that will naturally pass through into your designs and drawings. You will be able to continue this for the next 30/40 years because you are being who you truly are. Throughout my career I genuinely feel that because I have stayed true to myself, and because of that has given me a truly amazing career.

For our next instalment of Footpatrol Discussions, we find ourselves delving into the world of art. Sneakers and art often have a seamless connection however, London based artist Izaak Brandt takes things to a whole new level with his series ‘Deadstock’.

Anyone who is as obsessed with sneakers as ourselves would’ve come across this series we’re sure! Looking at sneakers from a collecting perspective and how they’re becoming like pieces of art, or parts of an archive, Izaak takes this concept and reimagines it with the help of 3D drawing illusive silhouettes from both the past and the present in an eery, yet fascinating way.

Last week, we caught up with Izaak to learn more about him, the ‘Deadstock’ series and his childhood growing up involved within the break dancing scene.

Footpatrol: Izaak, thank you so much for giving us the time to speak to you. One thing we like to do with all our interviews is start with a simple, how are you?

Izaak Brandt: All is good at the moment, thank you for asking! 

FP: Could you give us a bit of an intro on yourself and share with our audience what it is you do?

IB: I’m Izaak Brandt, a multidisciplinary artist based in London. I work with the mediums of drawing, performance, sculpture and film to explore ideas around human experience, culture and the body. 

FP: I feel like everyone that follows their passions throughout life always remembers a specific moment where it all began, where did your fascination with the artistic world first come about?

IB: I grew up in an extremely creative household with my dad being a musician and mum having studied at art school and having a lot of artist friends. Me and my brother grew up around really inspiring artists using all different mediums so it has been all I have ever known since I was a very small child. I’ve been drawing since I was about 2 years old with my mum and I remember going to see my grandma and she would give me A3 pads of paper to draw on for hours on end. I remember going to gallery shows with my mum in London and being really wowed by a lot of the YBA’s as a child. When I found Breaking at 12 I dedicated years to being high level and really understanding the movement discipline. All I’ve ever wanted to do was to be an artist in an array of mediums as it’s all I’ve really understood in the world.

FP: Was there a specific facet within Art that stood out to you during the start of your career?

IB: For me I just love to get the ideas out of my head. I feel happiest when I am making work, in any medium, so I just do as much making as I can. I appreciate all creative mediums and don’t see barrier lines between them.

FP: The main reason we came to visit you today was to hear and of course, see your ‘Deadstock’ series. Could you walk us through the conceptualisation of this idea and the process behind producing it?

IB: I have been obsessed with trainers since I was a kid, coming up Skateboarding. When I started Breaking at 12 years old, the obsession really amped up. Me and my best friend, collaborator and artist Will Pegna, would run around Bristol looking for anywhere that would sell Puma Clydes in different colourways as that was the most popular iconic Breaking shoe at the time. When Youtube became prominent I would consume a lot of sneaker based videos, unboxings and content based around collections so I have been thinking about the culture of collecting shoes for a long time. In 2020 I began trying to figure out a way of casting shoes for installation ideas. A friend and collaborator of mine, the artist Seungwoo Park from Korea, was using a 3D pen for some sculptures he was making and advised me to try it for my shoes idea. I began to draw these sculptural shoes and then began to conceptualize the context around the project about 6 months later during my residency with Sarabande: The Alexander McQueen foundation. The idea of the project is about exploring archival sneaker culture and how collectors take functional shoes and turn them into sculptures by archiving them. What I do is make the silhouettes sculptural and non-functional from their inception.

FP: It was fascinating to see the amount of detailing you can achieve with the medium you used, do you see ‘Deadstock’ as a completed project or are you always looking to see where it can go next?

IB: The Deadstock body of work has just begun. There are installation ideas, brand activations, sculptures, collaborations etc that I see happening with this series.

FP: Any silhouettes you’d love to recreate?

IB: As a kid I loved seeing the Nigo era Bape shoes on the internet but could never afford to buy them. I remember going to the Bape store just off Carnaby Street around 2009 ish and was blown away by the design language, and also by the seemingly unattainable prices. I’d love to do a whole series of Bape shoes from that era – Bapestas, Roadstas, Crepestas, Sk8stas etc. The whole project has to go beyond my subjective taste though so the aim is to make every shoe silhouette possible!

FP: Something our audience may not be aware of is your love for break dancing, could you shed some light on this and how it’s played a part in both your everyday life and your artwork?

IB: Breaking has been an extremely formative part of my life. After years of work since I was 12 years old, Breaking has taken me all over the world for competitions, won me awards and titles and gave me positive male role models as a kid. I heavily reference Breaking in my arts practice as a means to explore community, culture and energetic relationships between people because of its importance to me as a tool of transformation, a way of being and the discipline it installs into me.

FP: We see a lot of performance based work appearing throughout your social media (Like the ‘Extensions 24, 2022’ from your recent residency). With break dancing being an artform in itself, was performance art always something you always wanted to delve into since the beginning or did it just go hand in hand when creating work?

IB: I have done physical theater and performance since I was in primary school. Performing is something that has always come naturally to me so I have found it important to embrace and use in my arts practice. During the first two years of my degree at Camberwell UAL (2014-17) I was a bit embarrassed by the fact that I did Breaking and wanted to keep the worlds separate. From the third year onwards I realized it was a superpower and that I should use my experience and expertise to my advantage. Now performance is integral to my practice.

FP: Izaak it was such a pleasure to meet and thank you for letting us come by your studio, this has been a feature we have been looking forward to for a while now! Before we let you go we like to allow the interviewee to close off the interview with anything at all that they would like to share whether that be a positive message or just to get people excited for what’s to come from yourself. The stage is yours…!

