The Complex Sneakers Podcast

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the trio reflects on the year in sneaker releases and runs down their personal favorite sneakers of the year. They also spend some time discussing the consensus sneaker of the year picks from Complex and how that list is determined. From the Stray Rats x New Balance MT580 to Up There’s New Balance p...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the trio talks about the huge set of unreleased Off-White x Nike Air Force 1s on display at the Virgil Abloh Codes show in Miami, including the “Olympic,” Sheed, and Off-White inspired versions. They discuss Nike dropping Kyrie Irving, Kool Kiy’s sneaker lawsuit, and the release of the orange “Lobst...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the cohosts catch up after ComplexCon, discussing recent sneaker news like the moldy ‘Lost and Found’ Air Jordan 1s, the apparently shifting nature of Fear of God’s Adidas collaboration, and the Our Force 1 program on Nike’s Dot Swoosh platform. Also, they reflect on the brief sighting of elusive fu...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they are joined by Reebok CEO Todd Krinsky, who started out in the sneaker brand’s mailroom and worked his way up to the top of the company. Krinsky relives Reebok’s sneaker wars in the ‘90s, the mega endorsement deals with Jay-Z and 50 Cent, its bid at signing LeBron James, and more. Also, the...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they are joined by Stan Smith, the legendary tennis player who became an icon in sneakers through his namesake Adidas shoe. Smith talks about signing with the brand, the millions of pairs of Stan Smiths they’ve sold through the decades, and what he thinks of the sneaker market today. Also, the c...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the cohosts discuss the exclusive access release that Nike’s SNKRS app is doing for the “Lost and Found” Air Jordan 1 and the Jordan 1’s status in general right now. Elsewhere, they react to Nike’s decision to suspend Kyrie Irving and break down how important his sneakers are to its basketball busin...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, the founders of Eastside Golf. The duo talk about how they’ve landed multiple successful Air Jordan collaborations, their relationship with Michael Jordan, and the goal of placing Eastside on Barack Obama. Also, the cohosts give an update on the Adi...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the cohosts react to the news of Adidas dropping Ye and ending the Yeezy deal early after his antisemitic comments. The cohosts also break down the recent fiasco of alleged backdooring around the “Lost and Found” Air Jordan 1. In the second half of the episode they’re joined by Anwan “Big G” Glover,...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they go in depth on Kanye West’s disagreements with Adidas, from the execs whose faces were blurred out in his meeting with the brand to his partnership being placed under review. Also, the cohosts discuss Nike’s new policies made to fight back against resellers. Elsewhere in the episode, Welty fire...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they talk about New Balance's collaborations and the sustained energy around the brand's lifestyle sneakers. Beyond from the recent heat by partners like Joe Freshgoods and Salehe Bembury, the co-hosts reflect on the last 15 years of special edition NB collaborations from Solebox, Concepts, Hanon, B...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they break down the release of the Tom Sachs x Nike GPS at Kohl’s, whether or not the Nike Air Max Bliss looks like a New Balance 992, the closing of NikeLab 21 Mercer, and the StockX coupon code leak that people tried to abuse over the weekend. Also, Joe gets back from his Kith trip, Welty talks ab...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they discuss the upcoming Trophy Room x Air Jordan 7, the hype around the JJJJound x Asics Gel Kayano 14, and Patta’s Nike collaborations. Also, Welty hops on the On wave, Brendan comes back from vacation in Portugal, and Joe joins remote on a trip in Florida. Looking for the Complex Sneak...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they're joined by the NBA's Langston Galloway to talk about starting his own sneaker brand, his custom sneakers that made it to the Hall of Fame, how he used to camp out for sneakers, and how Chris Paul gave him free shoes, and more. Looking for the Complex Sneakers Podcast Dad Hats? Shop...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they talk about Kanye West’s Adidas deal, his very public battle with the brand over the past week, and what it means for the future of Yeezy sneakers. The cohosts debate whether West truly wants to leave Adidas and discuss what that might look like. Also, Welty breaks out a bunch of shoes for Labor...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they talk about back to school sneakers, reminisce on the shoes that were popular when they were in high school, and break down how bad RTV requests are when you work in footwear retail. They also leak some exciting Nike shoes that aren’t releasing until 2023. Elsewhere, Joe hits some serious bucket...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the co-hosts discuss some of the most anticipated sneakers that are still releasing in 2022, like the A Ma Maniere x Air Jordan 4, the Concepts x Nike SB Dunk Low “Orange Lobster,” the “Lost and Found” Air Jordan 1 High Chicago and more. Also, they explain their absence last week, talk about the vir...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by Austin Babbitt, better known as Asspizza, a young streetwear designer who came up in the Soho scene in the 2010s. Asspizza’s latest product are his 730 sneakers, which are based on the popular Nike Air More Uptempo. In the episode, he talks about how he got the shoes made, avoiding...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the co-hosts discuss the fallout around Yeezy Day, which Ye challenged Adidas over and claimed happened without his approval. They also talk about how to figure out your appropriate sneaker size and make a shocking discovery about one of the cohosts’ footwear. Elsewhere, the trio reacts to the lates...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the trio discuss Travis Scott’s latest Cactus Jack sneaker, the Air Jordan 1 Low, and where it ranks in his work. They also break down the hate around the “Panda” Nike Dunk Low and discuss whether it’s really justified. Later, Welty questions Donald Glover’s New Balance campaign and also the newfoun...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the cohosts are joined by Arthur Kar, the man behind the auto brand L'Art de L'automobile. In addition to supplying rare cars to artists and entertainers, Kar has collaborated with sneaker brands like Vans and Salomon via his streetwear brand. A super connected individual, Kar talks about his time w...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by James Whitner of the Whitaker Group, the company behind sneaker stores A Ma Maniere and Social Status. Whitner brings along a never-before-seen Air Jordan 12 collaboration and talks about his stores’ rise, the realities of fighting bots, and how backdooring happens in the sneaker in...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they discuss the best sneakers of 2022 so far, breaking down the Complex’s staffs picks for the biggest pairs that have released in the first half of the year. The cohosts debate the merits of shoes like Travis Scott’s Air Max 1s, Drake’s Hot Step, and Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1...

DESCRIPTION: The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, the cohosts are joined by Alex Dymond, a behind-the-scenes designer who’s worked on sneakers with the likes of Quartersnacks, Alltimers, and his wife, Olivia Kim. Dymond discusses the early days of sneaker and streetwear culture in New York City, touching on his time at legendary s...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week they’re joined by Ibn Jasper, a Chicagoan who got his start cutting hair for artists like Kanye West and Don C. Ibn gives an inside look into the creation of Kanye’s unreleased Reebok shoe, the Nike Air Yeezy line, and his short-lived Louis Vuitton sneaker collection. He also talks about his own jour...

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is co-hosted by Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty. This week, they talk about the ups and downs of Air Jordan retros over the past three decades, from good pairs like the “Grape” Air Jordan 5s to forgettable pairs like the “Crimson” Air Jordan 3s. Also, Wetly relives some sneaker backdoor sagas from his Foot Locker days, Joe breaks down the SWAT tactic, and th...