Chris Blackstone
infrequently and I always try to get them on
the quick, because I’ve seen some go for $200-
300, because they’re so rare and people really
remember those shoes from when they came
out.
I’ve got the big catalogs from the shops, but
Nike also did these little brochures. People put
those up for auction at $5 or $10, and they’ll
have all the pinnacle gear and technical require-
ments and specifications, but in condensed
form. Those are great because they’re really
specific and you can get them cheap. I remem-
ber seeing all those when I was young too. I
remember seeing them at stores, but I believe
Nike also included some when you bought the
shoes. If I can recall properly, most of those
came in the shoeboxes when I was a kid. I’ve
got just about got a complete collection, aside
from a few from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Even more so than with the sneakers, there’s
the challenge of the hunt with the catalogs,
because most people who had these originally,
were working in the shop. You even see some
of the notes written in one of the ones I sent
you. These were functional, so trying to find
them in good shape is rare. You have to come
across someone who just happens to be clean-
ing out the back of their shop somewhere.
In my office, I’ve got a wall that’s filled with
a whole bunch of vintage ads. There’s a se-
ries that ran in 1995, ‘96 and ‘97, that was just
a Nike shoe on a white background, with a
phone number. I have around twenty of those
on the wall, along with some David Robinson
and Andre Agassi stuff. There’s just something
about having those shoes as a kid, and now
having something tangible to look at. The fun-
ny thing is when co-workers around my same
age come in and are like, “I had those shoes....
and those shoes...” The ads are a great way to
bring back shared memories.
It was more accessible then, too. That’s what
gets me about the modern stuff, whether it’s
retro or the new Yeezy, or what have you. The
desire to intentionally limit it just seems artifi-
cial to me, because they are sneakers and you
want people to wear them, and you want that
“Hey where did you get those?,” and maybe
have a chance to actually get them, instead of
having to drive to a city and camp out for two
days or spending $500 for a pair on eBay. It’s
crazy.
I think people enjoyed the sneakers for what
they were back then, instead of looking at
them as an investment or something they
would wait to break out, to show people how
much they spent, or how much work they did
to get them. You deny their purpose for exis-
tence if they never get worn.
Volume 2 | classickicks.com | Classic Kicks | 97