The other day I stumbled upon this @vice documentary about Stefan Janoski and…for as recognizable as his shoe is (to me)…I realized I had never even seen the dudes face before. It was interesting to learn about him and…his shoe (which took up about half the documentary). But it was kind of shocking…because I’ve owned 10-15 pairs of the Nike Janoskis...and…what kind of life am I living where I can identify someones shoe from a mile away, but never actually know what the dude who they’re named after even *looks* like.
I suppose I can be guilty of the same with the Chuck Taylor….I couldn’t pick that dude out of a lineup….and…maybe…Mike Trout….Hideo Nomo….Darrelle Revis?….? Maybe Ishod Wair? Which…really…it’s kinda wild. I wonder if most people out there who beast over a J Mascis shoe even know who J Mascis is lol (and I don’t know that I could even pic J Mascis out of a lineup smh). I probably can’t pick out Sandy Boedecker…jfc. Could you pick out Stefan Janoski from a lineup? Could you pick out Sandy Boedecker from a lineup? Anyone you know you couldn’t? I sincerely wonder if the vast majority of folks buying Jordans can pick out Jordan from a lineup…which…holy sh*t we getting old.
The Janoski SB is one of the MOST successful SB’s of all time…and - even though I didn’t fact check this - IMO it’s gotta be the single MOST SUCCESSFUL ORIGINAL SILHOUETTE IN THE WHOLE LINE (meaning that the Dunk SB doesn’t count). There are SO many dope colorways and renditions of this shoe…I’m kinda shocked that ‘sneakerheads’ don’t talk about it more often. And…I don’t know if I’ve *ever* seen one of the majors post an article about Janoski’s. There’s all kinds of super dope collectible versions, too. So…that being said…why isn’t a more popular topic of discussion? Is it because there haven’t been any collaborations (except DB)? Is it because influencers aren’t rockin’ em? Is it because…? To me, this shoe is like…it’s really like the perfect recipe of a perfectly collectible shoe. But no one gives a damn…why?