KYW Monthly Mailbag — 📩The Social Status drama, talking with Shaq and more!
What in the world is happening with James Whitner? Plus, my quick chat with Shaq about Reebok! And more
Good morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for joining me for another mailbag. I appreciate you taking the time and reading.
Let me tell y’all, man. Thanksgiving was CRAZY. I sure do fry a good turkey. I don’t mean to pat myself on the back or anything, but sheesh. Cooked the hell out of that bird.
Let’s get into the mail today.
Sykes, what do you make of this James Whitner stuff?
The reader continues: I didn’t see you saying much on socials about it. Can we trust this dude?
Whew. This is a messy one.
James Whitner, CEO of the Whitaker Group and the company that runs brands you love like A Ma Maniére, Social Status and more, is alleged to be part of a multi-million dollar money laundering scheme involving Chinese nationals according to a recently filed civil suit by the U.S. Government.
What a damn sentence. WOSC TV Reporter Jason Stoogenke first reported the news out of North Carolina.
What happened: Between 2017 and 2022 Whitner allegedly backdoored around $32 million of what many speculate to be Nike product (described as an “Oregon-based” manufacturer in the complaint) to a Chinese buyer identified as YG in the complaint.
How it worked:
Whitner allegedly resold products he purchased at wholesale from Nike to YG. This is reportedly a violation of Whitner’s contract with Nike.
YG then paid a broker for the items received from Whitner.
Then the broker would have Chinese money couriers collect large sums of cash from “individuals engaged in illegal activity,” according to the filing, including prostitution.
That cash would be delivered to Antawin Freeman by the couriers. Freeman is a close friend and mentor of Whitner’s and acted as a middleman for the transactions.
Freeman would then deliver those payments to Whitner who would introduce the dirty cash into the financial system without reporting the income to the IRS.
It’s a pretty complex web of illicit activity, but that pretty much covers it all.
Be aware: This is not a criminal complaint. Nobody is looking at jail time. It’s a civil suit surrounding $1.2 million in cash seized from Freeman’s apartment. This is basically the IRS coming for its cash. For now.
What they’re saying: The Whitaker Group released a statement professing its innocence saying it “disagreed” with the US Attorney Office’s allegations.
But…A careful read of the statement shows that there’s no mention of the group’s owner.
Make of that what you will.
Well, we asked YOU, Sykes: Ah, yeah, that’s right. You did. This is a tough one, man.
On one hand: I hate that this is happening. Whitner represented something special to a lot of people. He means a ton to the sneaker community — especially to the Black folks within it. His rags-to-riches story is a classic tale that inspired many.
On the other: He probably did this, y’all. This is the US Attorney General, folks. It’s the IRS. They’re not coming at you unless they have a legitimate case. It’s not looking great.
This is messed up. It’s a firm betrayal of the sneaker community’s trust and the values that Whitner and the Whitaker group professed to hold dear.
I’ve seen people say that this is just “simple backdooring” and that everybody does it. And my response to that is when did that ever make it OK? Y’all have been roasting Marcus Jordan for it for years now.
Also, it’s definitively not just simple backdooring. This is money laundering with a foreign party as the beneficiary. Not only is it a breach of contract, but it's illegal.
Speaking of that breach of contract, if this sticks there's no way Nike is sticking by the brand. Not after the brand took such strong stances against backdooring just a year ago.
The big picture: The thought that I simply cannot shake is that this is James Whitner doing this. He owns some of the biggest, most popular sneaker boutiques in the world. He’s got a Nike account with at least a dozen collabs under his belt with the brand in the last calendar year or so.
And this is what he has to do to keep the doors open? Yikes, man. If that’s what he has to do then what hope does the Mom & Pop up the street from you have?
I’m not saying this to absolve Whitner of any guilt he may have in this. What I’m saying is there are market conditions that led to this. It’s the exclusivity of the items being resold. It’s the peelback of wholesale for smaller retailers. It’s the push of consumer direct offenses across the board.
This is a beast that Nike created. Whitner is reportedly feeding it here to his own ends. There’s a whole lot that needs to be fixed here. Hopefully this catastrophe opens people's eyes up to that and triggers action to fix it.
I saw you interviewed Shaq on Instagram. That looked cool.
The reader continues: What was that like? He seems like a pretty cool dude to talk to. What did y’all talk about and what’s the tea on Reebok? Also, is Reebok hiring you? The vibes are vibing.
Shaq is cool, man! For those of you who didn’t see it, I got a chance to interview Shaq and talk about a charity event he did with Icy Hot. That man has every brand deal in the book, folks.
He’s very cool to chat with. We’ve actually talked before and he remembered who I was, which was also pretty awesome.
The details: We talked about what he’s doing at Reebok and what the brand’s basketball strategy will be in the coming months. The answer is retro. He got very excited about that.
