The Complex Sneakers Podcast

After all the controversy and the end of the Adidas Yeezy deal, it looks like Ye’s sneakers will once again be made available for sale. Can these restocks be as successful as they were in the past? How long will shoes like the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 stay around? The cohosts of the Complex Sneakers Podcast—Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty—tackle these questions in the latest episode. They als...

In this episode the co-hosts dissect why there’s been a recent boom in performance running models from Asics, New Balance and other brands. They also talk about the origin of the “Cool Dad Shoe” boom of 2017-2018. Elsewhere in the episode, Dunne, Welty and JLP talk about the upcoming Terror Squad Air Force 1s and compare the project to the Tiffany & Co x Nike Air Force 1. Finally the...

Los Angeles legend and the founder of Born x Raised Chris ‘Spanto’ Printup was lost in a tragic accident, and the episode opens up with the cohosts paying their respects as well as talking about the release update for the upcoming Born x Raised x Nike Dunk SB. Also, with Nike CEO John Donahoe revealing that the Kobe line will get an official relaunch ahead of “Kobe Day” on August 24, cohosts...

Is the “White Cement Reimagined” Air Jordan 3 the best sneaker that’s released this year? Does the Tiffany x Nike Air Force 1 deserve a slot? What about big releases from smaller brands like Saucony? In this episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, the cohosts rank the best sneakers that have released so for at this year’s midpoint. They also talk about the tragedy of sneakers falling apart, like...

Steve Madden is a footwear industry icon who’s seen it all, from independent success to an infamous relationship with the real-life Wolf of Wall Street to lawsuits over sneaker designs. Here, Madden retraces his career in shoes, discussing that Jay-Z shoutout, his respect for Master P, his work with Ja Rule, and more. Elsewhere in the episode, cohosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welt...

The Nike Roshe Run, a budget sneaker that became an icon in the 2010s before turning into a meme and fading out, is coming back. But how will its return be received by sneaker collectors who helped make the shoe hot in the first place? The cohosts discuss this on the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast. They also check the temperature on the Nike Dunk, another iconic shoe that’s been wa...

New York designer and rapper Jae Tips has been making waves this year with the release of his Saucony Grid Azura 2000 collaboration. Here, he joins the podcast to talk about his long history in the footwear industry—from working chaotic Foamposite drops at Foot Locker to reselling in the streets of New York to landing his own official collaboration. Elsewhere on the episode, the cohosts talk about...

Fake sneakers, which were once universally condemned in collecting, have become increasingly embraced by people who want limited edition Air Jordans or Nike SB Dunks but don’t want to pay crazy resale prices for them. In this episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, the cohosts discuss the eventual embrace of counterfeit sneakers. They also break down the upcoming Adidas Yeezy relaunch, the myster...

Denis Dekovic is a designer who spent decades at the world’s top sneaker brands—Adidas and Nike, most recently. He started out at Lotto right out of high school, moved to Puma to make shoes for Michael Schumacher, helped Nike take over in soccer, and famously defected to Adidas as part of the “Three Amigos” crew of designers. Here, Dekovic talks about his long career, from sketching shoes as a kid...

Anders Holm liked every sneaker you like now 20 years ago. The  Workaholics  co-creator talks here about his long footwear history—from getting an early pair of Air Jordan 6s as a kid to watching the Three Stripes Posse in high school to getting free Reeboks during his time in college. Holm waxes poetic on sneaker trends that have come and gone, and how he was there for it all. Sambas, S...

What’s the most valuable sneaker in the world? Ken Goldin might have the answer. The auctioneer brought some of the most coveted sneakers he has access to—all the shoes worn by the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and Michael Jordan’s original ‘Flu Game’ Air Jordan 12s, for example—for the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast. Goldin talks about how to identify game-worn sneakers, how to identify...

