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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

HypeBeast or SneakerHead?

If you are a follower of this blog then it's pretty safe to say your on some level a "SneakerHead." You may not collect sneakers but you have a full appreciation for sneakers and what the represent to you may be a little different that what they represent to others. It seems lately I've been seeing a side of the culture that has made me really stop and think for a moment as to why some people are even in the culture.

Have you ever ran into that Sneaker Head that loves nothing more than to tell you what he/she has? Like as soon as you say "hey, what's up? Their first response is "I copped the [Insert Sneaker Name Here]" as if having the material position of a pair of shoes makes them a better person in some way. Doesn't it make you want to ask the simple question of "what are you even collecting them for?" Seems to me there is a SneakerHead subculture which we'll call "HypeBeast" living among us that are only in it to brag about what they have, which just seems a bit odd to me that they are blending in so well.

Have you ever ran into the guy that spends hundreds on OG's no matter what condition they are in just so they can say "Hey man I have OG such and such?" I love OG's just as much as the next guy and fully understand if you want them for collecting or because they remind you of a certain time and you are truly a collector then it makes sense to me that you would hunt them down. HOWEVER we all know people that just love to say "I have the OG" just to come off like they are super cool and really how cool are you at the end of the day spending hundreds for shoes you can't wear and someone else already got the enjoyment out of?

It just seems there are too many "I'm the greatest because I have this shoe or that shoe" people among us and it's kind of odd and make us all look greedy and arrogant . If you take offense to this posting then you are the people I'm talking about and to be quite honest your nothing more than a HypeBeast and not really a Sneaker Head at all. If you are in agreement with this line of thinking then you are the type of person that cops your shoes, don't boast about them and rather people see them on your feet or in your display case without having to say "hey look what I got" and in my opinion that's what we need more of. Just food for thought and would love to hear some comments.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Should you plastic wrap your sneakers?

First and foremost I must credit JohnnyBananas1990 for inspiration on the topic.

I am asked this question more often than I care to count but would you wrap your sneakers in plastic to include plastic bags to keep them fresh? My answer is always the same NO, simply because leather needs to breath, there is no sense in drying out leather. For those that don't understand what I mean let's go through the thought process...

1. You see the shoes you want and have to have them!
Air Jordan IX

2. You say these are too fresh I'm never going to wear them and keep them forever and show off later that I have the DS or even sell them in a few years! So I'll wrap them in plastic that will preserve them for sure!
Air Jordan IX

3. You decide it's time to pull them out and sell them or wear them only to realize they have mysteriously crumbled at the midsole!
Air Jordan IX

4. Now your thinking man I could have sold these for more than retail and missed out on some money, I could have worn them and looked fresh... then you realize your $135 investment was all for nothing because now you're just serving as a warning to others!
Air Jordan IX

DON'T DO IT... COP TO ROCK!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Top Five Air Jordan releases of 2010 so far...

We are 6 months into the year and this year has been a BIG year for Jordan SneakerHeads. I like to think of it as a nice "catch up year" because a lot of the retro's that are being released this year were also released not to long ago, like Flint XIII's, Air Jordan II, Air Jordan IX's were part of the CDP. None the less it has been a great year so far for most and with that here's my picks for best releases of 2010 so far.

#5
Yes that's right a Spiz'ike! This colorway is very fresh and eye catching and be wrong for me to ignore it.
Air Jordan Spizike Stealth

#4
Everyone loves all white shoes, everyone loves Air Jordan XI's. Pretty no-brainer for this pair as many of you camped out for a pair.
Air Jordan XI Anniversary

#3
Now I'm the first to say when I think of Air Jordan's I think of basketball not motorcycles but the way the white makes the black POP on these shoes is no doubt fresh!
Air Jordan MotorSport VI

#2
Seems to me those that hate BIN's in general are mostly those that can not get their hands on a pair because if you could you would find out what all the fuss is, quality is great on them. These are no doubt a GREAT pair of sneakers that in most cases will never be worn. White and Gold is a very nice blend on this shoe.
Air Jordan BIN IX

#1
Almost made this #2 merely because the impact of them would have been off the charts if JB didn't release Varsity colorways to water things down for us but either way OG colorways on a VI trumps all.
Air Jordan Infrared Pack

Thanks for checking this out, post your opinion in the comments section would love to read those. The second half of the year will be a bit more difficult to rank Quality will be the driving force of the upcoming releases.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

SSB Air Jordan XI Anniversary Give-A-Way!

