A new pair of trainers more often than not isn’t just some pair we have strolled passed in a shop window or scrolled passed on a website. Most of the time, for me anyway, have been desired for a period of time- whether I stalked their release or missed it back in the day. I save towards and sacrifice others in some cases to acquire. Ultimately each pair probably has a number of interesting story’s and here, you can read up on mine…

• New Balance x Concepts- 998 'Tannery'
  I got these about a two weeks ago and have only really gotten round to sharing them with you due to my pure infatuated state along with exam prep taking over. Getting a real top end shoe is such a fine feeling but you really can tell the difference when its a grail. When it’s a trainer you have been after longer than any other, when everytime you see them in someone else’s pictures you’re filled with a mixture of jealousy and awe. This is that pair for me and that fine feeling is more of a meritorious one. I really only have two grails in my collection- my atmos safari’s and now these. I did, unfortunately have to pay an arm and a leg in obtaining them but the list of justifiable reasons is endless and it has put me out of the buyers game, at least until the exams are over (maybe).

  Due to the recent string of sterling weather I have already been able to un-DS them and what a day that was! If passer-byers had time to stop and have a closer look im sure they would have complimented on the exceptional use of materials or if they weren’t a trainer enthusiast (which in glasgow they probably weren’t) then they might rave about the unusual and subtly perfect shade of green they are. Or maybe they wouldn’t say anything at all and i’m just a lonely man in love… Whatever the case, i’m a happy man.

  

  

• Nike- Air Max 90 'King of the Mountain'
  I finally managed to grab a pair of these 08′ air max 90 premiums! thats right, these were just a premium release. We are lucky these days to see this much detail go into a collaboration. apparently less is more…
  As I have been on the hunt for quite the period of time for these at the right price I would have happily settled for a used condition pair but it seems my luck was in as I managed to score a brand new pair with OG box and all for an even luckier price.
  This pair were influenced by the notorious mowabb colourway which we, over the years have seen a number of re-enactments. Not many of those as well adapted as these (although my biased airmax views may be clouding things). The quality of the different leathers is reflective of the premium label circa 2008 and the little additions are what make this shoe such a high scorer in my books, namely the translucent imaged sole or the ‘king of the mountain’ stitching on the heel. Pink isn’t everyones cup of tea however and these won’t be easy to maintain. I look forward to un-DS’ing them this summer.
  
  

• Nike- Air Max 1 'Nike ID'
  Along with the blessing of actually being able to observe celestial mechanics at work today I received my first Nike ID’s since I was a young boy. Quite the comparison, I know.
  We have all been known to sit on NikeID for hours chopping and changing our favourite silhouettes to then exit the site and forget all about them. Most of the time if we actually went through with it we would be over the moon- or rather behind it…
  There are a number of scare stories about ID options where materials or colours don’t quite match up to what we had seen before. That along with the relatively high price and the potential six week wait I guess is enough to put most off.

  This time I really did spend hours making sure that these were infact the one’s for me. I asked for a few opinions despite ordering the opposite of that they said. The most important opinion agreed with me that day anyway so I was happy. I had an almost expired Nike voucher too so it would have been rude not to and my final push was an assumption no one would really be making ID’s and my waiting period wouldn’t be long (I can’t actually recall why I thought this). A fairly simple assumption most would think but they were with me in three weeks. From the last click to first flick.

  
  

  

• Nike- Air Max 1 'Patch Pack/ Steel green'
  I some how managed to get these on release day despite sleeping in. Luckily my girl remembered how much I had been going on about them and woke me up. I actually seen some leaked pictures at the end of the last year and had always said I was a big fan of the beige ones. As the release date drew nearer tho I ended up deciding I would get both the green and the beige ones. Unfortunately with such a popular release tho I was only able to get the green ones.

  The shape of the shoe is fantastic and the no-sew mud-guard is very hyperfuse-esk. There was even chat that these would be the new independence days. Turns out they’re just american military inspired hence the insole flag.

  I have yet to try on any of the patches and doubt I will if i’m being honest. The shoe, in my opinion looks best as is and the velcro on the patches doesn’t even seem strong.

  I am very pleased with the trainers although this has to be my most hated release so far. I know a large number of people who genuinely wanted them but didn’t get the chance due to the mass amount of resellers. My anger was further escalated when I went on Klekt. Every size… Every colour… Double the price. Disgusting.

  

  

• Nike- Air Max 1 'Wash Pack'
  Here is the 2004 ‘wash pack’ Asia exclusives. There isn’t a whole load of hype that surround these and I didn’t actually know too much about them until I spied some amazing pictures taken in a laundrette. Anyway, that was enough to get them on my radar although this was probably well over a year ago and I had never in all my time involved seen a pair of these up for grabs. This, fortunately for me was another steal and although the outersole needs a little glue loving I managed to get them posted for well under £100.

  The washed out leather is a unique look that we don’t actually see too often. It also means I wont be afraid to give them a good wear. Despite their age they are in a fantastic condition. The rest of the leather is great along with OG laces and arch supports. My favourite detail has to be the corduroy (could be a substitute although I don’t think it is) very patta corduroy-esk and I can’t wait to rock them with my corduroy trousers. Blast from the past!
  

