Flashback Friday #7: Sneakerness Paris 2014

When I rejoined Sneaker Freaker in July of 2014 I was involved in the operations of Sneakerness, Europe’s largest sneaker convention. While I didn’t play a part in the planning of Sneakerness Paris I was put in charge of organising the website as well as planning Sneaker Freaker’s appearance at the show.

Ironically, I had never been to a Sneakerness convention before even though the arguably most successful Sneakerness takes place in my hometown of Cologne every year since I got into the sneaker game. But somehow I always managed not to be home when it took place.

The plan was to promote and sell the original Sneaker Freaker Magazine in Paris. The idea of creating a special French edition just for the show was also discussed, for which my French skills would have been in demand. Unfortunately the Australians did not approve of the idea and the project was scrapped.

Nevertheless I picked out all of the English magazines we had at the office in preparation for our trip to Paris, as well as stickers, promo pens and other stuff we had lying around the office for our booth.

We left on Thursday 4 September and took the company van to drive to Paris. It took us a little longer than we had liked, having run into traffic, so we were all exhausted when we finally got to the hotel. We had a bit of trouble parking the van, since Paris is not suited for big vehicles, but we eventually found a car park that could accommodate our Fiat Ducato.

While the hotel was not the best (the bathroom door that couldn’t open without hitting the fixed baggage rack being the mandatory Ibis Hotel imperfection) the neighbourhood was picturesque – it was located by a promenade alongside le Canal de Saint-Denis. The adjacent streets were narrow and filthy, the café on the corner was frequented by French hipsters and the man seated by the canal with a fishing rod next to a sign that said “pêche interdit” (fishing not permitted) was the icing on the cake – beautiful!

The next morning we headed to the Centquatre cultural centre were Sneakerness Paris was going to take place. I was in charge of setting up our booth. The location in the venue was perfect, right where people would make a U-Turn and devote all their attention to our stand.

On Saturday 6 September the event finally kicked off. Long lines had formed way before the doors were actually opened. Part of the reason was the release of the Sneakerness x Puma XT2 “Parisian Lights” of which 150 pairs would be sold exclusively at Sneakerness Paris. As part of the team I managed to get my hands on a pair. I’ll tell you more about them in my next Sneaker Spotlight.

Our Sneaker Freaker booth turned out to be a great success. Part of our setup was a photo wall where people could take pictures for freebies. An instant photo print machine that would print out polaroids of Instagram posts tagged with #donnedesailes and #sneakernessparis was also close by making our booth a popular destination at Sneakerness Paris.

Another highlight was the one-of-one SF Flux, a promo sample of the miadidas ZX Flux with a Sneaker Freaker sticker collage photo print upper. Given the Trademark regulations of the miZXFlux App the shoe could not be replicated.

Sneakerness Paris was a wonderful experience. The event itself was massive with the amount of shoes and “hype shit” put on display and offered for sale – mostly for exorbitant price tags that I could/would never pay. I did manage to get some great deals though, like my SPoT x Nike SB Dunk High “Cigars” for Retail and the aforementioned “Parisian Lights”.

It was great returning to my forbidden city that was the scene for many unpleasant childhood memories – which include missing out on the Star Wars x Adidas Top Ten Low “Droids” – and I look forward to the next one.

Make sure to check back on Sunday for my Sneaker Spotlight on the Sneakerness x Puma XT2 “Parisian Lights”.

Dear Diary #2: Nike SB x Premier Dunk High “Northern Lights”

My Nike SB x Premier Dunk High “Northern Lights” are my latest pick-up. Obviously the first time I saw the Yeezy 2 “Black/Solar Red” came to mind – the colourway I initially wanted but couldn’t get.

You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you I was a fan of black, pink and green colourways long before I even knew about Yeezys. But back in the days of the original Need For Speed: Most Wanted I pimped all of my rides like that.

Seeing that colour combo on a Dunk High meant I had to get my hands on them. I wasn’t sure how I felt about going for a Yeezy-esque colourway. Nike had already played the whole thing out serving up similar looking AF1s and Foams to feed the hypebeasts’ hunger.

