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THE Complete Mag for People Who Love Kicks
nikefreak Epinions <
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>Granted, this is a magazine for people who like athletic shoes, not anything else. So, if you love Jordans, Nikes, player exclusive shoes, old-school retros like adidas shell-toes, Pumas, New Balance, Reebok, even L.A. Gear, this is what you want. This is the most comprehensive magazine ever on athletic shoes. It goes to incredible lengths to give you in-depth features on how shoes are made, the designers behind them, interviews with NBA players and collectors, and a whole lot more. This was started by shoeheads and boy, does it show. <
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>The first issue was released in October of 2003, so it is very new to the scene, yet has a very loyal following. Since then, a total of five magazines (including the first one) have been released. They release about every two months, although it's a bit varied. It skips one month a year, like Issue 3 is February/March, Issue 4 is May/June, thus skipping January and April. It doesn't matter though, because the content is loaded so you won't be angling for much. The cover this month is double-sided, with the main front being AND1 streetball players, "Hot Sauce" and "The Professor" and the back being WWE diva Trish Status. This is a first, as the first four were the regular one-sided ones you usually see. I will now delve into the regular categories and tell you what entails them. <
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>Lace 'Em Up is a the introductory letter from the editor talking about what the magazine will detail this time around. <
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>Contributors is a profile of the main photographers or writers in the magazine, as each has a unique profile and resume. <
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>Rants and Raves are letters from the readers who share their very opinionated views on everything the last magazine dealt with. Pretty funny, as I sometimes wholeheartedly agree or just shake my head in amusement at some of their radical views. <
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>On The Beat gives a view into many different aspects of shoes. This one has an interview with Method Man about his shoe tastes, Trick Daddy's involvement with a youth basketball charity event, a profile on Nike's Battlegrounds Tournament and their new Speed advertisement campaign, a story on the very popular Asics shoes seen in the "Kill Bill" movies, and several shoe questions that are asked and answered, such as "What does deadstock mean?" It means new, but unsold shoes left behind, just if your wondering. Very helpful questions are asked, not just being fluff. <
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>Retrokid's Corner is an article about a man who has one of the most extensive and rare shoe collections in the world. He brings his take on one of his favorite shoes, the Garnett III and shows how much wear and tear he has put on these great shoes and compares them to a fresh pair, to show the crazy difference. <
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>Focus Collector is probably my favorite, as it showcases regular people like me who have incredible shoe collections. This one has two men who have huge collections of Foamposites, one of my all-time favorites. They have every one, from the original Foam to the newest Ultraposite. They are interviewed with pictures of their collections. Great candid pictures go along with this article. <
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>Focus Shop showcases a shoe shop that is unique and gives great customer service-this one is called Undefeated-unlike today's Foot Lockers and Finish Lines, whose salespeople have no clue what a consumer wants in a shoe, just care about the sale. This is the thing I hate the most when I go into a shoe store and I can easily outdo the salesperson in knowledge of shoes. This profiles people in the industry who really know their stuff and know how to satisfy a true shoehead's needs. <
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>Focus Street is an opportunity for regular people to send in pics of themselves with their favorite shoes and have it displayed in a great shot and layout. They sure don't discriminate here, as people have sent in photos from all over the world, the Philippines, Korea, and Switzerland just being some examples. It's also cool, because they have two older ladies from Australia clutching the Huarache 2K4 All-Star edition shoes! I envy them! Also, a very cute picture of a little baby holding the Jordan IV is included. So, you never know what your gonna get in this batch. <
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>Those are the main departments. Now I will five you a sampling of what some of the articles are like. <
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>They have a feature on the upcoming Zoom Vick II's and a special code you can use to buy a customized colorway of these shoes, a heads-up on top-level hip-hop producer Pharrell's Ice Cream line of shoe, headed by Reebok, interviews with "The Professor," "Hot Sauce," and Magic Johnson, a feature on a prominent sneaker artist, and an NBA wrap-up talking about, what else, shoes, with Carmelo Anthony, Jamal Crawford, and Fred Jones. The coolest article, in my opinion, is the one with Professor K, known for his awesome reviews on basketball kicks. Also, they always have an article called ESHAS, short for Every Sneaker Has A Story. This profiles shoes-in this case, the Nike Shox Energia and Asics Gel Kayano X-in every way, from the upper, midsole/outsole, details, and a wrap-up. Very neat, as it shows step by step the work and design that goes into shoes. <
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>When you flip the magazine over to the other side, there is a huge showcase of rare shoes and player samples, coupled with photos of hot chicks rocking some of the best shoes. That's why you saw me say on the back cover is a WWE diva, if you were wondering what she was doing on the back of a shoe magazine. The photos aren't as skimpy as say, Maxim, but they are pretty provocative. I guess, as the adage says, sex sells, but I could care less. I bought this for the shoes, not the girls, although you probably are thinking, "Yeah right!" The showcase is truly incredible, with a nice description of shoe and the colorway, plus the year they came out. A fact that I didn't know about a particular shoe usually comes with the description, so it just adds to my knowledge, a very useful thing for me. Such rare gems as Lebron James' high school player-edition Shox VC II and Carmelo Anthony's exclusive Air Jordan XII's are absolutely yummy. <
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>I probably haven't talked about the incredible photos yet, but they are tremendous and vivid. Everyone is set up to really show the shoe's features and doesn't have any aberrations or glares that would ruin them. I mean, this is like photography 101 here. I don't know how they set up some of the shoes, like them being in a diagonal position without anyone knowing that something is holding them up, but it is superb, something that truly sets it apart from other magazines (not to mention the content). They combine artistic backgrounds with them as well, to really give the photo a color pop. <
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>The greatest thing about this magazine? No, nada, advertisements in it! Incredible huh? I don't know how they managed this, but it truly is wonderful not to have those obnoxious perfume inserts that smell up your magazines or garish ads that take up half the space. 100% ad-free. You can't beat that. It may explain the cost, which is $29 for six issues, which actually saves you about $19 because the newsstand price is $7.99. It's pretty expensive, relatively speaking, but it's printed on heavy, bright glossy paper that is really durable and not paper-thin like every other magazine. When I ordered my subscription, I didn't receive my back issue I ordered for quite awhile, so I called the customer service line. The lady was extremely polite and she apologized for the delay and had them promptly send it out to me. It arrived in two days time in a properly-sealed manila folder. Pretty good time, I'd say. <
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>So, this magazine is not for everyone, but if you have a love for rare shoes and want to know everything possibly about player-exclusives, in-depth information, collectors just like you, and much more, this is the one for you. <
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>Recommended <
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