Remember the rare Nike Air Yeezy 1 Grammy sample worn by Kanye West that sold for $1.8 million dollars just two years ago? The shoe just sold again, this time losing 90 percent of its value and selling for a mere $180,000 at an auction at Goldin. The cohosts discuss the market of high-end sneakers, why pairs like this are suddenly selling for way less money, and who benefits from it all. Also, Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty talk about the latest signature shoes from LeBron James...

Did you know Michael Jordan wore New Balances in the original photo that inspired his famous Jumpman pose? Joe Freshgoods celebrated that 1984 moment on his latest New Balance collaboration, which cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty discuss here. They also react to the incoming Powerpuff Girls set of Nike SB Dunks, which may or may not be a totally unnecessary collaboration. Elsewhere in the episode, the cohosts react to Rihanna’s rekindled Puma deal, the merits of the...

Sneaker king Fat Joe just hit a new milestone, releasing his first-ever Nike collaboration to the public in the form of the “Terror Squad” Nike Air Force 1s. The sneakers’ long history traces back to the early 2000s, when Joe was paying a Nike employee to quietly design and produce samples for him without the brand knowing. Here, Joe talks about that history, trading sneakers with DJ Khaled, how Macklemore stood him up for a pair, and the absurd, unseen shoes in his collection. Also, cohosts...

What are the best Nike Kobe sneakers of all time? Complex recently ranked the top 24 designs from Kobe Bryant’s run of Nike signature shoes in celebration of Mamba Day. Coming off that list, the Complex Sneakers Show recruited Kobe fanatic Darryl Glover to get his reactions to the list and also talk about his history with the shoes. Is the “Grinch” Nike Kobe 6 really the best Kobe ever? Is the HTM Kobe 9 overrated? Also, cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty catch up on recent...

Yes, Travis Scott just released another Nike collaboration in the form of his Utopia-themed Air Force 1 Low. Does that make one too many sneakers for Cactus Jack? Cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty discuss his sneaker collaborations in the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Show. They also talk about how wearing fakes of hyped pairs like the Nike Mags is becoming more accepted, getting bad shoes growing up, the Born x Raised x Nike SB Dunk debacle, the latest Adidas Yeezy...

Kith founder Ronnie Fieg is back, returning to the podcast to celebrate the launch of his X-Men-themed Asics Gel Lyte 3 collaboration with Marvel, but also to survey the state of the industry. Fieg talks about the Y2K trend in sneakers, how preordering might become more common in the future, and the recent dominance of the Adidas Samba. He responds to the critique about the “Kith Filter” look to his rollouts and gives his take on the ascension of Teddy Santis and Aime Leon Dore. At the top,...

After all the controversy and the end of the Adidas Yeezy deal, it looks like Ye’s sneakers will once again be made available for sale. Can these restocks be as successful as they were in the past? How long will shoes like the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 stay around? The cohosts of the Complex Sneakers Podcast—Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty—tackle these questions in the latest episode. They also discuss the CRTZ x Nike Air Max 95 London release, the idea of getting too old to wear high-top...

In this episode the co-hosts dissect why there’s been a recent boom in performance running models from Asics, New Balance and other brands. They also talk about the origin of the “Cool Dad Shoe” boom of 2017-2018. Elsewhere in the episode, Dunne, Welty and JLP talk about the upcoming Terror Squad Air Force 1s and compare the project to the Tiffany & Co x Nike Air Force 1. Finally the crew comments on Hoka and On’s rise in the market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Los Angeles legend and the founder of Born x Raised Chris ‘Spanto’ Printup was lost in a tragic accident, and the episode opens up with the cohosts paying their respects as well as talking about the release update for the upcoming Born x Raised x Nike Dunk SB. Also, with Nike CEO John Donahoe revealing that the Kobe line will get an official relaunch ahead of “Kobe Day” on August 24, cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne and Matt Welty discuss what this will mean for Nike Basketball as well as...

Is the “White Cement Reimagined” Air Jordan 3 the best sneaker that’s released this year? Does the Tiffany x Nike Air Force 1 deserve a slot? What about big releases from smaller brands like Saucony? In this episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, the cohosts rank the best sneakers that have released so for at this year’s midpoint. They also talk about the tragedy of sneakers falling apart, like an old pair of Air Bursts, and what to do when your personal life becomes overwhelmed with...

Steve Madden is a footwear industry icon who’s seen it all, from independent success to an infamous relationship with the real-life Wolf of Wall Street to lawsuits over sneaker designs. Here, Madden retraces his career in shoes, discussing that Jay-Z shoutout, his respect for Master P, his work with Ja Rule, and more. Elsewhere in the episode, cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty talk about the recent Air Max 97 “Gold Bullet” re-release, buying shoes on the resale market, and...

The Nike Roshe Run, a budget sneaker that became an icon in the 2010s before turning into a meme and fading out, is coming back. But how will its return be received by sneaker collectors who helped make the shoe hot in the first place? The cohosts discuss this on the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast. They also check the temperature on the Nike Dunk, another iconic shoe that’s been watered down in recent years. Elsewhere, cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty discuss...

