Dr . Frank Richardson
There are still people out here who can give the real stories behind many of these shoes , but I think hype sells more than anything . I know it ’ s become a billion dollar industry , but for me , I don ’ t want to wear any of that . That ’ s why I go twice as hard to keep my sneakers in good condition because I don ’ t want the retros . They just don ’ t work for me .
Take the Etonic Hakeems . My original pair from 1987 is in much better condition than the version that came out a few years ago . I wore those retros once , and they started to break down . It ’ s incredible . That ’ s why I ’ ve never taken shoes from any brand or company . I ’ d rather be free to express what ’ s good and what ’ s crap . You see Etonic bringing back the Hakeems and Brooks coming out with the Vantage . Now , Bally is bringing back the Competition , and there ’ s been a lot of talk between me and others who have so-called “ OG status ,” like Clark Kent , Dallas Penn , and others . We talked about how important that shoe was . But even Bally doesn ’ t know its history . It just looks at pictures . Doug E . Fresh never wore the Competition , but right there in the press release , it mentions Doug E . Fresh . No . That ’ s wrong !
No disrespect to Swizz Beats , but those Ballys are shaped horribly . They ’ re just wrong . They did not look like that . I was being respectful , bringing up this point on social media , and people were like , “ Well , how do you know ?” I know because I have the originals ! You ’ re about to get hoodwinked buying this shoe that isn ’ t even close to the original .
Like with Diadora , for example . I don ’ t care if you remake the Borg Elites in kangaroo leather . If you don ’ t have his scribble , then you got nothing . If you don ’ t have Edwin Moses ’ s signature , you got nothing . Just don ’ t even bring them back out .
I would hate to think it was just cost preventing them from going back and doing it right because that signature makes a world of difference . Even when I was buying Diadora back in the 1980s , it was because it provided something that a lot of brands didn ’ t , and that was the signature on the shoe . It could have been Pat Cash or Pete Sampras , but that made a big difference . Now they try to bring them back and say it ’ s the OG , but it ’ s not .
Now , I look online and see people claiming OG status , and they don ’ t even go back past Air Jordan . There ’ s a whole different culture of sneakers that existed before Jordan , but I think the so-called “ influencers ” are misleading people . You see some brands attaching themselves to B-list celebrities who don ’ t even wear their brand . I wear FILA because I ’ ve been wearing it since 1982 . On social media , I ’ ve been critical because today ’ s FILA USA is not the FILA I know .
For some brands , they just have to accept that they ’ re not going to capture the market . Especially in the case of FILA . The basketball market is not for them . Unless they ’ re going to sign a young player and create a new shoe , it isn ’ t for them . But there ’ s still a viable market of people who truly appreciated the quality that went into the older stuff . I ’ m not saying mass produce it , but c ’ mon . Give us a little bit of it . They claim the stuff they ’ re putting out is heritage , but it isn ’ t . Absolutely not .
I just wish some of these companies would stop calling themselves “ Heritage ” and just call themselves “ Retro ” because that ’ s what they are . The heritage part is bullshit because none of the shoes are close to the originals . Some companies are re-writing their sneaker history with alternate facts . That honesty is what the game is solely missing , but it ’ s not needed anymore . The FILA “ F ” used to be like the Bat-
Volume 2 | classickicks . com | Classic Kicks | 11