Give-a-way Winner is Gisele L. of Miami, FL thanks to all that participated.

Win a pair of Air Jordan XI Anniversary Edition sneakers! We are limiting the give-a-way to 100 entries, entry is simple with any shirt purchase from SSB you will be entered to win a brand new pair of Air Jordan XI Anniversary Edition sneakers size 10, you can keep them or sell them whatever you would like. (If you purchase more than 1 you will have more than 1 chance to win.) There will be 1 winner, chances are 1 in 100 chance.

Winner will be notified via the email address attached the PayPal account used to make the purchase. I will also make an announcement via YouTube video and post the winner here on this blog. We'll keep a count posted here on this blog which will be updated daily with the total number sold, announcement will be made within 48 hours of the 100th shirt sold.

Air Jordan XI

Also future give-a-ways will be coming, once JStar25 reaches 5,000 subscribers to YouTube there will be another give-a-way or a few give-a-ways handed out. Thank you for your support and good luck!



UPDATE: As stated in the video posted on YouTube, if you do not want the Anniversary XI's due to size or whatever you can elect to receive in your size the Air Jordan IX Charcoal.

Air Jordan IX

Note: If your size is not in stock we will order it for you. Shirts ship within 48 hours of order unless size is not available in which case your order will be shipped within 5 business days.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

My Opinion on Jordan Brand II

So it has been asked, what my opinion is on Jordan Brand now in 2010, this of course stems from my YouTube video on the subject posted back in 2009.

Unfortunately I don't think things have gotten much better over the past year, I mean yeah they are finally releasing some nice shoes that people have been waiting on for a while now which is cool. However the quality is still a little suspect to say the least and the thinking behind some of the releases is just a smack in the face to collectors. Example would be, releasing the Varsity VI's which upset a lot of people because they wanted the Infrared VI's, then JB turns around and releases an Infrared Pack which upset a lot of people because with the economy why continue with the packs and why release the pack so close to the release of the Varsity's?

Back to quality for a moment. The Air Jordan II QF & IX Powder were reasons to get excited however when the shoes actually released and the plastic like leather was seen it was just another swing and miss from JB. They continue to cut corners and sadly the masses don't notice or don't care and the purist do but since the masses rush out and buy them quality isn't really an issue with JB, why give us OG quality when they sell out with corning cutting quality?

Then my newest irritation with JB is the lack of creativity! This is huge with me these days and is really causing me to lose interest. It seems EVERY shoe that I see that JB is releasing is just some mixture of something they did in the past. I RARELY see anything new or ground breaking except when the newest signature shoe releases (ie the 2010). Just think about it for a moment everything is a blend of something old like you got the Dub Zero's, Spiz'ikes, Tru Flights, Six Rings, Accolades, 60 Plus and when all else fails FUSE Jordan with NIKE and get Fusions and now the latest un-original creation I've seen is the Jordan Comfort VIS 11 a hybrid of the Air Max 1 and the Air Jordan XI is JB serious?

Jordan Comfort VIS 11

With all that said many people have wondered why I haven't been copping J's, it's not that I don't like the signature line because I still have my favorites, but the cycle is just not exciting as it use to be, also there hasn't been a non-signature line Jordan has produced that has made me say I have to have those... I mean really why the heck would I wear a Fusion III if I have the actual Air Jordan III? Wouldn't any Air Jordan III be 100 times fresher than a III fused with an Air Force One? Not to mention the cycle itself is just repeating, like not to long ago the XIII's were released and people were quick to complain about toe creasing, the XIII is coming back and people will rush to cop and then complain about toe creasing AGAIN!

I know this was a long read but that's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my opinion on JB, of course I have my ideas of how to right the ship for the masses and the purist but I don't think JB is interested in hearing it. Well I cop J's in the future? I'm sure I will but as always I am selective in what I buy, just because people think every J is the greatest thing ever doesn't mean I do.