Aloha all,
Happy Halloween week everyone! Halloween is definitely within my top 3 for favorite holidays and I hope all of you have as much fun as I plan on having! Short video below by my FITTED brother, Kaiser, of what our group of friends have planned for this weeks festivities… Also, make sure to check the interview of ‘Runner god,’ Mr. tookHNLA at the bottom! Be safe this week!
Halloween 2013 : Tune Squad from FITTED on Vimeo.
3.V.O.7. x Reebok Classic Leather
Haven’t seen much faux-ostrich or denim being used in a while… Possible fabric resurgence?
CLOT x Converse First String Chuck Taylor 1970 Chang Pao Collection
Pretty cool concept…
UBIQ x Vans Vault “Three Tides Tattoo”
I’m glad they actually reached out to a respected tattoo artist to help them on this project… Ukiyo-e art is amongst the most beautiful in the world.
adidas Originals Americana Hi 88 – Gold Rod
I’ll admit that I haven’t purchased any adidas in a really long time, but between my personal history and the adidas Originals Brand, they will always have a special place in my heart…
Puma Suede “Sapphire”
Hell yeah… These go! …Now I gotta go break out all my old Suedes from back in day!
Nike N7 2013 Collection
The Nike Free Forward Moc 2 N7′s from this pack are my favorites from the N7 release last Friday… Black for Men, Grey for Women.
Nike Trainerendor – Gamma Blue – Black – Atomic Pink
I’ll say it again… I love this silhouette.
Nike Roshe Run Sneakerboot – Bamboo
I might just need to make some space in the Roshe section of my closet…
Air Jordan 1 Mid “Year of the Snake”
O_O *Insert: Will Smith – “Get Jiggy Wit It” here.*
Nike Terminator High ‘USA’
These are pretty crazy, but a classic silhouette none the less… Glad to finally see a new Terminator!
Nike Air Huarache LE – White -Wolf Grey – Blue Hero
…You know me and my Huarache’s! Lovin’ this color way…
Nike SB Dunk Low Premium – Wolf Grey – Black
Although it may be a tad impractical for skating, I’ve been waiting for Nike SB to utilize a woolen fabric like this… The color way is as simple as it gets, but I think the fabric is just enough to attract someone like me…
OLD SOLE, NEW TRICKS INTERVIEW: tookHNLA | Photographer, ‘Runner’ Ace, The Man behind the scenes
Name:
tookHNLA
Nickname / AKA:
The guy with the runners. (not like i’m the only one who collects runners locally, but people mention it)
Shoe size:
8.5
My hustle:
District Manager, but you don’t need to know where. Ha. Def a photographer, sometimes an event organizer, always a student.
How many years I’ve been in an affair with sneakers:
On and off since high school. Stopped for a long while to invest in my photography, so i couldn’t be as serious about collecting sneakers. Photography is a serious investment bruh.
How many pairs I own:
It looks like it’s about 160 or something, I don’t know. I don’t really keep count, probably so i don’t feel so guilty havin hella pairs. Haha.
My Holy Grail:
Hard to say… I could def use a pair of solars. haha. I think everyone can tho…
My most despised footwear and why:
I don’t despise them, but i ain’t into skate shoes. Aside from a couple pair of SB’s, Vans, or Supras that i do have, you def won’t see a pair of Etnies, DVS, DC’s or the like in my stock. They’re hella wide; kinda makes me feel like you should be able to walk on water with em with the amount of surface it covers. I know why they cover so much area, but i just can’t deal with how wide they are.
Currently hunting for:
Grey Pigeon’s, or Pigeon Dunks. I’m a Jeff Staple fan.
If I had to choose ONE pair to wear for the rest of my life, it would be:
I love my runners but if i had only one pair to pick, I’d forever roll in my Penny 1′s. That orlando CW and I go waaaaaay back.
Amazing sneaker-related story:
Can’t really specify a specific cop that was amazing. I think all those times when a pair i’ve been waiting on finally shows up. The last pair i had been waiting for was about a 4 year wait. I was super digging the CW on the Berlin Pegasus 89′s. Finally got em earlier this year.
Changes or surprises I’m hoping for in the sneaker world:
The elitist attitude. Personally, i can’t recite the entire history of the names as well as where and how certain pairs came about. Some cats can and that’s great, but for that person to think he’s a bigger sneakerhead than another, that’s crap. Same to those that stack hella or got that crazy heat and hold themselves above others. It’s dope and impressive to see which and how many pairs some cats have but to hold yourself above another that don’t stack as heavy or cop crazy heaters, get off ya high horse bruh. I ain’t hating on anyone or any groups whatsoever, but i think we could def show a little more humility and respect for where each and every one of us are within our individual collections. We all have different tastes and different income streams so instead of being conscious of what others think of your game (or doggin someone else’s game), pick up what you can and def cop what you like because you genuinely like it. Ima be the first to admit that i can def work on this more myself. Above all else tho, at the end of the day, they’re just sneakers. Getting all political and sensitive about all this is a waste of time.
A tip for my favorite footwear brand:
Perforations on toe boxes and premium soft leather/suede will never go out of style. New Balance always been killin it; Asics as of late been killin it too.
Additional comments, shout-outs, big ups:
Big ups to the entire @HAWAIISNEAKERHEADS fam as well as my SOLE SEARCHING brother, Kai. Produced some (and will continue to do so) dope events with these people. Shout out to EVERYONE in the community tho. In under 2 years, we went from small clusters of people here and there to a massive community of sneakerheads across several islands. It’s dope to see the growth.
Contact:
TOOK_HNLA
A question for Parkz:
tookHNLA: If you had a chance to work with a well known designer, who would that be and why?
Parkz: Dealing with sneakers? Hmm… Good question. There’s not too many individual sneaker designers who are fully credited with the design of particular pairs (that I know of, anyway)… Of course, the ‘no brain’ answer would be Tinker Hatfield who is responsible for some of the greatest silhouettes of all time, such as the Air Jordan III – XV, XX, and XXIII, Cross Trainers, and the timeless Nike Air Max 1 and Nike Air Max 90. I’m sure you could imagine that working with the most influential sneaker designer in history would be quite the honor… lol.
BUT, if I had to go with someone other than the most influential sneaker designer in history, it’d definitely have to be Ronnie Fieg. Although his newly fresh design career dealing with sneakers has only consisted of re-coloring classic silhouettes, Fieg is more than a monster in the making. Pretty much single-handedly reviving and evolving the collectable Asics market into what it is today is no easy task… Also, reading his interviews and tidbits of information he cleverly sprinkles throughout media, has me convinced that he definitely is a thorough and hard-working personality. I’d like to think that a lot of his train of thought somewhat mirrors the way I work when dealing with design. Not only do respect his willingness to push unique color combinations, but that he also composes specific ‘looks’ by presenting full, well-designed and executed capsule collections. Seeing the recent affect he has on the sneaker industry and what he has accomplished in such a short time leaves me no doubt that he is a well-oiled machine with many more years of paving the road less travelled. With that being said, I was not able to pick up his latest Asics release (which I’m ridiculously bummed about) due to such a high demand, so if he or anyone from his camp happens to stumble upon this write-up for whatever reason, please, please, PLEASE, help this Hawaiian out with the secret back stock stash! Haha! Thanks for the question, Took!
Read more about Ronnie Fieg and his latest release here…
Interview by: JJ Parkz
jared@fittedhawaii.com