He also kind of, sort of (?) took a jab at Jordan Brand here. But he’s not wrong:
“Just know that we’re coming correct. Definitely retro. When I was having a conversation with Reebok, they were like “we’ve got to do new stuff.” And I’m like “Jordan don’t do new stuff.” Jordan still sells old stuff.
And guess what? You’ve got two over here. Might not be one, but I know I ain’t three. I know I ain’t four. You’ve got Shaq and AI over here. So we’re going to come with that, then we’re going to come with some new designs.”
Here’s a snippet from that conversation via TikTok.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Believe it or not, the Reebok bit here isn’t even my favorite part. We talked about him getting on the track with Damian Lillard, Rick Ross and Meek Mill. And I also tried to convince him to drop an album. It didn’t work.
Also, no, Reebok isn’t hiring me. But, hey, Reebok. If you wanna chat, yerboi is down.
READ MORE: My full chat with Shaq can be seen here.
What are your favorite holiday (any holiday) inspired shoes and drops?
I’m SO EXCITED about this question. I was having a conversation with a homie about this a couple of days ago. Well, not this exact subject. We were specifically talking about why there aren’t more Thanksgiving shoes.
Anyway, here are my favorite holiday sneakers, ranked:
Dia De Muertos Nike SB Dunk: This is the best holiday shoe ever, in my opinion. It’s a grail. One that I’ll probably never get, of course, but still a grail.
Concepts x Nike “TurDunken” SB Dunk High: The TurDunken has to be one of the most creative sneakers ever, man. The material changes are perfect and the special box is *chef’s kiss*.
Concepts x Nike “Ugly Sweater” Dunk High: Anytime you give Concepts a holiday drop, there’s no doubt that it’ll be a slam dunk. These shoes are incredible. I kind of feel like they’re a Young Jeezy collab, but that’s just my headcanon. IYKYK.
“Paranorman” Nike Foamposite: This is one of the best Halloween sneakers ever. The fact that it was attached to an awesome movie makes it even better.
Kobe “Grinch” 6: Because what else was I gonna put here, y’all?
What do we think of my list, folks? Gon’ head. Let me have it.
What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a sneaker? Tell the truth…
Yo. I have no idea who asked this question, but I feel like the person who asked actually knows the answer to this and just asked it so I could embarrass myself. Because I am a bit embarrassed by this.
It’s not even the fact that I spent as much as I did — I can live with that. It’s the fact that I did the thing that I always tell y’all not to do. But I had a good reason for it!
OK, whatever. Nobody wants to hear my excuses. Let me just…Ok.
The answer: I once spent $490 on a pair of *gulp* Medium Curry Dunks. Yes, the same Medium Curry Dunks that are half that price in my size today.
THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING 🫣
But…I did have a good reason for it. These were my wedding sneakers!
I was getting married in a few months when I copped back at the top of 2022.
Prices hadn’t dipped yet and they matched our wedding colors perfectly. It was a hard decision, but I just went for it. We’d saved money elsewhere so I figured the sneakers would just fit in the budget.
They did. It was fine. But now, every day I look at the prices on those joints and call myself an idiot. I don’t regret it, though. The wedding was awesome.
Twitter has been the best place to connect with sneakerheads since I signed up for it in 2008 but it’s become impossible to avoid the toxicity of it.
The reader continues: What will it take for sneaker enthusiasts and creators like yourself to move the collective community conversations to another platform?
Thanks so much for asking this question. It’s a great one and one that I certainly need to figure something out for. To be completely honest, I don’t have a great answer.
Here’s why: So much of this audience has come from Twitter. Around 39 percent of the Kicks You Wear’s subscribers came from the platform.
That number is starting to change. I’m generating more subscriptions from recommendations on Substack.
A good 63 percent of the subscribers here in the last 30 days have come organically from the platform.
I point that out to say that while that number is shifting, much of this audience still lives on Twitter despite the platform being as toxic as it is. And trust — it’s definitely toxic.
That’s why I am going to make it a goal for 2024 to find ways to integrate other audiences here. The growing demographic of subscribers that have come from elsewhere shows me that it’s possible. And you’re also not the first person to ask me this question — it’s something I get a lot. So it’s clear that this is something people want.
What I’m thinking: Some folks have contacted me about joining Blue Sky, which would be dope if anyone has an invite code. I’ve also heard from a homie who works at Playback and we’ve discussed doing some really cool stuff for the KYW audience there, too.
I just need to figure out what the best way to make this work is. I’ll do it.
That’s all for today, folks! No #KicksWeWear today since yesterday was Thanksgiving. But I just want to say, I know I tell y’all how grateful I am for you all the time. This newsletter means so much to me. It's gotten me through some shit, man. And I’m really thankful that you all open it faithfully and read it the way that you do.
Let’s chat again on Monday. Til next time, peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
DM me @DavidLaw12 on Twitter and I’d be more than happy to hook you up with a Bluesky invite code!