Premier did provide a concept for the colourway. They drew their inspiration from Aurora Borealis, also referred to as Northern Lights. The black and grey base served as the night sky, the bright pink on the lining and glowing green outsole as the lights and the 3M speckles as stars.

But Premier knew what they were doing. While the design was executed very well, I was really thrown off by the gold lace tips. To me they compromised the legitimacy of the entire concept.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I picked these up. The glow in the dark outsole is super dope, almost as good as the real thing.

What’s On My Mind Wednesday #7: Five Releases I Hope to See in 2015

For this week’s WOMMW I am going to share with you five releases I am looking forward to in 2015. Obviously 2015 is going to be here for a while and there are some releases I don’t even know I want until I see them, but here are the five releases I am definitely going to try to get my hands on, should they drop this year.

5. Nike SB Lunar Janoski “Black/Crystal Mint”

My Nike SB Zoom Janoski “Crystal/Mint” is one of my all time favourites but although I love the look of the straight Zoom sole more, the Lunar Janoski is one of the most comfortable shoes I own. I don’t skate enough to be in a position to evaluate which of the two is actually better to skate in.

Nevertheless I would love to have a Lunar Janoski in the “Black/Crystal Mint” colourway. It is one of the cleanest colour combos there is, which is why I am such a huge fan of the “Tiffany” Dunks.

Disclaimer: The picture above is a concept created in Photoshop.

4. Air Jordan IV “Oreo”

The Air Jordan IV is one of the few models I actually like, despite its bulkiness. While I have been disappointed in the quality of previous Jordan releases the Nike SB x Jordan 1 “Lance Mountain” Pack really raised my estimation of what Jordan Brand is capable of.

The recent release of the Columbia IVs was the first in Jordan Brand’s remastered programme and the leather, while not as buttery as my “Lance Mountains”, was certainly an improvement from past releases. I expect the “Oreos” to be just as good.

There isn’t much you can say about the basic colourway – black upper, white speckled midsole and light grey accents – but together, especially with that black tumbled leather, the shoes look awesome and I am very much looking forward to picking this up when they drop some time in February.

3. Nike Dunk High CMFT “Red October”

Mostly, I will be getting these as a consolation for having missed out on the real deal last year but also because I am a huge fan of the Dunk. And not only that but they actually look like they were executed really well – the 3D-print on the collar and the mesh on the toe-box and mid-panel looks on point. Let’s hope the outsole glows in the dark.

I’m not sure what to think of the gold aglets though, as I do have issues with them on my “Wolf Grey” Yeezy 2s (as outlined here). But maybe I won’t run into the same issues if I just get these in my size.

These are scheduled to release in the fall so I hope the hype will have died down by then and they turn out to be an easy pick-up.

2. Adidas x Kanye West

I am not ashamed to admit I am big fan of Kanye West and I really appreciate his work, even though I don’t always agree with everything he does.

I don’t know what to expect of his upcoming releases for Adidas and I know for sure that I am not going to pick up everything he releases with the three stripes just because he put his name on them. But I am very much looking forward to seeing what he has been working on for the past year and a half.

1. Nike Mag

A no-brainer for number one – sneakerheads have been waiting for an official release of the Nike Mag since 1989 when Marty McFly power-laced these up in “Back to the Future II”. Only a select few were able to get their hands on the ebay auctions for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2011.

Tinker Hatfield designed this shoe for Universal Studios back in the day and he recently announced that his team was working on bringing us the Nike Mag with power laces this year. We’ll have to wait and see if he can deliver, but even if they don’t manage to bring us Power Laces this year I would still appreciate any kind of release.

And if they do I will try everything to get a pair on release. I don’t care if I have to camp for a week – for these shoes I would go the extra mile. And I will be keeping a “Nike Mag Fund” ready for when that day comes around.

What releases are you looking forward to in 2015? Let me know in the comments below!

Sneaker Spotlight #6: Nike SB x Jordan I “Lance Mountain Black”

Today I am proud to present to you my favourite shoe of 2014: The Nike SB x Jordan I “Lance Mountain” Black.

I haven’t had the best experiences with Jordan Brand in the past (Spiz’ike “Bordeaux”, Son of Mars “Olympic”), the quality in particular. The Jordan I and XI are the only models that I find aesthetically appealing. I find the rest to be too bulky.

