Flyers Sneaker Culture – Vol 1

Basketball shoes have been an integral part of the basketball culture. Not only have these shoes offered physical support and advantages in movement on the court, but they’ve become a creative form of expression for the players.

There has been a long history of styles since Chuck Taylors were first released in 1917 as various shoe companies have tried to put their imprint their brand on the culture. In 1949 the NYC playground Pro-Ked sneakers released the Royals. In 1971 Adidas introduced the Abdul-Jabbar’s. In 1973 Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s brought suede into the game with his Puma Clyde. In 1982 the era of the new Nike Air technology emerged in the first Air Force 1’s. Then of course one of the most globally recognizable brands emerged with the introduction of Michael Jordan’s shoe. It gained so much attention in 1985 that NBA Commissioner David Stern actually attempted to ban him from wearing the “loud” sneakers. The the late 80s also brought us the Reebok Pumps which brought their own uniqueness to the shoe genre.

In the 90s shoes continued to evolve with Allen Iverson’s popular Reebok “The Question” & “The Answer” as well  shoes from Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber, Grant Hill, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and Scottie Pippen (to name a few). Some of these athletes left lasting impressions on the basketball community with creative commercials from the characters such as Mars Blackmon, Little Penny, Grandmama and Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood…to the musical styles of the RBK A5 & RBK A6 commercials. The advertising trends continued through early 2000s with the very popular Nike Freestyle commercial which had cameos from Rasheed Wallace, Baron Davis, Lamar Odom, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Jason Williams and Dawn Staley.

Today we have similar commercials that lend to the basketball culture such as Uncle Drew Series by Kyrie Irving. Shoes continue to be vibrant in color and unique in their designs. Currently some of the more popular kicks come from LeBron James, Kobe Bryant & Kevin Durant. In 2012 Forbes compiled a list of leading shoe sales within the US…

LeBron James (Nike): $300 million
Kobe Bryant (Nike): $50 million
Carmelo Anthony (Jordan): $40 million
Kevin Durant (Nike): $35 million
Derrick Rose (Adidas): $25 million
John Wall (Reebok): $5 million
Dwight Howard (Adidas): $5 million

As Flyers we focus on the fundamentals of the game and how to play the sport correctly. However we want to acknowledge the creativity of our youth as shoes are important to them while they attempt to leave their mark on the sport.  As a result, we have created a collage of various shoes from the players this past winter 2015 season (hover over images to expand). Below the plane is a brief timeline of some of the popular shoes from the past. It’s our way to pay homage to the sneaker culture and leave our impression going forward. Enjoy!

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