  
  

• Adidas- Hamburg 'Cargo Coral'

  This first pair of Hamburgs for me see’s my Adidas collection continue to rise. The colourway really caught my eye whenever I seen them in some random high-street shop and after a couple of days of deliberating the worthiness of a general release I decided I would infact get them. No where that sold them done half sizes tho which was disappointing however luckily the Adidas website did and even luckier I had another email address to sign up to Adidas with and got 15% off with free delivery.
  Simple, effective and as always- nice to get a new pair that didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

  

  

• Asics x Size?- GLIII 'Tsavorite'
  Here we have the Size? 25th anniversary Gel lyte III’s which dropped last week. Interestingly there wasn’t a large amount of hype around the release of these. Obviously being the 25th anniversary of such a largely iconic silhouette there are going to be about 20 released throughout the year and to impress and gather a large amount of hype will need something special. To achieve such, collaborators need to properly advertise and get momentum going. I feel that there wasn’t an adequate amount of that from size? this time. Lack of advertisement along with a number of 3M haters meant that even now, a week later there are still a number of sizes left online and instore.

  Even I was skeptical upon ordering them. The delivery period was a tense time But, i’m all about giving things a chance.
  When they arrived my already good day was made. The quality of materials, in particular the super soft suede are fantastic. The 3M is flawless and perfectly placed- when not illuminated the trainer looks like two harmonistic greys atop of each other. The two additional sets of rope laces is a nice touch too.
  Regardless of my biased opinion I have actually spoken to a few others who made took the chance with these and a general underestimated opinion was common.
  It’s safe to say anyone who didn’t sleep on these is a happy customer.
  It’s not too late for you either…

  
  

  

• New Balance- 1500 'Fly the Flag'
  Just as the dust was settling from my last 1500 purchase these came along…
  I’m unsure if a recent lack of time contributed to the fact I barely knew anything about these 1500’s dropping but luckily at the time of discovery there were a good few left. With general releases today, especially purchasing them online we take such a gamble. Due to a large number of reasons, the quality of our favourite brands has been known to vary. Glue stains, defects in patterns or colour and generally poor craftsmanship have more recently haunted our dreams when it comes to GR’s.
  These, however upon delivery did not disappoint. I was blessed with a perfect shoe that has become my favourite GR in a while with regards to quality of production. The additional fact that Red is my favourite colour may have also contributed…

  It’s such a nice feeling when a shoe with no stressed rushing involved or engulfing hype turns out to be so much more than you had hoped and a long living member in the family.
  
  

  

• New Balance x Solebox- 1500 'Finals
  As most of us already know, and if you don’t- Solebox are one of the biggest and best collaborators around. In my personal opinion their designs reign original and their choice in prefered silhouettes fails to disappoint. Such a shame they reside in Berlin.
  If you are familiar with Solebox then you will most likely be familiar with the New Balance 1500 ‘Finals’ which dropped back in 2009. These green finals are 1 of 2 released colourways although only limited numbers of the maroon were released in store. Good news for us green enthusiasts…
  The shape is what initially fueled me to journey onwards and obtain these. They taper perfectly to an almost point and the accused ‘basic’ colourway works for me. Unlike Ronnie’s famous block coloured toe boxes that we see even on general releases we don’t see many with block coloured heels. A small, and in some eyes a pointless addition but its the small things that each of us relate to differently that make them a justifiable purchase and unique to us.
  Believe it or not these were infact my next pick up after the Atmos safari’s. Economically, not what I was hoping for but when something like this comes up under the circumstances it does you don’t have long to deliberate.
  It was actually a friend of mine who I had done business with before who had decided to part with his and for a very fair price too. The uppers are in great condition as are the soles but could maybe do with quick fresh white coat. I did however rock them on an unforgiving day which resulted in a substantial blob of mud on the grey suede toe-box. I am currently working towards saving their lives.

  

  

• Nike x Atmos- Air max 1 'safari'
  As a collector I don’t recall a period of time where I didn’t desire or love a single pair at any time. It’s just a thing. We appreciate different things about each pair and in only liking, say, the material’s used we justify the purchase and they are added to the collection. We may regret it a few weeks or months down the line but sometimes they go on to be a prosperous pair that always seem to feature in that quick trip to the shop.
  On a more religious side, we have our grails- Our mythical top 3 (5 for the greedy f***ers) that since laying eyes upon them have been with you ever since. Most of the time these were released back when I was still sucking on the proverbial teet of adolescence and had no means of income or they were only released in some underground/ cross country pop-up or fashion event. Others may just have been worn by Kanye West and then all bought up by bots and sold for double the price. Never the less- everyone has their own opinion which relates to taste and a grail is grail, regardless of how deep in your pocket you had to/ didn’t have to go.

  In rambling I have been trying to share with you my relatively recent grail procurement. Some time before christmas I managed to grab myself a pair of Nike x Atmos- air max  safari’s. A trainer that has been in my top three since the beginning. I was lucky enough to get them for a substantially lower amount than they normally go for- the uppers are in a good condition and the air air bubble is cloudy. However, due to the circumstances of this particular pair I guess I wasn’t frightened of wearing them and most recently one of the soles has started to crumble and I will at some point need to perform a sole swap (if you have any suitable soles going then please get in touch- UK10). I am however not too bothered as the uppers is still looking good and I will be able to continue rocking them until the sole falls off.

  About the trainers tho… Atmos collaborated with Nike back in 2002 to create these. They boast a number of different materials namely two different types of suede. The widely adored mini swoosh along with another on the heel- similar to the atmos ‘viotech’s’ also feature. All in these are a very well designed and put together pair that we won’t be seeing much of soon as they come towards their 15th birthday. Truly, one of the best in my opinion.