Last week’s restock of the ‘Lost and Found’ Air Jordan 1 in the Chicago colorway on the Nike SNKRS app was a bit of a disaster. Co-hosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty talk about what went wrong during the drop and how frustrating it can be to try and buy a pair of shoes from Nike. They also break down Jerry Lorenzo’s first-ever Fear of God show, which featured the debut of his upcomin...

The new movie ‘Air’ from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon recalls how Sonny Vaccaro helped sign Michael Jordan to Nike in a deal that birthed the Air Jordan sneaker line. In this episode, the co-hosts discuss its merits, historical accuracy, and the portrayal of real-life footwear industry legends like Phil Knight and Rob Strasser. They also breakdown the possible decline of the Air Jordan 1, the best a...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they are joined by skateboarding legend Elissa Steamer, who broke onto the scene with her part in Toy Machine’s  Welcome to Hell  video in 1996. Steamer talks about her career in footwear, from her signature shoe at Etnies to her Gnarhunters collabs with Nike SB, and how skateboarders helpe...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they are joined by Betsy Parker, a Nike veteran who spent 35 years at the brand. At Nike, she worked on trend research out of the brand’s New York office and helped recruit design talent. Parker talks about her visits to footwear factories, interactions with legends like Rob Strasser and Tinker Hatfi...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the trio catches up on sneaker news around the Nike SB x Air Jordan 4 release, Tom Sachs’ trouble and how it relates to Nike, and the latest on a batch of fake shoes from Nike’s lawsuit against StockX. Also, the cohosts anticipate the upcoming Supreme x Rammellzee Dunks, reflect on Nike’s release po...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the three examine a pair of the new white/cement Air Jordan 3 “Reimagined” and discuss the complaints over quality control issues on the elephant print. They also debate how the Tiffany x Nike Air Force 1 will rank once the year-end sneaker lists arrive and give a quick update on Adidas’ massive Yee...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by StockX CEO Scott Cutler who discusses how he first got into sneakers, goes into detail on StockX’s authentication process and gives his thoughts on the current lawsuit between Nike and StockX. Also, the cohosts discuss if the Tiffany & Co x Nike Air Force 1 will make the to...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they discuss Nike’s new release policy and how it will affect drop days. The co-hosts then talk about the consistent rumors of Kanye West and Adidas working together again and what Adidas may do with their leftover Yeezy inventory. Finally the guys touch on the Supreme Nike Air Bakin’ collab an...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by Astor Chambers, a sneaker marketer and brand builder who’s been in the industry for decades at brands like Nike, Adidas, and Billionaire Boys Club. Astor traces his long history in the industry, from first connecting with Nike as a high school student to hooking up rappers like Fabo...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they discuss the super viral Big Red Boots from MSCHF, and Welty explains why he appreciate this piece of footwear over the brand’s other creations. The co-hosts also debate the merits of the Tiffany x Nike Air Force 1, a project that’s so far been met mostly with contempt, and Adidas’ potentially m...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they are joined by Matt Tomamichel, who owns the Ohio-based sneaker boutique Corporate. Tomamichel discusses the realities of the sneaker business—from convincing a brand to let you sell their shoes to being put on credit hold by Nike to why backdooring happens. Also Tomamichel talks about how to ma...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they are joined by Eric Liedtke, Adidas’ former brand president who’s since moved on to found Unless Collective, a plant-based streetwear brand. Liedtke relives his decades with Adidas, from the 1990s all the way up to the brand’s dominant period in the 2010s. He discusses Yeezy, Adidas’ attemp...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the trio look ahead to the biggest and best sneakers of 2023. The year is young but there is already lots to look forward to, like DMP Air Jordan 11s, Jarritos x Nike SB Dunks, Terror Squad x Nike Air Force 1s, and more. They also touch on Fear of God’s upcoming Birkenstocks drop and the highs and l...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the cohosts come back together after their break to catch up on sneaker news like the immediately infamous sneaker mystery boxes sold by Chase Briner at ComplexCon and also the Adidas Yeezy Slide-looking Nike Calm Slide. Also, Joe stands by the “Black Phantom” Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1, Brendan lo...