Nike SB had already done a Jordan I crossover that year. While I really like the Jordan I silhouette (very similar to the Dunk) I didn’t like the way the shoe turned out. But when Nike showed us the “Lance Mountain” Pack I knew I had to get my hands on them.

The pack consisted of two mismatched Jordan I Black/Red and Black/Royal with the signature SB padding covered in a white or black layer of paint. You could either wear a mismatched pair with both black or white top layers and one Bred and one Royal underneath or a pair of Breds or Royals, one white and one black.

I didn’t like the white pairs much. They looked weird once the paint wore off and the black base became visible. It would have been better if they had had a white base, like the Chicagos but there is no other pair that you could mismatch them with as well as Breds and Royals.

I planned to go only for the black joints. I asked City Surf whether they would get them but they wouldn’t know until a week before they released. I don’t even know if they got them because I was in Cologne when they dropped but I was surprised that my local skate shop there didn’t get them. After all they did get the Tiffany’s and I believe the first Nike SB x Jordan crossover too. So my best chance was getting them online at NikeStore.

My expectations weren’t particularly high since my other attempts at online releases like the Tiffanys, the Grand Anses and the Autobahn Nights failed. But these turned out to be an easy cop. There was no Twitter link so I used the search box to get to them, added them to my cart and checked out. 

The shoes arrived in the mail three days later. I had been let down by the quality of the Tiffanys and most Jordan releases I had seen in store so I was pleasantly surprised by the shoes’ premium leather upper. I was even more surprised by the comfort of the shoe, another category that recent Jordans that I had tried don’t excel in. The padding felt much more comfortable than any of my Dunks.

While most sneakerheads reached for the Acetone the second they got their pairs I wanted to wear the colour off in the way it was intended. To make the most of the shoes and the idea behind them I decided to buy a skateboard with my first pay check.

View this post on Instagram

No Comply 180 (almost) This what I kept trying to do in Leeuwarden @brianyankah @kngjns

A post shared by Maximilian Fritsche (@max_the_black) on Dec 28, 2014 at 7:53am PST

I wear these shoes a lot because they are meant to be beat up. I wear them, skate them and expose them to Cardiff’s atrocious weather. All of this gives them a unique look.

Flashback Friday #6.1: Top 3 Sneakers I missed out on in 2014

Now that 2014 has come to an end I thought I’d share with you my favourite sneakers of the past year. I have compiled three top threes of sneakers I missed out on, sneakers from before 2014 that I picked up this year and sneakers from 2014 that I managed to get my hands on.

Here is my Top 3 of Sneakers I missed out on this year:

Honourable Mentions:

New Balance x Nice Kicks 1600 “Grand Anse”

The New Balance x Nice Kicks 1600 “Grand Anse” deserves an honourable mention because it is a shoe that I really wanted and still want. It reminds me of the beautiful white beaches and bright blue waters of the Bahamas. That idea is not too far fetched because the shoe was inspired by the Grand Anse beach of Grenada.

These shoes released on the same day as the Nike SB x Diamond Supply “Tiffany” Dunks. I did try to buy them online at Sneakersnstuff while standing in line at City Surf but I received an error while checking out.

The reason why these aren’t in my Top 3 is because they are easily available for very fair prices. Compared to other releases that keep popping up adding this shoe to my rotation can wait.

New Balance x Concepts 997 “Rosé”

The New Balance x Concepts 997 “Rosé” also deserve an honourable mention. The first time I saw these was while translating the latest issue of Sneaker Freaker gracing one of the covers. I loved the pink and silver colour combo, which reminded me of the Porkie Dunks Concepts did last year. The suede upper and croc-embossed leather tongue gave the shoe a luxury theme inspired by the Piper Heidsieck rosé champagne bottle.

But that luxurious theme and choice in material gave the “Made in USA” shoe a luxury price tag of $235 at retail! Unfortunately they only released at Concepts in-store and online. I could not justify paying that plus $70 for shipping and the inevitable customs charges. No shoe is worth paying that much to me. Had they been released in Europe for a reasonable retail price I would probably have gone for them.

