CHAZ ANESTOS
Words: Nick Santora | Photographer: Deven Cucolo
Location: Pocatello, ID | Age: 28 | Occupation: Vintage Clothing Dealer
Collection: 200 pairs
Before the arrival of Air Jordan and the influence of Wieden + Kennedy’s marketing genius,
Nike made sneakers for serious runners. If you read Phil Knight’s autobiography Shoe Dog,
you probably noticed most of the pages reminisced about this particular time in the brand’s
history. It was the foundation Nike was built upon in the 1970s, growing from a renegade
outfit in the Pacific Northwest into one of the most powerful brands in the world.
Chaz Anestos is a historian and an important link to this crucial time in Nike’s history. His
collection of 1970s and early 1980s Nike running sneakers and apparel chronicles the entire
evolution of the brand’s formative years when they were still making SMUs in a factory in
New Hampshire. The colors and patterns were so bold and ahead of their time, combining
shades of pink and lime green with floral Hawaiian prints. Once I actually held these pieces
in my hands, I could practically close my eyes and imagine the entire history of the shoes:
from the drawing board to production, on to the Olympic Trials, and then being buried away
in someone’s basement in for decades before they ended up in a collector’s hands forty years
later, through the magic of the Internet, and became featured in this magazine for us to stare
at and discuss.
When I started this Collector’s Issue, I didn’t know what to expect when I reached out to
these people (through Instagram) whom I had never met before. There could have been an
air of arrogance or exclusivity, but I was met with generosity of both their time and sneakers.
I asked Chaz Anestos to be a part of this magazine, and he sent me a humongous box of ex-
tremely rare sneakers and apparel the following day. It was really great to have these priceless
artifacts in my hands for a week so I could photograph and share them with you. Enjoy this
interview with a world-renowned Nike running collector.