The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 219 — Too much heat on the green
Sneaker culture and golf are closer than ever before. Does that feel weird to anybody else?
What’s good, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with yerboi today. I appreciate the time.
Housekeeping!!! KYW will be out after today until the first week of May. Easter, weddings, all that. I’ll miss y’all. But I’ll be back before you know it. Still send me kick pics! Always here for that.
Let’s jump in.
Golf’s relationship with sneaker culture has changed, but why?
Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: But you’re scrolling down your Twitter timeline just chilling and you see a pair of fire kicks. “YO! Are these new Air Maxes” you ask, ask you click the link in excitement. Then there’s a GLF next to it. Or you see the spikes on the bottom. And your heart just sinks.
This is a thing now. Hyped sneaker silhouettes are being converted into golf models. Streetwear and golf are starting to blend together, Gerald Flores of the New York Times writes.
Tiger Woods, a Nike-sponsored golfer, brought a lot of new fans to the sport in the late 1990s, but dwindling interest in his products during the 2010s paved the way for a streetwear crossover into golf. Nike and a subsidiary, Jordan Brand, began releasing collectible silhouettes as golf shoes, such as the Air Max 1 and the original Air Jordans.
It’s obvious to anyone looking that sneaker culture and golf are fusing in a way we’ve never seen before. But my question is why?
Between the lines: People have attributed this to golf trying to attract a younger, hipper audience by involving itself with a culture their target audience is heavily involved in.
The thinking is basically they see cool golf shoes and they’ll want to golf.
We’ve seen an influx of that over the last 12 years but, more specifically, a lot of it has come in the last two years with people golfing more during the pandemic.
But…: I don’t necessarily buy that. I could be completely wrong, but that just doens’t make a ton of sense to me for one big reason: Golf has never cared about being liked.
First, golf is the most conservative sport we have out there with lots of barriers still in place from expensive country clubs to just regular equipment costs.
Also, since when has golf cared about newcomers participating? Sure, they want to be liked. But they don’t necessarily want everybody in the club. That’s why we still don’t know shit about The Masters.
If golf really wanted to attract more of an audience, wouldn’t some of those things change before they decided “yo, let’s throw some spikes on some Jordan 12s!”
What I think might be happening here is that we’re seeing golf and sneaker culture slowly become one and the same. Golf has always been a rich man’s game. Sneakers are becoming the same thing.
There’s plenty of overlap. What that means for sneakers? I have no idea. But this is certainly something we’ll dive deeper into together.
MSCHF is up to no good once again
MSCHF is just here to cause trouble, hence the name MSCFH. Getting sued is their thing at this point. It’s not surprising at all it’s happening again. It’s not Nike again, though.
This time its Vans. The 50-year-old skate shoe company is suing MSCHF for the “Wavy Baby” distorted sneaker they dropped in collaboration with Tyga.
Complex’s Brendan Dunne broke the news:
What they said:
“Sneaker companies are in a constant cycle of riffing on each other. Standard shoe industry practice is: steal a sole, steal an upper, change a symbol. What a boring use of cultural material. Wavy. Baby is a complete distortion of an entire object that is itself a symbol. “
MSCHF also noted that Vans actually reached out to them proactively ahead of the Wavy Baby drop to try and settle. They allegedly asked for:
Half of the profits from the sneaker in collaboration with MSCHF
Four pairs of the Wavy Baby shoes for themselves
And they also reportedly said they were willing to collaborate with MSCHF in the future. That line and the LMAO that follows it is incredible, by the way.
With that being said: None of that is happening, of course. MSCHF does raise a great point. Designs are riffed off of all the time. That’s part of artistry and part of customization. Design inspires design — just look at all the Air Force 1 variations we’ve been talking about over the last week.
It’s also interesting that they make a point about stealing when Vans stealing a custom design from a fan in 2021 caused a huge controversy.
I don’t know how far this one gets before both parties decide to settle, but the result will be interesting nonetheless.
New Balance’s big bet on sports
New Balance has had a huge presence in streetwear and sneaker culture over the last few years, but it looks like they’re leaning a bit harder into sports. This facility is pretty awesome.
What it has:
A dual-terrain indoor track with six 42-inch wide oval lanes that can turn into a field
A 50,000 square foot concert venue
Flexible soccer, volleyball, and basketball courts
A sports research lab for where the company can develop its new sports tech
That’s a lot, right? It’s also absolutely stunning.
Why this matters: It’s that sports lab, man. This could lead to advancements in NB’s sports tech like its Fiteweave Lite material or its Fuel Cell cushioning. That’s a pretty exciting thing.
Sounds like I’ll be making my way up to Boston soon.
I never want to see DJ Khaled playing basketball again
Never. Again.
These Jordan 5s are not good enough to justify me watching DJ Khaled do the most basic of crossovers or fake dunking a basketball on a 5-foot rim. I’m sorry.
Please, Jordan Brand. Hurry up and drop these so we don’t have to see this anymore.
#TheKicksWeWear
YOU KNOW THE VIBES. LET’S GOOOOOOOO.
First, the homie Storm popped out CRAZY with the KD’s, the Strawberry Maxes AND the LaMelos. Sheesh.
The homie Didspeak popped out in the Heavy CNCPTS Air Max 1s and MAN these will never get old.
The homie Tej came through in the Hand Crafted AJ1 and this is SUCH a creative sneaker. Love the lace swap.
The homie Ryan came through with the Georgetown 1s and these joints are so good y’all.
The homie Cantrell popped out in my first love aka the 07 Aqua 8’s. SO GOOD.
The homie Pat came through in the Off-White Blazers and, you know what? I think these are good.
The homie Rhe popped out in the Cardinal Red AJ3s and MAN these are so crisp.
Then the homie Condré took us home in the Griffeys and brought the little guy out in Js. This is why I don’t have kids y’all. THIS IS WHY.
SMOKED IT. Y’all are the greatest, man.
Thank y’all so much for rocking with me today! Y’all are the absolute best. Appreciate the time, fam.
I’ll miss y’all! But I promise I’ll be back soon, folks. Until next time. Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
I could write a whole column on all the problems I have with DJ Khaled but I appreciate his awful handles here because it makes me feel much better about my own “skills” on the rock 🤣.