As I don’t regret not buying these as much because of the crazy retail price I didn’t include them in my Top 3 either.

3. Air Jordan XI Low “Concord”

I was in Paris about a week after they dropped and I walked into a sport wear shop near my old school and saw the Air Jordan XI Low “Concord” on the shelf. I couldn’t believe it because they had sold out everywhere and thought they were fakes at first.

But they were the real thing. Paris has a lot of smaller sneaker shops that get Quickstrikes, unlike the UK or Germany where only the bigger boutiques get to stock them.

They only had one pair left and they were my size too, but as I was outlet shopping the day before I didn’t want to spend any more money unsure. Plus I was sceptical of the quality of the shoes since I had been let down by Jordans before.

But the shoe is still one of the best Jordans out there and I prefer the Low XI to the High. The colourway is one of the freshest there is so I regret not pulling the trigger on them.

2. Nike Air Max Lunar90 “Moon Landing”

This release was a weird one because the Nike Air Max Lunar90 “Moon Land” was set to release on a Sunday, which is unusual for Europe. The shoe was released on the 45^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that made Neil Armstrong the first man to walk on the moon. To celebrate this scientific milestone Nike threw a lunar surface print on the Air Max Lunar90.

I’m not a huge fan of Air Max. I feel that they have been worn out and the shape just doesn’t appeal to me. But for some reason this shoe just ticked all the boxes for me: Space theme, Lunarlon sole, Hyperfuse upper, mismatched heels with the Star Spangled Banner, 3M and yes, the Tier Zero status probably played a big part in my longing for this shoe.

There were a few possibilities for getting this shoe: Nike would release them online, before that END were going to have them and Nigh, the sister store of my local sneaker boutique would also get them because it has the Tier Zero account. I placed all my eggs into the NikeStore basket so I intentionally missed the release at and on Saturday night.

That turned out to be a huge mistake because I forgot to set an alarm for the NikeStore release. What was weird though was that I woke up at 9:30 AM EST, 30 minutes before they went live. But I was so tired that I couldn’t keep myself awake for the next 30 minutes and dozed back off to sleep. I woke up 40 minutes later to realise that I just overslept what was to be on of the biggest NikeLab releases of the year!

“No biggie,” I thought to myself. Nigh was going to release them at midnight so it shouldn’t be much of a problem. But it was a problem. The Nigh servers were not capable of handling the traffic that surged to the site when the shoes were to go live and crashed. What made the whole thing even weirder was that these did not release in-store at all. Nigh is only open Fridays and Saturdays, but because Nike scheduled to release them on Sunday they decided to sell them online rather than waiting for the following Friday. This meant I didn’t have the home field advantage that I had hoped for.

Because no shoes were sold at launch at midnight I sacrificed my lunch break to go to The Good Will Out and ask whether I could just buy a pair in store. But the guy who was there in the morning said they would have to see if there were any pairs left after the orders and asked me to leave my size and phone number so he could give me a call if there was a pair left in my size. In theory I had put in my order before anyone else could have because I was the only one there that morning but I still couldn’t get a pair.

People always say that you get caught up in the hype whenever a shoe drops and you get mad when you miss out. Then one week later you will have forgotten all about that shoe. But here we are five months later and I’m still thinking about it…

1. Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Red October”

This shoe is a weird one to put at number one of the list because it’s not so much that really wanted to the shoe but rather that I missed out on the opportunity to buy them.

I don’t really consider myself a hypebeast although some may want to argue that. I bought my Yeezy 2 “Wolf Greys” because I liked the shoe, because I am a fan of Kanye West and because I wanted to experience a camp-out.

I was prepared to do it again for the Red Octobers if they released, less because of the shoe itself but more because of the camp-out. Although I didn’t dislike the shoe itself the biggest appeal to me was its limited availability. I wouldn’t mind owning a pair of Red Octobers but I wouldn’t pay more than retail for them.

When Kanye left Nike in December of 2013 no one knew whether they would ever make it to retail. So Nike took everyone by surprise when the Red Octobers dropped outta nowhere in February of this year, Randy Orton steeze.

