Sneaker Freaker

GLORIAS X DC GATSBY INTERVIEW

Gloria’s and Sneaker Freaker go way back. They actually threw us a massive launch party for Issue 6 at their store in Brick Lane, London. We’ve been amazed at their progress throughout their 5 years in business and it’s to their credit that they don’t have a website, rarely advertise and prefer to lace their store in harder to find classics from Europe, Japan and abroad. We were dead lucky to get an interview, to discuss their newest venture with DC and also look to the future...

BRISBANE SWAP & COP II

Nothing beats getting up at 5 am in the morning to hop on a plane to swap sneakers with only one hour of sleep. Well maybe the hope that Brisneyland will deliver some holy grails in a size 7, but those chances seemed slim. Hans and I rocked out to the airport delirious from the lack of slumber to endure a two-hour Virgin Flight and to help launch Issue 12 of the Best Boogazine in the world, Sneaker Freaker. The other reason we were there was to peep the heat at Brisbane's second annual Swap and Cop Swap Meet.

SNEAKER FREAKER BLAZE OF GLORY

Yes, this is the best sneaker in the history of the universe. We know this to be true, because we personally put it together for Puma, and we know what time it is down here in the southern hemisphere. Marrying the rare ‘blaze of glory’ model (yes, this is its actual name, and yes, we are closet bon jovi fans) with a power ballad and hints of brackish menace, we managed to create a vicious little voodoo child to call our own. Let us take you through the history of our most Bon Jovial sneaker…

290 SQM INTERVIEW

With the hype surrounding the release of Sneaker Freaker’s collaboration with Puma, there will only be one store in the Netherlands giving heads the opportunity to cop these beauties. 290 Square Meters, the sneaker joint formally known as 90 Square Meters is quickly becoming the regions hottest spot to lay down some Euros on the best product in town. With it’s larger space 290 SQM has also decked out its gallery section and expanded the area to hold more events that hold meaning to the street wear community.

ADIDAS SUPERSTARS

I have a problem leaving the house without my t-shirt matching the colour of my shoes. I certainly started getting out of the house more when I caught onto the fact that adidas made the same shoe, the shelltoe or superstar in a variety of colours, and it helped that I really liked the shoe, anyway I think they look...

LEMAR AND DAULEY INTERVIEW

Lemar and Dauley took the streetwear scene by storm a few years back with the introduction of what would hopefully become the first “impact” brand on the market. Inspired by the nostalgic days of world championship rings, basketball heroes and a rainbow palette to treat the eyes, it wasn’t long before L&D were sought out by major labels to collaborate on projects outside the realm of apparel. The newest in their growing line of colabs, is the “Mutumbo Flow" laced adidas Streetball '08.

PRVDR MELBOURNE DUNK TIER 0 LAUNCH PARTY

April Fools Day may be about joking with your mates and syking peeps out, but when our good mate Chris at Provider hit us up with a flyer announcing a new drop of Tier Zero Nike Dunks and the Be True Dunk Series we knew he had to be serious. And judging by the launch party there was some major heat on offer, not to mention a great excuse to scull some free beer (big up Grolsch) and eye off what everyone was rocking.

RANT! LET JORDAN SING!

There’s always a drunk girl at every concert hollering for her old favorites. You go see Madonna, and she’s shrieking ‘Papa Don’t Preach!’ (And you want to preach a few things to her, but instead you give her the hairy eyeball). Same thing with Prince. Poor man thinks he’s come up with some new shit, and she’s screeching, ‘Pur-pul Raaaaaaain!!!! Pur-pul Raaaaaaain!!!!’ Not to mention the guy who’s clearly been partying since 1999. But I say, let Prince sing. And let's see some new sneakers in 2008!

RAVE! HOW TO GET FREE SHOES!

the founder and editor of this magazine recently stated in an interview in the weekend supplement of an Australian national newspaper that the only reason he started this magazine was to get free shoes. Well if he’s not going to be shy about it then I’m not going to be shy about my reasons for writing for Sneaker Freaker. Shoe companies, marketing managers, PR firms, rich people, whoever, SEND ME SOME FREE SHOES!

