Gino Iannucci Throws Down: ASICS Skateboarding Enters the Chat With the Leggerezza FB
For nearly three decades, Gino Iannucci has made the hard look easy and the simple look sublime. Now, the Long Island enigma with the mystical push brings that same low-key mastery to the Leggerezza FB – a silhouette as timeless as Gino's video parts.
It’s a no-brainer for ASICS Skateboarding. The Japanese sportswear giants have been carefully carving out their skate program over the past few years, taking a deliberate approach that leans on heritage silhouettes, performance tech from their running catalogue, and a roster stacked with genuine credibility – Akwasi Owusu, Shay Sandiford, Monica Torres, Emile Laurent, Kieran Woolley, Brent Atchley, Simon Bannerot, and the Ishizuka brothers among them. Rather than flooding the market, ASICS have been picking their moments: limited releases, thoughtful collaborations, and silhouettes like the Japan Pro and GEL-Vickka Pro that stay true to the brand’s distinct design language while delivering on-board feel and durability.
In an industry where skate divisions can sometimes feel like afterthoughts bolted onto bigger sportswear machines, ASICS have been playing a different game. The push began on their home turf of Japan, where they worked closely with local skaters, small shops, and respected photographers before gradually extending into the global market.
That timing wasn’t accidental. Skateboarding’s debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games put the sport front-and-centre in ASICS’ own backyard, and the brand saw a rare opportunity to enter the category with both authenticity and a home-field advantage. Rather than rushing in with a massive global campaign, they opted to plant seeds locally, letting their credibility grow organically within Japan’s tight-knit skate community.
It’s a slow-burn strategy – not unlike how they built their reputation in the running world – and it’s winning them respect from skaters who’ve seen too many brands crash into the scene and burn out spectacularly.
The partnership between skate veteran Iannucci and ASICS began, fittingly, without fanfare. In 2020, Gino wasn’t even looking for a new sponsor. ‘I was skating $20 slip-ons from Target,’ he laughs – basic canvas, boat-shoe style. The kind you’d wear to take out the trash, not back tail a ledge.
That changed when longtime friend Kaspar, now working with ASICS, sent over a few pairs. ‘I wasn’t worried about them being a big brand, because they’d never been involved in skateboarding before – I thought that was kind of cool,’ Gino recalls. ‘The shoes he sent? I loved them, so I kept skating in them. It felt good to be on some other shit. I’d skated in Onitsuka Tiger years ago, when we were filming for [2003’s] Yeah Right!, so it wasn’t totally new to me.’
Around that time, Thrasher aired a clip with Chico Brenes for Chico Stix, and viewers quickly clocked the shoes on Gino’s feet. The buzz reached ASICS HQ, and before long, he was offered a spot on the team. ‘Once I knew who was involved, the shoes they were putting out, and the team they were building, I was all in,’ he says.
When Football Meets the Freezer
A few months later, ASICS flew their skate team to Japan for a closer look at what was coming down the pipeline. Among the prototypes and samples laid out, one silhouette jumped from the line-up – the Leggerezza FB. The design takes cues from the 1989 Injector Arezzo football boot, a low-cut model built for quick cuts and close control.
For the shoe’s designer, Yasuyuki Takada, the reaction to working with Gino was immediate. ‘I remember thinking it was unbelievable to be making a product with him,’ he recalls. ‘It was a huge honour for both ASICS as a brand and for me personally, as a product designer. The more I learned about his career and legacy, the more I understood how incredible this opportunity really was.’
On why the Injector Arezzo was the perfect jumping-off point, Takada explains: ‘It had this rare combination: simple yet bold design. Its slim build offered agility which felt like the perfect insight for skateboarding performance.’
Indoor football silhouettes have a deep history in skateboarding. Long before purpose-built skate shoes became the norm, riders gravitated toward low-profile indoor styles for their slim fit and precise board feel. The Leggerezza carries that tradition forward, adding ASICS’ own technical edge: a durable cupsole tuned for flick, an upper that blends premium leather with reinforced zones, and a snug fit that wraps the foot without dead space.