In true Quickstrike fashion Nike tweeted out a link to the Red Octobers on February 9^th at 6 PM BST without any prior announcements. I don’t usually hang out on Twitter much. I basically use it for Nike’s Twitter only releases. Only when I am really bored with nothing better to do will I go on Twitter. And February 9^th was one of those days. I remember wanting to click the bookmark sometime that evening but then thinking to myself: “Today you are going to stay clear of social media,” which I did, until a friend of mine wrote me on Facebook to tell me the Red Octobers dropped…

I was livid. Not because I really, really wanted the shoe but because I had missed out on the opportunity to buy them. At the time I didn’t have a red pair of shoes in my rotation so they would have fit in there nicely. They were online for 11 freaking minutes. That is unheard of these days in the age of bots and add-to-cart-services (an issue I will address in a future WOMMW). Most mainstream media sites were astonished by these 11 minutes because they thought it was very short timeframe for shoes to sell out. But compared to your average Jordan retro release that seems to go down every other week that is eternity. Surely, I could have bought a second pair if I had discovered the tweet early enough. I could have traded them for some Black/Solar Red joints. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but I didn’t.

Flashback Friday #6.2: Top 3 Sneakers from before 2014

Now that 2014 has come to an end I thought I’d share with you my favourite sneakers of the past year. I have compiled three top threes of sneakers I missed out on, sneakers from before 2014 that I picked up this year and sneakers from 2014 that I managed to get my hands on.

Here is my Top 3 of Sneakers from before 2014 that I picked up this year:

3. Nike SB Dunk High “Cigar” 

I occasionally treat myself to a Cuban cigar or cigarillo so when I found out that the Skate Park of Tampa did cigar-inspired Dunk I wanted to get my hands on them. I found a deadstock pair in my size at Sneakerness Paris that I picked up for retail.

2. Nike SB Dunk High “Skunk” 

Another smoke-inspired Dunk. You don’t have to be a stoner to appreciate the detail that went into the design of this shoe. I never thought I’d own a pair but I managed scored these on ebay for £140. They were worn and came without the box and the purple laces. But I didn’t mind because I buy my shoes to wear them.

3. New Balance x Oshman’s x Mita 574 “Mojito” 

This time it’s a drink-inspired sneaker. This shoe was my other holy grail, the one that got me into runners. I couldn’t get these when they released at Oshman’s because ordering from Japan is very complicated. I only realised that they released in Europe when it was too late.

I bought a US 10 off ebay in October 2013 but they were a bit too tight. It took a while but I finally managed to find a US 10.5 at Sneakerness Cologne that only set me back €150.

Flashback Friday #6.3: Top 3 Sneakers from 2014

Now that 2014 has come to an end I thought I’d share with you my favourite sneakers of the past year. I have compiled three top threes of sneakers I missed out on, sneakers from before 2014 that I picked up this year and sneakers from 2014 that I managed to get my hands on.

Here is my Top 3 of Sneakers from 2014 that I picked up this year:

3. Nike LeBron XI “What The”

I love the Nike LeBron XI for its looks, comfort and how easy it is to clean. Loud sneakers and mismatched pairs are exactly my style and these were screaming right at me with its 28 colourways from past LeBron releases all mashed into one. The ease at which I was able to score these off NikeStore surprised me. It was probably because of the €220 price tag that was a little high but still worth it to me.

2. Asics x The Good Will Out Gel Lyte V “Koyo”

I admit that I may be a little biased here because these were designed by my hometown sneaker store but I really am impressed by these. The Gel Lyte V has the potential to be my favourite runner for its silhouette and comfort. The design was inspired by the Japanese autumn and was executed very well, the little details in particular. You can read more about them here.

1. …

Make sure to check out the new Sneaker Spotlight this Sunday where I will reveal my favourite sneaker of 2014. Until then…

What was your favourite shoe of 2014? Which shoes do you regret passing on? Let me know in the comments below!

What’s On My Mind Wednesday #6: Seasonal Sneakers

It’s been a while since I’ve posted to this blog. I was with my family over Christmas and had a couple of assignments I wanted to take care of during my time off from Uni.