MAMA X ADIDAS PRO MAMA INTERVIEW

2008 is set to be a big year in the sneaker game, especially for the ladies. And it's all thanks to this incredible merge between shoe giant adidas and leading female designer, MAMA’s Gabriella A. Davi-Khorasanee. In a climate of shoes being dictated by and geared towards men, Gabriella along with adidas have flipped the scene on it’s head with what looks to be the collaboration of the year, the Pro Mama.

HIGHS AND LOWS - PERTH

There’s a burgeoning streetwear scene on the rise in Australia and it’s hitting hard in the most unlikely of places. Perth is reputed to be the most isolated city on the planet, and yet it’s showing Melbourne and Sydney the way forward in some ways. We caught up with the gang from the Highs and Lows store as they prepare to open their brand new location and debut a line of apparel designed strictly by “local cats”.

COOL KIDS - EXCLUSIVE SNKR FRKR INTERVIEW

Rocking rhymes and styles from an era long gone, the Cool Kids are bringing back the party flavour to 2008, with their “Bringing ’88 Back” tour. And if you try to step to Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish about the fact that they weren’t even old enough to know what ’88 was about, duck for cover as they hit you with a dope rhyme and flow to stop the non believers and school the haters. Sneaker Freaker catches up with Mikey Rocks and gets the 411 on all things Cool!

LOADED - NEW ZEALAND

Loaded is to New Zealand’s sneaker culture what Grandmaster Flash is to Hip Hop. They were the first to put stores dedicated to sneakers on the map for NZ and command respect from all the followers, merely by continuing to stay on top of their game and ahead of the race. We caught up with the whole gang from Loaded Wellington and Loaded Auckland to give us the dirt on the NZ scene and give you an exclusive look into why "Just like Wu-Tang… Loaded is for the children."

LIMITED EDT - SINGAPORE

Limited Edt is Singapore’s most successful sneaker store with over four locations catering to all the heads who are fiending that something special and extra limited, hence the name! Their premium store, called The Vault, houses sneakers that can only be seen by appointment and are locked securely inside a vault, however we at Sneaker Freaker don't need to take a ticket, we go to the source and get the lowdown on a concept not yet seen in the sneaker world.

HILLTOP HOODS INTERVIEW

Hilltop Hoods, one of Australia's most popular hip hop acts, have done what few in the Aussie market have achieved. Not only are they winning awards nation wide for their amazing lyricism and first rate beats, they have come into their own making a mark on the sneaker scene with their highly anticipated collaboration with global skate brand DC. We caught up with MC Suffa to talk about their newest remix, the DC Pride shoe.

K•SWISS ARIAKE PARKOUR SHOE

K-swiss sent us an info pack on the Ariake, a new model which has been genetically enhanced for the urban art of Parkour, a close relative to free running. We wanted to know if the shoe was any good so we tracked down one of Australia’s leading exponents, Mr John Bourne, to drill him on Madonna, angry chickens, wang chung (sic), the yamikase and climbing on walls after you’ve left the pub.

UBIQ SNEAKERS - TOKYO

Another tentacle of the Atmos empire is the sneaker brand known as Ubiq, (not to be confused with the US based store of the same name). After six years of progress, Ubiq is slowly making a mark outside Japan as retailers and kids pick up on the neat styling and vibrant colours. We caught up with Hommyo (owner of Atmos) and Kosaka, head designer of Ubiq to asked them both a few curly questions.

SNEAKERS ON POWERLINES

Ever noticed sneakers hanging from the wires in your hood? course you have – and so has Geoff Budd. in fact he digged on ‘em so much he started taking photos. Pretty soon he had a ton of them and a gallery show called ‘Sole Intentions’ was born, which may just be coming to a city near you.