IB: I want to give a big shout out to Footpatrol, I remember going to the Berwick St store the same day as the Bape store on that trip to London from Bristol in 2009 ish and being in awe of how many fly shoes were in stock. Full circle and you guys are interviewing me for my work!

I’ve got lots of work and exciting things in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled, this is just the beginning for me as I plan on being around for a long time.

The YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 ‘CORE BLACK/DAZZLING BLUE’ features an upper composed of two-toned re-engineered Primeknit. 25% of the components used to make the upper contain a minimum of 50% recycled content. The midsole utilises Adidas’ innovative BOOST technology while a semi-transparent TPU cage wraps the BOOST and adds a distinct element to the iconic model.

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!

The London In-store draw is now CLOSED!

All online draws are now housed over on the Footpatrol Launches App, CLICK HERE to download!

To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on. 

In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.

To sign up to the Online raffle, you will need to download the Footpatrol Launches app and complete a pre-authorisation payment of the retail price of the product plus shipping costs. This will be held until raffle completion. Those successful will have their raffle win posted out to the address entered during sign up. Those unsuccessful will see a return of their funds, this can take up to 5 working days from when the winners have been drawn. The raffle is limited to one entry per household! Multiple entries will be cancelled!

One of the newest brands to Footpatrol, couple weeks back we introduced HOKA by taking their Clifton 8 silhouette out for an evening run through the streets of London. For their second silhouette to arrive at FP, the Bondi 7, we once again took it out to venture the city streets and see what it had to offer.

Much like the Clifton 8, the Bondi 7 benefits from an eye-catching, over exaggerated midsole that with its high stack, offers an ultra cushioned ride. Following on from its predecessor, the Bondi 7 is equipped with a breathable mesh upper and rocker technology that offers extreme comfort and we haven’t even got on to the collar yet… Made from memory foam, the collar allows for all shapes and size that makes it one of the most approachable. The Bondi 7 is definitely one you could wear all day, everyday…

Take a closer look below at the HOKA Bondi 7 which is now available to shop online at Footpatrol here!

For the launch of the Air Jordan 1 OG High ‘Rebellionaire’, we tapped Timi from Pure Kicks to talk about his journey and history into footwear and his love of basketball – as well his lover of peanut butter cups! Pure Kicks is a channel where Timi and close friend review not just sneakers, but more specifically, performance basketball sneakers. Something we don’t see a lot in the UK! Like most the Air Jordan 1 silhouette is many consumers and collectors go-to and the latest ‘Rebellionaire’ rendition will only be a part of that lineage.

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THE BELOW!

The London In-store draw is now CLOSED!

ONLINE draws are over on the Footpatrol app, CLICK HERE to download!

To enter, you’re required to sign up via the above forms, these WON’T be available in-store to sign up on. 

In-store winners will be contacted via email informing them of their win. Within this email, winners will be given a set of dates in which they must collect their win from our London store. To collect, you will need to provide the winning email and a valid photographic government ID matching the winners name. NO ONE can collect on the winners behalf. Failure to provide this, or failure to collect within the given dates will mean failure to purchase your win.

To sign up to the Online raffle, you will need to download the Footpatrol Launches app and complete a pre-authorisation payment of the retail price of the product plus shipping costs. This will be held until raffle completion. Those successful will have their raffle win posted out to the address entered during sign up. Those unsuccessful will see a return of their funds, this can take up to 5 working days from when the winners have been drawn. The raffle is limited to one entry per household! Multiple entries will be cancelled!

Timi, pleasure to have you here! Before we get into things, how are you?

I’m doing good, navigating things nicely as we come out of the last couple years we’ve had.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your earliest memory of sneakers?

Earliest memory was asking my parents to buy me a pair of Black Cat AJ3s from a “website” because I had seen someone famous wearing them…they were £36…you can guess how that went…

Was basketball a huge influence in the sneakers you got into?

It still is but growing up my idols were players like Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson so as I mentioned earlier all I wanted to do was to like like them on and off the court, if I couldn’t get the sneakers, I’d get the long chains, if I couldn’t get them then the XXXL t-shirts would have to do.

You have a rich background of basketball, was basketball always the sport you wanted to play in?

Being born and Raised in the UK no, Football was the very first choice being that all my friends played and my dad enjoyed watching, however, I just wasn’t very good lol. So after my primary school playground had a makeover I decided to switch things up and give Basketball a try on the newly installed hoops…the rest is history.

You worked for Niketown London – was that a place that taught you a lot about product as well as networking yourself with people related to what your passions like basketball and 

footwear?

Most definitely during my time there, NikeTown became a well known and trusted spot for on court performance sneakers as well as off court, so looking after that section of the store I became immersed in the product and community that was already established – launches were VERY different back then lol!

Pure Kicks is a Youtube channel you and your good friend created what was the idea around it?

The idea was to shine some light on the game from an angle that isn’t about talent or God-given pshyique but instead the sneakers you choose to play in, one thing we all have in playing the game we love. We also just wanted to let the world to know that the UK’s got Hoopers!

In the UK, Basketball doesn’t get the same light as the usual sports like football and rugby, respectively – so as far as sneakers go, did you feel that some light needed to be shed onto performance basketball footwear (& lifestyle)?

As I mentioned a second ago Basketball gets the misconception that you HAVE to be over 6ft to even play but it’s no secret the sport transcends across music, fashion and culture as a whole the list of “cool” things inspired by basketball is damn near endless. So the channel has become a platform to champion just that through both performance and lifestyle.

We really appreciate your time spent with us Timi, before we let you go is there anything you would like to share with the Footpatrol readers and community?

Thanks for dropping in with me, this has been fun! From me all is like to say is…wear you sneakers!