‘Our highest priority was delivering comfort within a slim silhouette,’ says Takada. ‘The biggest challenge was ensuring adequate cushioning and support while working with a thinner tooling.’
Starting with the silhouette, Gino layered in details from another sport that shaped his youth: ice hockey. The blades were as familiar as the board, so he built in a subtle hat-tip to that icy past. The laces, for example, are waxed – a detail borrowed straight from mid-80s hockey skates. ‘It just makes things harder to loosen up on you,’ he explains. ‘The wax really keeps it all together. I thought it would be a nice thing to add to a skate shoe, in case you don’t want to tighten them too much. I hate anything slippery – metal eyelets, slick laces. This keeps it locked in.’
The Leggerezza’s cosy fit, low profile, and featherweight build live up to its name – ‘leggerezza’ means ‘lightness’ in Italian – and match Gino’s effortless, almost weightless skating style. ‘The toe box sits right above your toes – no extra space to wriggle around,’ he explains. ‘Same with the heel – you don’t have to crank the laces to get a good fit. It’s light, it’s thin, and it gives me as much control as possible, which is exactly how I like it.’
The debut drop comes in two colourways: ‘White/Pure Gold’ and ‘Midnight/White.’ The former channels the clean, almost regal look of classic indoor boots, while the latter opts for a deep navy leather that oozes timelessness. ‘White indoor shoes have always looked clean to me,’ the athlete says. ‘And navy leather… it’s just classic.’
That same understated precision carried into the launch itself – no velvet ropes, no influencer stampede, just a tight 100 heads in the know. ASICS and Gino set up shop at Café Belle on Mulberry Street, a cozy Lower Manhattan hideout with family ties that run deep. The café belongs to Gino’s wife, Noelle Scala, and was passed down from her father, which made the setting more than just a backdrop – it was a family affair, echoing the way ASICS have always kept things close-knit. The guest list was pure skate brains trust, plus friends and fam. Intimate, personal, and utterly on-brand – the kind of night you actually want to be at, not just post about.
For Takada, the journey was as much about this kind of personal connection as design. ‘The most rewarding part is the constructive dialogue – not just about shoe design, but about building the brand within the skateboarding world,’ he says. ‘The connection between the brand, the skateboarding community, and the consumer feels much closer than in other categories. We faced challenges – different locations, languages, cultures, and backgrounds – but everyone involved put in a lot of effort and passion to bring it together.’
Patience Is Power
What sets this collaboration apart isn’t solely the shoe – it’s the way ASICS are moving. While other brands have built their skate divisions into huge, global marketing juggernauts, ASICS are taking a more intimate path. Their first skate drops were Japan-only, and while their rider roster spans continents, it stays tight. Their releases feel more like capsule collections than mass-market product waves.
Part of the excitement around this collaboration is simply that it’s Gino. In an era where content is constant and personal brands are built on oversharing, he has remained a man of mystery. His footage is sparse but surgical. His style is studied without feeling forced. And his Poets brand operates in much the same way – small drops, thoughtful design, zero noise for the sake of it.
‘My kids, my lady – that’s my inspiration,’ he says. ‘ASICS are also a big reason why I’m skating as much as I am these days. I feel like I mean something to them… and because of that, I want to come through for them.’
The Leggerezza FB isn’t another canned sneaker – it’s proof that ASICS are serious about playing the long game in skate. They’ve brought in a rider whose career is defined by taste and restraint, revived a heritage silhouette with deep crossover appeal, and done it all without pandering to the hype cycle. Instead, they’re letting the product – and the people wearing it – speak.
If history’s any indication, the Leggerezza will slot into Gino’s rotation for years, not seasons. And for ASICS, it could be one of those shoes that helps anchor their identity in skate for years to come. Minimal, considered, and built to last – just like the man himself.
From Long Island to your local – the ASICS Leggerezza FB is in stores now.