Please, someone buy this. You don’t even need to be into sneakers. Maybe you surfed over here from bidhardcore, and came over here for weightlifting tips**. Maybe you’re my dad and are reading this website. Maybe you found it searching for valentine tips, or cro-mags info, or something. Just buy the old girls, wear em every day and get them filthier than a runaway.

Taiwans baby.. If you know, you know. For the rest of yall, this might be the single best pair of air forces Nike did up since switching to bad leather five years ago - and no coincidence it was released seven (smh) years ago. The Taiwans number at 3000, and I believe there are about a dozen out there in working condition, with Jay Bil rightly owning two pairs. This pair is beyond icy on the top, but with a piss yellow sole. It doesn’t matter because it looks better. Taiwans dropped in 2001 and are all over patent, with the swoosh a light gradient (not a coincidence that the best Year Of Force does the same thing) going from lighter to darker, like most things in life.

While the original run of the Co.Jp’s languished on the shelves for years and by the time they got resurrected, they were worth double retail of whatever was out at the time. If you were smart, you’d have bought the gums at $5, and sold them for $400 only a year later. Unfortunately Taiwan retail lore doesn’t seem to exist. Not rightly, but unsurprisingly so, this is a white air force, which, even after all these years, self-nominated sneakerheads don’t mess with. But most likely, you can’t inflate a ghost. This aint no sneaker you see on the street* or on most of the feet at a gig, or on your weekend trip to Flight Club. This is a man’s shoe, boy. You see one of these in the street, play lotto, because 9 out of 10 times you gonna win.

*Not in this shape, anyways, fuck it, it’s yellowed.
**I’ll sell you that Venom LP, I don’t want that thing.

ACGs, they’re my shit. For a while, if you saw me in the street, and you would, I’d be arcteryx’d and ACG’d out, something orange, or grey/brown, nutty on my feet. “That’s me dogg, on my block I didn’t have to play the big shot”, is what Brad meant when he’d post up in houston rocking Goadomes and a light fleece, ready for any weather. Then I moved back to Canada where everyone wore the hell out of that look, only their jeans had raisins (raisans? shout out to J Mascis’ Witch playing a secret gig tonight that I’m not connected enough to get into), peanut butter stains, dust from their little bag of chalk hanging off their jeans, tousled (knotted) hair. If not for some of these details, it might as well have been me. So I just ran a pair of 97s into the ground, trading an OG pair of Okwahns for a TV (which was not cable ready), selling beat-ass wildwoods for $30, spending the money on basketball magazines, bus tickets and feta burgers, etc etc. I was free for now I thought, with less clutter in my sneaker sanctuary, just an X minus 1 pair situation.But man.. I don’t know what’s worse. That feeling I’d get when I’d leave the house with nothing to wear* or the feeling I just copped while looking at these. Such a sick color combo. Just enough black and white to make it totally look sleepy, and a highlighter yellow swoosh (and lacelocks) to set off your faded ass steep tech, or purple Theta AR, or whatever. I’m not sweating it too hard, because they’re way too large for my feet, but hey, to see a 1999 shoe - any shoe, screw an ACG - on sale, on the cheap, even with a bobo box, is bittersweet unless you cop it. I guess I just know what I like, but don’t always get it.

*worst feeling for about 5 seconds. Sometimes you don’t want to wear your beaters, no matter how icy.

Vintage Nike Air Zooms? Or so this guy says. It’s hard to say what this shoe is but it’s been one of the biggest ghosts in the game that I’ve come across. The first time I found it was a little over two years ago, I was checking out the crooked tongues board’s what did you wear today post, and this was on there, with no info, no further pics, no tag, no info, nothing. The poster was an OG rare air euro, with slim jeans, an air of mystery and a deep closet. What were these things? I didn’t actually find them, but my man Steve*, a Montrealer who never bought anything I’d sell, and didn’t actually buy much at all, and who got into NFL Football from his girlfriend, but he showed these things to me and put them on the case. Though I was washed up as long as two years ago, I spent a good week looking for info on these things, through my channels. But nothing. No clue, when they dropped, how much they went for, or anything. I gave up, and I think that after about six or eight months, but definitely later that year (2006), I got a handle on the handles and hooked Steve up. By that point it was too late, and Steve had spent the rest of his money buying fantasy football magazines so he could build a team lousy enough to not make the playoffs.As far as the shoes themselves, they’re pretty special. The tag dates them to 1994, and the shape would suggest the same. The last looks to be identical to the huarache light, once a personal favorite by the entire heatunitreport.com team. Also, check out the speed lacing, which was rare on these types of shoes. It does make sense to have a light lacing system on a non air, light** shoe, but off the top of my head the only shoes I remember with these are the Lava Dome IIIs, not exactly bastions of stealth in design. No matter though. This purple and orange thing is as good an example of Beaverton’s confusing autonomy, and how it’s not long for this world.These shoes should go for $15 or less, but are more likely than not to go the way of these, which is a shame. This shoe, cleaned up, could really turn some heads, and is a deal for under $40. It shouldn’t slip through the cracks again.

