So I think all this comes together in my life, even though they might come in different moments. My passion for sneakers came from Michael Jordan obviously, I remember watching him play, having his collectible cards and to research more about why Air Jordan’s were what they were. You start talking about these things, to read about these things and today the information spreads quickly. From the beginning till the end sports and design will always have a connection with sneakers.

But it’s all different now, sneaker prices are more accessible, like every almost every now, and I think that there are people with excellent collections and above all people willing to keep and spread the culture. I read a quote the other day that said: “ I like shoes, whatever, I’m superficial “, so everyone likes what they like, and it’s not for us to judge. We have a good culture, men and women that are building some good stuff with it, and you can feel it growing, and Bairro Alto being the place pushing the culture forward. It’s not just about having sneakers, it’s the reason behind them and what that gives you. For me it’s like this: if I like a sneaker I go and buy 3 of them because I don’t need others – it’s a passion.

I bought some horrible shoes, I had those yellow and blue sporty Adidas x350. They cost 15 dollars so it was worth it. When I use them, I had this friend that would always say “ only you can pull that off”. It’s a matter of attitude, what you wear on your feet it’s the attitude you have on your head.

These sneakers have something very unique- they are impermeable – so they are hot as fuck (laughs). You can’t wear them during the summer, but they look really good with shorts, but anyway, because of that I wore them very little. You can see that I have this sneaker for almost 10 years and they are still good, the sole is basically new. So that’s the story, a sneaker that I really like but I can’t wear them because they’re too hot.

Besides all that, I think Reebok is a classic and important brand, that has lots a lot. Of strength, but is well-protected thanks to the UK, where people have great care for the brand. Now it’s getting some strength back in the market because it’s in the NHL. But it’s a brand that proves that trends are a cycle, because they haven’t reinvented themselves, the kept the same models, they’ve been through a rough patch but they’ve come up again with the same models that were craved 20 years ago.

Sneakers set these trends – who would think of wearing Adidas Gazelles 3 years ago? They were completely out of trend, but they’re back again. If you pay attention to the history of sneakers, the models, the editions and everything that comes out, you can see the history of fashion. I don’t know if you remember but Pum had a boom when they sponsored the Jamaican team, before that it barely existed, they had a boom selling the same ugly looking sneakers as always – mix two things, most ugly looking sneakers and most uncomfortable sneakers. They did it, people wore those to go out to dinner!

The story of the brands that started as sports brands and with time grew into sneaker brands is really interesting. If look up the story behind Nike and Adidas – that are strongly connected to Puma – with Asics, Onitsuka Tiger, an all of them, all of their stories are connected to design, art, and fashion. What would be of us if those weird Adidas from the 90s didn’t exist?