Being a Sneaker Nerd Made Me Appreciate History

Much like carbon dating of artefacts to determine the era it came from, my initial perception of a bygone time is to look at the sneakers that existed. When I first got into sneakers, I focused mostly on Nike running shoes from the 90s. Eventually, the interest spread over to Air Jordan, despite not really being a huge basketball fan. Images of the Air Jordan 1 all the way through to the Air Jordan 18 (the only ones that matter, but that’s a discussion for another day) have been committed to my photographic memory against their release years. Through that process, I now understand that some of these silhouettes correspond to important sporting events. 1991: Air Jordan 6, and MJ’s first NBA championship. 1998: The (second) Last Shot in the Air Jordan 14. Extending beyond the NBA, sneakers have led me to a greater appreciation of the Summer Olympics. Sure, they fall on leap years every four years but, more importantly, they also herald the moment when footwear brands announce major new technology.

Looking beyond sport, and often way back to before I was born, sneakers have also encouraged me to commit other world events to memory for my pub trivia repertoire. For example, Nike released an Air Pegasus 89 in 2011 to commemorate the anniversary of the Berlin Wall being torn down. If it weren’t for this sneaker, I likely would never have known the German capital was physically split in two for almost 30 years. Then, earlier this year, when Nike cancelled an Air Max 1 release that displayed the Betsy Ross flag, I received yet another sneaker-induced history lesson.

Thankfully, it’s not just major political events that are now crammed into my thoughts. I’m pretty handy with pop culture occurrences now, thanks to the sneakers that were worn when various significant moments happened. Nigo’s playful patent leather BAPE STA shoes indicated the beginning and end of hip hop’s mid-2000s ‘bling era’. There are countless 80s rap albums with sneakers prominently displayed on them. And the omnipresent Converse Chuck Taylor? They’re on everything from the Ramones’ Rocket To Russia to The Game’s The Documentary. And I’m no movie buff, but I had to watch 1986’s Aliens just to see Reebok’s Alien Stompers. For a slight change of cinematic pace, I’ll always remember that the DVD cover of Honey, I Blew Up The Kid features a giant adidas Phantom basketball shoe hovering menacingly above Rick Moranis’ head!