Now that I’m back in Cardiff I wanted to write about something that occurred to me over Christmas: What do sneakerheads do with their seasonal sneakers when the holidays are over?

I get the point of seasonal sneakers. They are special editions that will definitely find an audience in sneakerheads looking for a fitting pair of shoes for the occasion.

Nike traditionally releases a Christmas pack consisting of shoes for their contracted athletes to wear on court during the festive season. In 2013 Concepts collaborated with Nike SB to create two “Ugly Christmas Sweater” Dunks.

The time leading up to Christmas is very long and there is plenty of time to give your holiday sneakers some on-feet action. But when the holiday season is over it doesn’t feel appropriate to wear them.

At least that’s what I think. While the “Ugly Christmas Sweater” Dunks were awesome and the ideal shoe for me to wear leading up to the holidays I know that I wouldn’t wear them again for another 11 months. And this goes against my wish to wear all of my shoes.

I would feel even worse buying a shoe designed for the other holidays. Halloween is just one day of the year and Easter lasts only the extended weekend. The anticipation for those holidays lasts nowhere near as long as Advent.

Granted, there are a few seasonal sneakers that you could wear outside the festive season. I was a big fan of the Asics Gel Lyte III “Santa” from 2013, though I never picked them up. And I used to wear my Adidas Jeremy Scott x Eason Chan Wings “Chinese New Year” all the time.

Many sneaker brands release special shoes every year to celebrate the respective animal of the Chinese calendar. I own a pair of the Air Force 1 Low “Year of the Dragon II” and I wear those frequently. Rather than associating them to the Year of the Dragon I just identify them with the the legendary creature itself. That seems a lot more complicated with a shoe inspired by a Christmas sweater or Santa.

But seasonal sneakers are not just limited to shoes designed for specific holidays. For example, the Asics x The Good Will Out Gel Lyte V “Koyo” was inspired by the colours of leaves in autumn in Japan. I wore them when all the leaves had already fallen from the trees, not that the leaves ever turned the same beautiful red as they do in the land of the rising sun. I even wore them for Christmas because the colours match the festive colour palette and I plan to keep wearing them in spring and summer.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about my Nike SB Janoski “Beach”. It feels wrong wearing them when it’s raining and the sun is hidden away. I really wish I could wear them more often, which is why I’m looking forward to spring!

Sneaker Spotlight #5: Nike SB Dunk Mid “4711” a.k.a. “Peacock”

To celebrate the move of Sneaker Freaker from the 4711-Haus in Ehrenfeld I am going to focus today’s Sneaker Spotlight on the oldest pair in my rotation: The Nike SB Dunk Pro Mid “Peacock” aka “4711”.

These released back in 2007 (not that old really…) as part of the “Gentleman’s Pack” consisting of an “Old Spice” Dunk Low, a “Brut” Dunk High and the aforementioned “4711”. They are all inspired by the fragrances of the same name. 

My dad brought these to my attention shortly after I started getting into sneakers. Hailing from Cologne, where the famous Kölnisch Wasser originated from, these were a must-cop for me.

While the 4711 Kölnisch Wasser was not the first Eau de Cologne it is arguably the most famous. The original factory at Glockengasse Nº 4711, which gave the fragrance its name, is a popular tourist attraction.

I find it odd that the shoe is more commonly known as the “Peacock Dunk” rather than the “4711 Dunk” because all the other shoes in the pack are named after the fragrances that inspired their design. But it is easy to see why: the black peacock motif from the 4711 bottle is prominent on the shoe’s upper.

I stumbled across these on ebay in 2013. They were in US 10 and wasn’t sure if they would fit because I had heard that SB Dunks run a little small because of the extra padding. Nevertheless I pulled the trigger on them for $150 because there was only one other pair on ebay at the time and they were listed for $329.99.

I’m not the biggest fan of the Dunk Mid, mostly because of the strap, but the colourway and inspiration won me over. So I am very happy I managed to get my hands on these.

Flashback Friday #5: Internship at Sneaker Freaker

Today the @sneakerfreakerofficial Instagram account posted a picture of me (or rather my shoes) on the roof of the old office building in Ehrenfeld because they just moved out and into a new building. This inspired me to make this week’s Flashback Friday about my time at Sneaker Freaker Germany.

