Sneaker History Podcast - Sneakers, Sneaker Culture and the Business of Footwear

What does it mean to have your own signature sneaker? For adidas Skateboarding pro Kader Sylla, it's a trip.Kader joins Mike Guillory on Coffee Time Kicks to break down his adidas signature skate shoe, from the first conversations to the details most people will never notice. He wanted a slightly pointier toe for flick, and a split toe you rarely see on skate shoes anymore. Most of all, he wanted a shoe he could jump down a twenty stair in and still feel fine the next day. That led to cushioning that runs through the entire sole instead of just the heel, which Kader says hasn't been done on an adidas before.They also get into the lacing system that tucks laces inside the shoe so they don't rip, the metallic sparkle hidden in the purple stripes, the snakeskin-style black and yellow second colorway, and what it's meant to share all of it with his family.Follow Kader: @laterkaderSubscribe to Mike: @mikeguilloryLinks to everything: https://sneakerhistory.com/links/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Rick Maderis has spent more than twenty years inside adidas, Nike, Jordan Brand and Curry Brand, working on the graphics, color and storytelling that rarely get a name attached. Now he runs Burnside Knives in Portland, and you can see the sneaker brain in every piece.Rick and I played phone tag for close to a year before this happened, and it was worth the wait. We talk about the fire drills that end up producing better work, tilting the adidas trefoil fifteen degrees and hearing about it, why retros carry more pressure than new shoes, the Doernbecher Air Jordan 15, and asking whether you're the right person for a project before you say yes. Then it's knives: how a sneaker graphic designer ended up with KNIVES on his license plate, why the handle is a magma grip and not elephant print, and the Lost Lake Easter egg hidden in the Cabrillo 2.CHAPTERS00:00 Coming up: the Doernbecher kid, and the other side of the river00:30 Why this conversation took a year01:57 The conversation starts03:39 A coloring book and a grandfather03:57 Art school to adidas, Jordan and Curry Brand06:27 Is getting moved around good or bad for creatives?10:46 Big brands vs small teams: who actually does the work12:35 Fire drills and better work17:41 Redrawing a grail Jordan pattern from scratch20:26 Jason Mayden: make them feel something22:11 Tilting the trefoil 15 degrees25:13 Sharpening every single edge26:24 Breaking the Jordan formula30:26 Why kids should watch the WNBA36:34 CCS, 5 a.m. phones and skate catalogs38:47 The Doernbecher Air Jordan 1543:12 Lewis Latimer, Bruce Lee, and asking first47:37 Why heritage collections get cut first50:50 How he got into PENSOLE55:24 Leaks, mockups and Easter at the drugstore1:01:08 How Burnside Knives started1:04:20 Why it's called Burnside1:07:15 KNIVES on the license plate1:09:45 Making something that outlives us1:14:14 Magma grip, not elephant print1:20:50 The Lost Lake Easter egg1:26:00 Sneakers made us better storytellers1:33:02 Where to find RickFIND RICKRick's work: https://www.rickmaderis.comBurnside Knives: https://burnsideknives.comInstagram: @maderis and @burnsideknivesHis eyewear side project, IIVNI: https://iivni.comMORE FROM MEWatch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NickatSneakerHistoryThe Sneaker Newsletter: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.comSneaker History: https://sneakerhistory.comMy first book, Small Luxuries: Sneakers, out October 2026: https://bookshop.org/a/122044/9798317900854Rick sent me the Burnside knife we talk about in this episode. Full video coming soon on the YouTube channel.Tell someone you like their kicks today. You never know how far a compliment will take you. And we all know how good it feels to be on the receiving end of some appreciation.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Jason Mayden walked into Jordan Brand in 2001 as its first design intern. He designed the Air Jordan 2009 and the Jordan CP3.II, left in 2014 to build his own companies, and came back a decade later to run design for the entire brand. This past May he stepped out of that job into one that did not exist until he took it, VP of Jordan Visioneering and LA28 Creative Lead.We talked about the Air Jordan 41, and about almost everything except the spec sheet.He explains what he had to unpack coming back into the building, and lands on the line that frames the whole conversation, that this is a reverential era and not a referential one. He responds to what Leo Chang and Donald Kelsey found on the road this year, six months of research across three continents where not one young athlete asked for the heritage colors. He makes the case that the women's game is where the next real change in basketball footwear comes from, and