*Named have been changed. I mean, if I got into football from a girl…**proper

Nike Air Max 98s . This shoe is the equivalent of putting a great jacket on a beautiful girl. I’ll see one on the sartorialist, and you’d think they’d look best in the summer, but plain janes and air max 97s are a lot alike, muted, understated, never mistaken for like, your Pamela Anderson or Dunk. The 98 is like a teched out version of the 97.. more lines, more curves, more colors, more air, but just as low profile, just as sleepy. Then the drunk sine curve of the line right above the air gets under your skin and you can’t think of another shoe. Terrible light techno/house, or whatever, band Red Snapper wore these on the back of a record, to their credit. They didn’t ruin them. You never see these.. This pair is a size 7, perfect for the girl in your life. Buy her them shits, they’re barely nikes, they’re sleepy, lazy and kempt, they were them all over Banff and Italy, Karachi and Brussels, wear them, get them.Look at that teeny weeny swoosh. I miss them, my pair, half a size too big, oh they looked fly. But they could never take the place of my Maxes. :pHope you all had a nice long weekend..

Hey girls… Today is your day, at least as far as Nike is concerned. While your man may be planted in front of the tube watching LOST, or worse, the Miami Heat, someone out there hasn’t forgotten about you*. Ever since Brand Jordan started fucking mostly with black and whites, the best red nikes for the last few years have been the valentines, shoes in women’s sizes released a week before Himself’s birthday. Mostly air forces, mostly air force lows, with court forces as of late (I do not approve) and air max 95s and others hence**.Women’s nikes are generally better than men’s: they’re wider (I’m not sure why***), cheaper, and have flyer colors. More room for your dogs, $10 less, pastels on the 360s, blue swooshes on the 97s, and patent on the air forces. Thanks to our boy Rasheed, who I love, hasn’t dropped a dime on the game since the red patents in ‘04, these are the closest we’re going to get to good freaking patent air forces.

Let me break it down:

These came out in 2005. They are air forces, they are low, and they are nubuck. I am listening to Anthrax and I wish I had a pair of these - I do not. The heart on the heel is tiny, and the sole might have a bunch of candy hearts on the inside, etc. The seller is also selling a Sixers jersey for girls. I couldn’t be bothered to check, but I assume it’s a Kerry Kittles swingman.

These came out in 2006. They’re pretty similiar to the red pair in that they’re both low air forces that aren’t patent, but these ones have a weird back tab (like the Chinese New Year ones) and no little heart. If it makes you feel better though, the candy hearts remain to be trampled under foot. Yum.

These came out last year and are a hefty departure from the other valentine air forces, mainly because they are at this point adhering to other nikes, instead of circling in their own valentine heat orbit. These were real similar to those Japanese air forces that came out in early 04, they were japanese exclusives but I copped them at Clientele, they were yellow and black, and white. Every time I wore them I would get props, not sometimes, but every time I put them on my feet, I’d get a commendation by someone who also had their afternoons free. I’ve never to this day had a pair of shoes that’s given me that, or known anyone else who has, so go figure. I sold them shits. These are the exact same shoe, but with a heart outline on the corner. Kind of feels like a put-on to me, to be honest. It’s not like during the Clinton administration they stuck a rose on an air force and called them Valentine’s; they didn’t, they wouldn’t think to do it. These aren’t Valentines, they don’t even have a heart. They shouldn’t have done this transparent a Valentine’s day shoe.

These came out a long time ago and are great. They’re mids, which are harder to wear, but they’re definitely the better of the cretaceous period of valentine air forces.

Click there, take notes, and cop some similar, or better yet, relisted heat! Happy valentines day to all the girls and skinheads out there! Who loves you

*Phil Knight.

**As always, my favorites are what they were last year, the year before, before, etc.

*** Could be because the women who rock a 12 have some strong feet

PE crazy, crazy PE… Player Exclusives’ - one offs the sneaker companies make for actual basketball players - are always incredible, from the tan XVIIs they wear at Brown to whatever Ray Allen decides to put on this week. That these sheeds are in my size is even more outrageous. Doesn’t he know I don’t have $1000 immediately (4 days and change) available on something I need? I’ve written about sheeds below, so I’ll only mention how “both teams played hard” is the best way I imagine they describe successful marriages (it is Valentine’s day, the shoes are red). But it’s because it’s V day, and why wouldn’t someone put my dogg’s shoe up, in my size, for money, today?PE sneakers’ values are barely defined by eBay prices, inasmuch that anything collectible can avoid eBay. There are always PE’s on ebay, sure, but more often than not, it’s the same guy selling the same pair of size 14 Bibby XIIs. The market itself is pretty hard to crack, as PE’s number in the handful. This one isn’t even Sheed’s number, it’s some guy named 30. George McGinnis? I wouldn’t be surprised. Some are so rare, you will never get them, the five dozen people who have all of them will never trade you. Sorry. After the rare eBay pair, your best bet would be to make friends with B1LLY HOYLE AINT NO CHUMP off niketalk, or someone off the grid. Good luck with that, too.

