Sneaking up appearances
Defined as ‘a soft sports shoe suitable for casual wear’, today we’re talking about one of my favourite things in life. Some call them sneakers, others call them kicks… I call them trainers! What many see just as a necessity, I see as an expression of yourself. They say never judge a book by its cover, but what about a who by their shoe?
My earliest memory of trainers was circa 1989. I was at middle school, when LA Gear and British Knights were a thing, Nike and Adidas were standard procedure, and Slazenger, Nicks or Hi-Tec were avoid at all costs! Christmas mornings saw the kids on the street proudly parading all the new stuff Santa bought them. That year, whilst I was probably showing off a new Spurs shirt, I remember thinking ‘wow!’ as one of the older kids showcased their shiny new Reebok Pumps.
Originating from little old Bolton, Reebok were taking on the US big guns, trying to get a slice of the lucrative basketball pie.. Their USP was ground-breaking technology, allowing you to inflate the insides of the shoe from a bright orange basketball looking pump on the tongue, which should help with extra support and protection… but more importantly, they looked cool!
Training days
Those ‘boks got my attention, kicking down the door and living rent free in my consciousness; no doubt influencing my first ever job in a sports shop too! From the age of 16, I was surrounded by sneakers, soles and… staff discount! Getting first dibs on new stock for a fraction of the cost was a dangerous combo: thank god/mum I wasn’t paying rent then.
Product training was also supplied from the manufacturers, which I once put to use on Crystal Palace and England international footballer John Salako, who left with a fresh pair of kicks, expertly advised from yours truly!
Professional sportsman or not, back then it felt like trainers were seen as the silly, younger, care-free sibling of the black leather shoe; who’d been to university before landing a well paid 9 to 5. How the tables have turned some 25 years later, where we’re now in a place where trainers are widely accepted and less controversial. Sneers replaced with cheers!
Our survey said…
The year’s 1997. You turn on your big, boxy TV. It’s about the same size as a large fishtank, and not flat in the slightest! You press the buttons to change the channel, looping through your four (4) channels, before sticking with ITV. Les Dennis is hosting Family Fortunes (left). With one arm around the contestant, Les asks “We asked 100 people what were the top places you’d never wear trainers at?”. Back then, I’d have gone with any of these, but today paints a different story…
Schools - Schools and trainers in the nineties weren’t very compatible! However much I loved my Reebok Classics, there’s less chance you’d have got away with them in class… plus we were too obsessed with Kickers anyway! Not a problem today, with plain black trainers now widely welcomed as part of school uniforms!
Nightclubs - This would have definitely been a top answer, with later hour establishments then having a non-negotiable on trainers. Take the clubbing mecca of Crawley for example. It was pretty simple: no shoes, no entry! Gone are the days of having to take off your black socks to pull them over your white trainers to get into the local hotspot…! Today going ‘out out’ in trainers is fine, now you can get ‘in in’ them!
Weddings - Traditionally one of the more formal occasions, I doubt you’d see anyone wearing sneaks in a wedding album pre-2000! That said, just this past year, my trainers have got the nod over shoes on not one, but two weddings. With guests increasingly encouraged ‘to wear what you feel comfortable in’… ‘Do you promise to love these trainers, honour them and comfort them, in sickness and in health?’ I do!
The office - 1000% the top answer. Ancient tapestry shows turning up to work in trainers then was sacrilege. You’d have been sent home before the door even shut! Most companies these days are trainer friendly, as firms tempt staff back into the office with relaxed dress codes. It certainly makes my office travels more comfy, as I ABC (Air Bubble Commute) in my Solos!
Back to the foot-ure
So it’s pretty evident the general views on footwear have somewhat changed over the years, but don’t take my word for it… listen to the numbers! Worldwide footwear sales from the top three (Nike £25.8bn, Adidas £10.3bn and Puma £3.8bn) in 2023 totalled £39.9bn, that’s a hee-uge £3.7bn more than 2022’s £36.2bn (Nike £22.5bn, Adidas £10.2bn, Puma £3.5bn).
Buy now pay later has probably played its part in those astronomical numbers. Credit agreements make them purchases feel way more manageable: I’m a sucker for the pay in three (months) deals - with 0% interest growing my collections by about a third since covid. The missus is the other ‘sneakerhead’ in our household; equally obsessed, with two stacks of shoeboxes slowly growing in the corner of our bedroom. I think that’s the other telltale of liking your footwear a bit too much: keeping the boxes for freshness and the like!
Tying things up
So that’s my whistle stop tour de trainers! I didn’t even mention the TNs my Grandad bought me, or the eBay bargains I never even saw, the wet-wipes gamechanger, or even that time I bought the wrong sized trainers… twice! Imagine your mum never even owning a pair… I demand a DNA test! Arnie once said ‘give these people air’, but Tinker Hatfield gave the old shoe dog air-bubbles! Trainers blog? Nike said ‘Just do it’… I say ‘just did it!’
WriteHereWriteNow is my freelance writing side adventure. Trainers or whatever, I’m available for all your content missions… feel free to get in touch!