explains why he studies technical boxing to think about design.He talks about the Air Jordan XX3 and working alongside Mark Smith, Tinker Hatfield, and Tom Foxen when the fight was over solvent free glue. He talks about the crew building the game shoe now, and what it was like to watch them come into their own. He talks about criticism, and why indifference is the only reaction that would bother him.And he tells the story of being seven years old in a hospital bed, fighting a blood infection, imagining himself as Lucius Fox working for Michael Jordan, who he thought was Bruce Wayne. That is where the word visioneering comes from.One line from this conversation has stayed with me since we recorded it. You never really finish an Air Jordan, you just run out of time.Nick Engvall has worked in the sneaker industry for over two decades. He built the original Eastbay Blog during his time at Sole Collector, led the first dedicated sneaker team for Complex, led the first UGC and seeding programs for Finish Line, was employee number 9 at StockX, and was Sr. Director at Stadium Goods.The Sneaker Newsletter: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.comSole Collector: https://www.solecollector.orgSmall Luxuries: Sneakers, out October 2026 from Motorbooks: https://bookshop.org/a/122044/9798317900854SUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallSupport On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistoryIf you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected][Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Mike is flying solo for another Coffee Time Kicks episode, and he brought a good one. He sits down with photographer and content creator Adham Abousalem, better known as Chef Doomy, for an honest conversation about building a craft instead of chasing a following.They get into why this wave of oversaturated releases is quietly handing power back to the collector, what actually makes someone a sneakerhead (it has nothing to do with brand loyalty), and how New Balance helped make comfortable runners cool again in a post-Yeezy world.Adham shares his origin, from collecting dubstep band tees and borrowing a friend's camera to becoming one of the most respected shooters in the space. He talks openly about how COVID drained his motivation, why ComplexCon changed his trajectory, and why shaking a hand still beats sending a DM.Then there's the Ronnie Fieg moment. Adham explains how a genuine, no-agenda conversation at an All-Star weekend Kith panel led to Ronnie gifting him a 1-of-36 Kith x Nike Air Max 95 in "Beetroot," with a handwritten note he won't forget.It is a real conversation about doing the work for the love of it, staying positive, and letting the opportunities come when they come.Follow Chef Doomy: @chefdoomy on Instagram and Twitter/X.New here? Subscribe to the Sneaker History Podcast, leave a review, and tell us your favorite Kith release or your favorite Chef Doomy photo in the comments.SUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistorySneaker Business Insights: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.comTrack Your Collection: https://www.sneakerhistory.com/archive/If you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected][Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Josh De Vaney lives in Perth, Western Australia, about as far from the center of sneaker and basketball culture as you can get, and he has quietly built one of the most complete collections of Michael Jordan toys and figurines on the planet. Not the shoes. The toys. The stuff most of us ripped open as kids and never thought about again.It started with a Christmas hoop in 1994 and turned into an eleven-year hunt that led Josh to a figurine Ohio Art says was never sold or released, a twelve-page feature in Sneaker Freaker, an unplanned meeting with Howard White at Nike, and a moment where Michael Jordan's own grandson ended up playing on a toy hoop that came out of Josh's collection.We get into all of it. Why the toys matter more than anyone realizes, how being remote became the advantage instead of the obstacle, and the very simple thing Josh does to get almost anyone to say yes. This is one of my favorite conversations we've done, and Josh says himself we only scratched the surface. Headphones on for this one.Tell someone you like their kicks today. You never know how far a compliment will take you.Find Josh:Instagram: @joshua.devaney (Michael Jordan Toy Historian) Try it yourself: Google "Michael Jordan's rarest toy."SUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistorySubscribe on Substack: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.comTrack your collection: https://sneakerhistory.com/archive/If you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: [email protected][Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/