Bowl-a-Rama 2013 Reportage Pt 2

Conrad; Sydney

Bowl-A-Rama was an obvious destination for Conrad, a man who is interested in counter culture, with bikes, surfing, music and skating all influential in his look and lifestyle.

As a bigwig at Universal his main influence is music, and can see in his slick retro styling his taste for punk and alternative rock plays a part in the way he looks.

By his own admission his taste in shoes is clean and simple.  They must always be black, and Vans are the go to brand.  He used to seek out exclusive collabs, but now is happy with classic styles off the shelf like his above Old Skools. 

We chatted for a while about the role of sneaker culture within music, and how obvious links to hip hop are clear, but in one of the best quotes I've heard he nailed it when talking about the relationship between shoes and rock music...'the best pair of shoes, is the most beat up pair of shoes'.  Thats music to my ears Conrad.

Bowl-a-Rama 2013 Reportage Pt 1

Steve Caballero; Sydney

We're taking a couple of weeks away from the IDYSM London season as the next fortnight will feature some hot off the press content I shot this past weekend at Bondi Beach's 2013 Bowl-A-Rama (London season will resume after this).
The event is an annual mecca for the skate world and draws huge crowds all lining up to see skate greats of all ages put on a fantastic show and needless to say the event brings some serious shoe swag along with it.
To start the week I'm proud to welcome some skating and indeed shoe royalty to IDYSM in the form of the one and only Steve Caballero.
He's not just a skating legend who helped shape the sport, but also an iconic figurehead in the shoe scene too with his own Half Cab signature shoe just as iconic as his skate moves, and he's adamant that the influence of sneaker culture is as strong as ever.
Well, he would know, as his Half Cab shoe is so iconic it's led to it's own collabs, and in the above shots he's wearing the Vans x Metallica 20th Anniversary Half Cab, a shoe made in conjunction with his favourite band.
The shoes dropped in 2012 to great acclaim, and the collab gathers more momentum this year with the launch of a 4 part video series focusing on the band and shoe ambassadors, and includes Steve meeting Metallica frontman James Hetfield (check it out here).
A huge thanks to Steve; a skating legend, a shoe legend and an amazingly nice bloke.

Stevie; London

Stevie works in the music industry and while at the weekends he rocks out in Nike's and Vans, during the week his office has a no sneakers policy. 

That doesn't mean to say that he can't floss some stylish footwear from Monday through to Friday though, it just means that he breaks out some high end casual footwear from his impressive collection to finish off his sharp but understated look.

With shoes from the likes of Marni and Church to choose from picking some quality footwear isn't easy, but when we met he'd gone for a fantastic pair of Opening Ceremony M6 Outdoor boots, a lovely shoe from a great premium brand that I will definitely be hunting down to find more of!

Afternoon Delight

Wesley; London

When you think of red London landmarks, Red buses, red Underground signs, red letterboxes and red phoneboxes all spring to mind, and now you can also add Wesley's red Supra's as the latest red landmark to make it onto London's streets.
The Supra TK Society Red Patent Perf High Top is a bold shoe to be wearing, and especially as this was a shoe chosen for comfort and not for their striking look.
Wesley has only a few shoes and is looking to build more of a collection, and will be returning to Supra after his experience with these shoes, his first ever Supra's, so with their inspiring qualities they look set to be a landmark in Wesley's collection too.

Always Moving; London

Gigi; London

Gigi is from France and when she was sent to London for work, she was determined to inject some Parisian chic into British street style.

We met just before she was due to board the Eurostar back home, and even her travel outfit was a wonder of French fancy, and as expected, the most interesting item to me was her footwear.

While to many of us 'casual' means just that, to Gigi it means no respite from the duty to carefully select and plan what she wears.  Casual footwear isn't a pair of dusty old kicks, but a pair of pristine designer shoes from her carefully chosen designer sneaker collection and these Dior shoes come from a collection littered with brands like Gucci and Prada.

It's a million miles away from my shoe collection, but it just goes to prove that the whole I Dig Your Sole Man journey is valid as everyone's shoe's speak volumes about who they are.

Rupert; London

 

Rupert represents a contemporary twist on the London Gent.  His sophisticated look is chic, suave and 

sophisticated, and echoes some key London influences.
He feels that footwear is important to any outfit and has about 20 pairs of shoes in his wardrobe, including these Desert Boots, a style of shoe that no man about town should be without.
Purchased from the English institution that is Marks & Spencer about 4 months ago the shoes are well worn already, but as you can see perfectly compliment his sharp look.

If You Can See Me You Are Dead; London

Weird!

Brad Goreski-alike; London

This is a short and sharp post as the language barrier between me and this guys prevented any serious chat, but his look did intrigue me as he reminded me of someone...

After appearing in the The Rachel Zoe Project, stylist to the starts Brad Goreski quickly became a true reality TV breakout star and it seems that Brad's appeal even stretches to the streets of London as this guy channels some serious Brad-ness in his preppy look which he caps off with these simple but boldly coloured blue kicks.

London Landmarks B&W

Vinnie; London

Originally from Boston, Vinnie is heavily influenced by sneaker culture and urban style, and even though he's only been in the UK for a week he's throwing himself into find out more about what makes London tick.
His first thought is that it's a 'cool, big scene' that's really busy, but thankfully a shared love of Vans will make his transition to live across the Atlantic that bit easier.
The brand are now among the UK's top selling brands (at the point of writing possibly even the #1 brand) and these shoes finish off his heavily street influenced 'skater-chic' look, a look that is becoming more and more apparent in the UK.

Ali; Melbourne

Ali is originally from the UK, and despite now being based on the opposite side of the world has found the perfect home for her eclectic approach to style in Melbourne.

She’s only been in town for a couple of months, but has found a home for home in Melbourne, a city that celebrates free-thinking style, which is something she loves due to her desire to look different.

She’s rocked a quirky, retro, grunge inspired look for a few years, and a key part of the look has been Dr Martens, a shoe that not only punctuates her look perfectly, but also gives her a constant flavour of life back in the UK no matter where she goes.

She’s loving Melbourne, and can see similarities between her new home and her old home of East London, but she’s not planning to fully ingratiate herself just yet, as she’s adamant that the move from DM’s to flip flops (aka. thongs) will not be happening anytime soon.

And we'll continuing 2013's jetsetting start to the year by heading to the UK on Monday for another London season, there's more sneaker finds, more great stories and video to come - so see you on Monday for some more great street finds!

Melbourne Candids

Mark; Melbourne

Sneakers don’t all have to be about flossing and flexing.  Not everyone is a Yeezy wearing flamboyant type, and for self-confessed introverted extrovert Mark his sneaker choices are all about fusing classic design with subtle features and flair.

While he is not a fan of bling, he does like refined design and the ability to be individual so he has a dozen pairs of shoes in his collection from brands like Puma, adidas, K Swiss and Converse that all fuse retro design with signature features.

These Puma Roma LP are a prime example, they look basic enough, but the feature that attracted Mark to them is the green sole that is only visible when the shoe is lifted, paired with the chequered lining these are nice touches that set this shoe apart from the standard Roma silhouette.

It just goes to show that the sneaker game has something for everyone, and next time you look at a pair of shoes, look even closer, you might be missing something you hadn’t noticed before.