I had already tried to apply for an internship at Sneaker Freaker the summer I graduated from school but they never got back to me… Nevertheless I tried my luck a second time the following summer, this time trying a different email address that went straight to the editorial department.

They promptly responded to my application saying I would be a good fit for them with my language skills and enthusiasm for sneakers. They invited me to an interview to get a better idea of me.

I was still in Cardiff at the time but I was really keen on doing an internship with them. I did not want to postpone the interview so I flew back home to Cologne just so I could make the interview on the proposed date. Naturally I wore my Yeezys for good luck but also to show off. So I was a little surprised when Daniel, the managing editor and first guy I was introduced to, didn’t recognise them… He asked me what I was wearing but when I told him he recognised them.

He then introduced me to Pascal, the editor-in-chief, who was grossed out by my choice of footwear but said: “as long as they’re not fakes it’s all good.” We returned to Daniel’s office to chat a bit about what it is Sneaker Freaker does.

The magazine is mostly a translation of the Australian original with a few local pieces here and there. This was a big part of why they wanted me on the team. Translating a whole magazine can be very time consuming and in order to make the deadline they set for themselves Daniel needed some help completing them. And as a native English speaker who grew up in Germany I was the right man for the job.

Unfortunately they weren’t able to offer me any money at the time, but since I needed some sort of work placement for my journalism course I agreed to work for them without pay for two weeks. I looked to impress with my personality as well as my work to convince them to keep me on their team a little longer and maybe find a way to pay me.

The day I started my internship I got a little more familiar with the office building. Sneaker Freaker is a subsidiary of the Intro Verlag so they were located on the same floor of the 4711-Haus. So to celebrate my new place of work I threw on my “4711” Dunks and the matching shirt. Again, I was surprised that my new superiors didn’t know these existed and that they were inspired by the world famous Eau de Cologne (I’ll go into a bit more detail about these shoes in a future Sneaker Spotlight).

I was also introduced to Giacomo, the third and final member of the Sneaker Freaker Crew. I don’t think he knew what was so special about my shoes and the time I showed up to the office with my Lance Mountain Jordan 1 SBs I had to explain to him why they were mismatched. So while he doesn’t know absolutely everything about sneakers, he could name-drop sneaker brands and models you ain’t ever even heard of and distinguish a Nike Zvezdochka from Crocs from a mile away (I mistook the Zvezdochka for Crocs the first time I saw one…)

When I finally sat down at my new workspace Daniel told me that Nike had just invited them to host a “Sneaker Freaker Sunday” at their “House of Phenomenal” in Berlin, a temporary exhibition about their newly announced line of Flyknit football boots consisting of a new Mercurial Superfly and the new Magista Obra.

Attending would be some of Germany’s biggest sneaker bloggers to be presented with this new line of football boots as well as Nike’s Genealogy of Innovation exhibition showcasing more than 40 years of innovation and technology that had crossed over and come together on these shoes.

Nike spared no expense to get as many people as possible to show up to the event. And since they paid for everyone’s travel and lodging the Sneaker Freaker Crew invited me to join them. And I did.

One week into my internship this trip already more than made up for the fact that I was not being paid. Because not only did a get a free trip to Berlin but I also had the chance to brush shoulders with some of the biggest players in the German sneaker scene, try out the most technologically advanced football boots long before they were released to the public, create any shoe of my choice for free in a NikeID session as well as some other goodies.

It was a phenomenal weekend (get it?) and I was very happy to have been a part of it. When we got back I returned to translating the rest of the magazine before the last week of my internship ended. The team was very happy with my work so at the end of the week we sat down to talk about my future with Sneaker Freaker.

They wanted me to stay on for another four weeks in which I would start creating content for their website as well as creating a special edition of Sneaker Freaker en français. I had thoroughly enjoyed the two weeks and was more than happy to return but first I needed a vacation as I had started my internship the day after returning from Uni.

Four weeks later I re-joined the Sneaker Freaker Team and experienced some crazy and awesome adventures. But I’ll tell you all about those on another episode of Flashback Friday.