My top 2018 pick ups
Whether you are a fan of Nike, Jordan Brand, Adidas, or Puma, it seemed like every brand dropped noteworthy stuff. These are my top pick ups from 2018.
Vans x A Tribe Called Quest
If I had the money, I would've copped every pair from the collab, but I didnt so I picked up the sk8-hi "bonita applebum" and Era album covers. As a southern cali kid and a big fan of Tribe, this collab was probably one the the best collabs between hip hop and brand. Both cultural icons in their own respect coming together to put out something dope, you either loved it or were indifferent about it.
Nike Zoom Kobe 1 Protro
After Kobe's retirement im sure Kobe fans and sneakerheads fans of his shoe line were wondering when nike would retro OG colorways, myself included. Since Nike did the Prelude and Fade to black packs, which by the way im a huge fan of both but im not about to pay the ridiculous resell prices on some of my favorites from those packs, rumors of the 81 point colorway popped up to no avail. But early in 2018 we saw what was the first OG protro colors to release, the "Del Sol", I unfortunately was unable to pick up that colorway and its a colorway im on the hunt for. These two pick ups were a must have for me, a Lakers color way and an all star colorway. I never got a chance to hoop in the OG pairs of these shoes, but so happy nike released these, who would’ve thought we’d have a total of 16 color ways of kobe protro 1s and 8 of those are collaborations with the clothing brand Undefeated! Patiently waiting on that 81 point color way tho.
Air Jordan 3 Katrina & Black cement
AJ 3s, not much to say here but we have been waiting for a Black cement 3 with the nike air heel tab, and the "Katrina" colorway was made for a charity auction where all proceeds went to the victims of hurricane katrina. Before this year I was seriously considering getting a pair of BC3 from solesupremacy, because why not? fortunately I caught a W on the snkrs app and a pair form stock x. Could've EASILY been my favorite 2018 pick up. Over the years the AJ 3 have made its way to my top 3 sneakers of all time, glad to have these two in my collection, now if only I can add the white cement 3s…
Puma Suede BBoy Classic
Before anything I AM A BBOY. So when puma released these Puma suede 50 to celebrate almost 50 years of puma, It was an automatic cop, the hard decision was which color. Im a sucker for red shoes, mostly because its my favorite color. It was dope for puma to call these "Bboy classic", because they truly are, the suede, the stripe, the fat laces it all screams HIP HOP!
Adidas Sobakov whie/gum
I get that adidas dropped a bunch more heat this year with the BYW, yeezys, and the Dragonball z collab. One shoe caught my eye in the summer, and that was the Sobakov. It combines modern knit technology and classic soccer cleat design with a modern gum midsole/outsole, a beautiful balance of old and new, and im all about balance. As much as I enjoy this shoe, ive got to be selective where and when to wear them. *note to self: spray water repellant on shoes*
Air Jordan 13 Black toe
The last time I had this shoe I was in 5th grade when they originally released in 1997 about 21 years later I have them again. I destroyed my pair as a kid doing kid things like playing basketball at recess or running around with my cousins. This particular shoe holds a lot of nostalgia for me, and i've been wanting/waiting until the right time. Now that ive got these I only need the playoff pair to compete my OG color way set, 2019 maybe?
Air Jordan 11 concord
The Air Jordan 11, de creme de la creme of JB general releases in 2018 and I picked up 3 pairs (my write up here). What more is there to say here, nothing. Beautiful patent leather, icy outsole, 45 on the back, durable mesh, everything that makes the 11 THE 11. To me the concord, whether 45 or 23 on the heel, is what sparked sneaker culture as we know it today, all the good all the bad all of it. The Concord will always be my favorite with the black infrared 6 a close 2nd, and the black cement 3 holding the 3 spot as my favorite sneakers of all time.
Air Jordan 13 OG low Brave Blue Gifted by Mjo23Dan
Not a pick up, rather, a gift from a friend, from one father to another as a father’s day gift. This OG Air Jordan 13 low "brave blue" was gifted to Marvin aka mjo23dan by one of his subscribers/followers and gifted it to me. Truly and honor to be gifted something by someone as great a guy in the sneaker community as Marvin is. It was a humbling moment for me at the same time a moment where I knew that with hard work and consistency I can do the same for someone some day and be someone to be looked up to (other than my son of course). Thank you Marvin!