New York designer and rapper Jae Tips has been making waves this year with the release of his Saucony Grid Azura 2000 collaboration. Here, he joins the podcast to talk about his long history in the footwear industry—from working chaotic Foamposite drops at Foot Locker to reselling in the streets of New York to landing his own official collaboration. Elsewhere on the episode, the cohosts talk about those nasty fakes that landed on Shein, the bad rumor about Travis Scott’s SB Dunks restocking,...

Fake sneakers, which were once universally condemned in collecting, have become increasingly embraced by people who want limited edition Air Jordans or Nike SB Dunks but don’t want to pay crazy resale prices for them. In this episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, the cohosts discuss the eventual embrace of counterfeit sneakers. They also break down the upcoming Adidas Yeezy relaunch, the mystery Jordan shoe worn by Travis Scott, and Carmelo Anthony’s best player exclusives. Hosted on...

Denis Dekovic is a designer who spent decades at the world’s top sneaker brands—Adidas and Nike, most recently. He started out at Lotto right out of high school, moved to Puma to make shoes for Michael Schumacher, helped Nike take over in soccer, and famously defected to Adidas as part of the “Three Amigos” crew of designers. Here, Dekovic talks about his long career, from sketching shoes as a kid to getting sued by Nike to working with Michael Jackson on the Moonwalker footwear brand before...

Anders Holm liked every sneaker you like now 20 years ago. The Workaholics co-creator talks here about his long footwear history—from getting an early pair of Air Jordan 6s as a kid to watching the Three Stripes Posse in high school to getting free Reeboks during his time in college. Holm waxes poetic on sneaker trends that have come and gone, and how he was there for it all. Sambas, Salomons, New Balances, Holm had them all. He even met Virgil Abloh in college, between getting caught up in...

What’s the most valuable sneaker in the world? Ken Goldin might have the answer. The auctioneer brought some of the most coveted sneakers he has access to—all the shoes worn by the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and Michael Jordan’s original ‘Flu Game’ Air Jordan 12s, for example—for the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast. Goldin talks about how to identify game-worn sneakers, how to identify when sneakers aren’t actually game-worn, and the best sneaker collection he’s ever come across....

Last week’s restock of the ‘Lost and Found’ Air Jordan 1 in the Chicago colorway on the Nike SNKRS app was a bit of a disaster. Co-hosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty talk about what went wrong during the drop and how frustrating it can be to try and buy a pair of shoes from Nike. They also break down Jerry Lorenzo’s first-ever Fear of God show, which featured the debut of his upcoming Adidas collaboration. Elsewhere, the cohosts make predictions for the Nigo x Nike collaboration...

The new movie ‘Air’ from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon recalls how Sonny Vaccaro helped sign Michael Jordan to Nike in a deal that birthed the Air Jordan sneaker line. In this episode, the co-hosts discuss its merits, historical accuracy, and the portrayal of real-life footwear industry legends like Phil Knight and Rob Strasser. They also breakdown the possible decline of the Air Jordan 1, the best and worst Jordan hybrids, Bode’s Nike collaboration, and the coming Terror Squad Air Force 1s by...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they are joined by skateboarding legend Elissa Steamer, who broke onto the scene with her part in Toy Machine’s Welcome to Hell video in 1996. Steamer talks about her career in footwear, from her signature shoe at Etnies to her Gnarhunters collabs with Nike SB, and how skateboarders helped inform the SB x Air Jordan 4. She breaks down her different sneaker deals over the years and also the...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they are joined by Betsy Parker, a Nike veteran who spent 35 years at the brand. At Nike, she worked on trend research out of the brand’s New York office and helped recruit design talent. Parker talks about her visits to footwear factories, interactions with legends like Rob Strasser and Tinker Hatfield, and what Nike recruiters are looking for when hiring. Also, the hosts talk about the CRTZ x...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the trio catches up on sneaker news around the Nike SB x Air Jordan 4 release, Tom Sachs’ trouble and how it relates to Nike, and the latest on a batch of fake shoes from Nike’s lawsuit against StockX. Also, the cohosts anticipate the upcoming Supreme x Rammellzee Dunks, reflect on Nike’s release policies, and get into some glizzy talk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the three examine a pair of the new white/cement Air Jordan 3 “Reimagined” and discuss the complaints over quality control issues on the elephant print. They also debate how the Tiffany x Nike Air Force 1 will rank once the year-end sneaker lists arrive and give a quick update on Adidas’ massive Yeezy stock problem. Also, Brendan shares some vintage sneakers, Joe remembers his lacrosse days,...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by StockX CEO Scott Cutler who discusses how he first got into sneakers, goes into detail on StockX’s authentication process and gives his thoughts on the current lawsuit between Nike and StockX. Also, the cohosts discuss if the Tiffany & Co x Nike Air Force 1 will make the top 10 sneakers of 2023, and Welty preaches well-rounded athleticism for any dire life situation. ...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they discuss Nike’s new release policy and how it will affect drop days. The co-hosts then talk about the consistent rumors of Kanye West and Adidas working together again and what Adidas may do with their leftover Yeezy inventory. Finally the guys touch on the Supreme Nike Air Bakin’ collab and Welty and Joe trade more sneaker retail stories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...