I’m gonna let you in on a secret*. Adidas Torsions. Not much to say here: the shoe speaks for itself. Either you get it or you don’t, this is one of the only truly wearable Adidas with the Micropacer. Just chunky enough, just sleek enough that you can rock the hell out of this thing. Not especially wide, not so low profile that they’re a chucks replacement, but a runner that is the closest to Nike’s late 90’s models as is anything else. Makes the best use of the Adidas three stripes, by making them short and stocky, close together therefore strong. The long stripes are like Yorkies, they’re for girls***. I wonder sometimes, about my job, my old job, and new work, and chances are, as I’m not buying too many shoes as it is, but I won’t be rocking too many of these in the near future**. So be it, this is a gift, for all three dozen of my friends that read this site, and that one guy who wrote a letter a bit ago, here’s a shoe y’all can rock, which I hope you do. Of course it’s a size 9.5, of course. I don’t mind. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve had this Katt Williams thing on pause for about an hour, and I miss it.PS - Shaq on the Suns, lol.

*Well, about as much of a secret as this website itself.** Check out the dog’s Vandals, and in my size too! Ooh I wanted these when they dropped. I ain’t about to rock a high top in 2008, but damn. I am on the fence.***Ehh.. thanks for reading

These crossword vans came out in mid or late 2004, maybe 2005? Along with the rest of the first series of MJ vans, they were the best of their models. This one came out along with graffito vans, and a bunch of monotone sk8 highs. No sk8 lows to my recollection, and the highs were bright green, blue (royal), red, and white. I myself own the greens, which are great. The rest of the line were just as strong, sounder than the collections that followed. They were all simple, yes, but the first line were bright and clear, bold without being loud or garish. These particular slipons were a little more muted than their monochrome brethren - and why wouldn’t they be, they’re slip-ons - but the metallic tinge gave them a nice touch when they dropped.Iller than a corduroy chukka.

Happy Chinese New Year!These are not the new forces for this year, but are the 2005 Year of the Rooster model. As with the rest of the years - especially the monkeys - the roosters are great. The Rooster, Monkey, and my personal favorite the Horse are fine alternatives to those who want to wear all white air force low tops, but aren’t fly enough to rock jewels, or patent, or are too poor to buy taiwans. The little things make these forces: the odd choice of leathers, the colors - never exactly white, the script on the back of the tab on the Horse ones. The Monkeys’ swoosh goes from tan to nut, and is patent, there’s a little monkey in the corner. Great shoes, great new, great as beaters.The year of the rat is represented by free wildwoods, as well as vandals (with a cute lil beb rat) and court forces (of all things), for girls. Nike might just be giving up on this year for that part of the world, what with Yao’s presence at the Beijing Olympics and everything.

Here is a pair of vintage, OG - for our purposes - Nike Air Force One High’s, in purple and white, from 1992. This shoe is excellent for several reasons. First, it is monochrome. Only purple, purple stitching. There is some white, a swoosh, and the outsole is white. Most air forces with white outsoles can look fake; indeed, most are*. This instance is pretty real though: the quality of leather on this shoe is unbeatable. Nothing on a $700 Italian shoe I don’t mess with, but for a basketball shoe, it’s pretty damn good. These were made in China, yes, but the MIC Nikes are a little better than wherever they’re made now. This concept is nothing new, though. $2 Levi’s from Sears were sounder than any Swedish jean today, just like these dusty leathers spank a Lux out of the park like that.

You have to hand it to this shoe. It’s purple, it’s a high top, but it looks harder and tougher than a Timberland. I, myself am impressed. It should be noted that AF1s are very high, true high tops along with the AF2 and 3 High. I know my man Jay Bil has this exact pair. Reason enough to buy it, to be sure.I suggest adding this seller to your favorites. He always has some serious heat, and those photos remind me of random stores in Delaware or Connecticut. Kind of a slip through the crack powerseller. One offs of not so much quikstrikes, but random small run shoes from the last few years you might have missed out on. I tend to have at least one of his auctions, active or otherwise, on my list at all times.*One notable exception to this is the very fine Nike Hong Kong Air Force from, I believe, five years ago. I personally do not own a pair, but it is on my fairly short list of shoes I wish to buy, and maybe look at for twenty minutes when they come in the mail.