On Your Bike; London

This sneaker lover only recently picked up these Reebok CL Nylons in black/basil green/white and was honoured to be asked to pose with his new kicks.

By trade, he is a dancer and commonly appears in music videos so sneakers are his commonly used footwear of choice and he loves the clean, timeless retro feel of these Reebok kicks - a trait of the brands kicks that we have been praising for the past few months on here.

Flash; London

These shoes may be called 'Flash', but their simple lo-fi style caught my eye as their owner watched the world go by outside Topshop at Oxford Circus.
By trade he is a DJ specialising in 80's nights (which he assured me are not too cheesy) and his friend who manages the Brighton branch of Offspring (a great UK sneaker store) hooked him up with these great kicks that act as a great centrepiece to his cool look.

London Footwear Candids 2

Lost In Translation; London

My travels have brought me to London, and as the jetlag messes with my mind like some form of cruel sleep deprivation based torture, the search for great kicks continues.

Spotted in Central London just off of Oxford St, this sneaker lover is originally from Ireland and picked up these great Patta x Nike Air Max 1 Premium QS's about a month ago while teaching English inNagasaki.
Designed by the Dutch collective Patta, the shoes have a great colourway, and he went on to tell me that only 250 pairs of this shoe have been released so he was lucky to get a pair.

Fred Perry; London

I'm not sure what news this sneaker wearers text message contained, but he didn't look too happy so I kept my distance.  I was able to get close enough though to appreciate this simple but classic Fred Perry Reprise Cuff Canvas kicks.
This English brand named after the successful English tennis player champions the mod movement that began back in the late 1950's; a style which is still highly influential in London with stores like Pretty Green, Merc, and Lambretta (among others) offering modern mod style clothing that is still hugely popular.
Back to this sneaker lover though, and as he 'sweated' over his text message maybe he should check out one of Fred Perry's other creations - apparently he also invented the sweatband!

London Footwear Candids 1

45+ High; London

This sneaker lover is a true cosmopolitan kicks fan.  Originally from Poland, the owner picked up these white hi tops in Milan from the Spanish store Pull and Bear, and I spotted him in London where he works for the clothing store Zara.
With a collection of over 45+ Hi Tops he has a comprehensive collection of kicks to cater for all occasions, and these shoes work perfectly as a starting point for his cool look.

London Calling

Over the next couple of weeks I'm heading to the UK to 'dig' London's sneaker scene.
Stick around to see the edgy, gritty and diverse finds that typify London's cutting edge sense of style.
I'm off for some fish and chips - see you soon!
Sole Digger

The Finish Line Is In Sight: Sydney

The Sydney City to Surf is an annual event that sees runners from near and far come together to take part in a 14km run from the cities CBD to the beach at Bondi.
Among this years 75,000 participants was Helen, who I met the night before the race.  While she was busy checking out the finish line in preparation for the big event, I was busy admiring her kicks, these great Nike Air Max 1 'Tartan Plaid' shoes.
Originally from Holland she had taking a liking to these shoes in her home country but was put off by the €140 price.   It was by pure coincidence that when on holiday in New York she saw the same shoes for a bargain $20!!!!!!
Helen had some great luck in finding the shoes, I hope she had as much luck the next morning with her 14km run.

Skate Mates; Sydney

These mates had their weekend skating activities stopped when an accident put one of their crew on crutches.  I can't remember what he had done exactly but he used words like tibia and fibia which even with my limited knowledge I know isn't good news.
The guys all had a great look that mixed some chunky knits with nice clean kicks including some classic red Vans Authentics and some Adidas Vespa Sprints.
The shoes that really caught my eye though were the intriguing new Blue vans.  I was told that they are sample shoes that are not available in stores and were sent over by some friends that work at Vans in the US.  They are a great looking mid cut kick that I think would do very well in stores as they would compliment a number of looks, and I for 1 would love a pair.

The People's Shoe: Sydney

A new, ethical and very cool sneaker company, The People's Shoe is a brand that make great looking shoes within a fantastic business model.
I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with the brand until I recently met this sneaker lover enjoying some Spring weather in Sydney.
Our meeting was very brief as he was about to drive off on his bike, but we had enough time for me to fire off a couple of quick shots which inspired me to look into the brand further.
Click on the link above to check out the brand's site for more info, they are definitely a brand to keep an eye on.

Puma Comp Winner 2 - International

Congratulations to our 2nd Puma Retro Comp winner, Nina from Germany.  

These retro Adidas kicks are from the 'Sleek Series' which was designed to bring women sleek and feminine re-designs of classic adidas styles. 

In Nina's own words:

"I dig these soles because they are comfy a girly cut, and the coolest green one can get!.  I found them years ago in Camden Town in London, and ever since they are with me wherever I go and travel.  These will never got out of fashion!"

Nina; something else that won't go out of fashion are the new Puma Clyde's and item of clothing from the Puma Archive collection that are heading to Germany as we speak.

Thanks again for all the great entries that we received for this fantastic comp, I'm sorry that we can't put them all up on the site.

Stick around for some more exciting news about I Dig Your Sole Man in the coming weeks - have a good weekend.

Sole Digger

Puma Comp Winner 1 - Australia

After a great response to our first ever competition, I can reveal the first of our 2 winners.

Congratulations to Steve from Sydney who is our Australian winner whose Nikes caught my eye, as did the great effort he went to get the pics sent in.  He says;

"I lost the cord for my camera so I had to buy a card reader.  I couldn't work it so my flat mate helped, but he got a bit too into it and started directing me and bossing me around.

I got these shoes after living in £10 pumps for about 4 years, and wanted some comfort, as well as some shoes that looked good.  The bits I like best are the florescent tick, and the white tongue, which make them stand out.  These shoes have been around the world with me and were the only pair I took travelling with me so I love them!".

Well done Steve, some great new Puma Clyde's will be on their way to you along with a Puma Archive t-shirt.

Tomorrow I will reveal our International Winner