Sneaker Freaker Best of the Best 2010

Each year, Sneaker Freaker Magazine compiles Best of the Best, their annual list of the year's best sneakers as chosen by the creme de la creme of sneakerheads from around the world. Previous years have included some of the biggest sneaker fiends including everyone from A-Trak to Claw Money. So when Mafia contacted me about taking part in this year's feature, I was nothing less than humbled. And scared.

Because facts are facts - I seriously hadn't had any new sneakers since Mum gave me a pair of Nike Air Trainer SC Highs for Christmas last year. Alarm bells started ringing in my head that as much as I wanted to be part of Best of the Best, I just didn't have the stock to follow through. And besides that, I hadn't seen a pair I liked all year.

Thankfully for me, I'd been keeping an eye on what new sneakers were coming out - and the other eye on my boy Andy Cee's Twitter feed - so I took note when an unusual pair of Australian-grown Reeboks (otherwise known as the HAL x Reebok GL6000s) appeared on the scene. They went on to be the obvious (and only!) contender for my best of 2010.

Given the retro feel of the GL6000s (and the fact I'd been watching Mad Men like a fiend), I decided to put together a retro-inspired look for my photo shoot. And thanks to the fantastic camera skills of pin-up Melbourne-based photographer Helen McLean, my 'Hot & Fresh' concept (based on 1950s baking pin-up girls) came to life (despite my nerves about directing myself in a photo shoot!).

Behind the scenes...

But it doesn't end there. Here's a sneak peek of some of the other photos from the shoot that didn't quite make it onto the pages of Sneaker Freaker...

Read the story...

HAL x Rebook GL6000
For a sneaker collector, I’ve copped relatively few sneakers this year. In fact, I’ve collected none. Maybe it’s the comedown from my 2009 sneaker overdose (30-something pairs), but there hasn’t been a single pair this year that’s tickled my fancy. That was until my boy Andy Cee posted a most intriguing pair on Twitter a while back. He told me his cousin in Perth had designed them. Yeah right, I thought, another one of Andy’s tall stories.

They were indeed designed by his cousin and I had egg on my face. Speaking of eggs, they say once you bake a cake, you can’t add ingredients. And no matter how good it looks, you know it’s going to taste like shit if you forget the eggs. Thankfully the fellas at Highs and Lows (HAL) got the ingredients just right when they cooked up this fifth birthday treat - the HAL x Reebok GL6000. A close relative of the Phase II and Classic Nylon, the GL6000 was recently pulled out of retirement and offered to Highs and Lows for their very first collab. Designed by Scott from HAL and designer Stephen Vetten, the shoe draws on the classic style shared by the entire HAL crew. Featuring a red, black and grey colourway inspired by the HAL Mt. Lawley flagship store and a gingham inner taken from the shop bag, the shoe reflects the HAL brand to a tee. And given that 6000 is HAL’s local postal code, the HAL x GL6000 is a match made in... Perth.

But as the old saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. And this is a slice of cake I won’t ever get to taste, because the smallest size these beauties come in is a mens US8. So quite literally, 2010 has been a year of Highs (finally finding a shoe I like) and Lows (not being able to have it).

– Cheech Sanchez, Sneaker Freaker Best of the Best 2010
References

Sneaker Freaker: http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/
Best of the Best 2010: http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/feature/the-best-sneakers-2010/

Highs and Lows: http://www.highsandlows.net.au/

Reebok: http://www.reebok.com/

Helen Mclean Photography: http://helenmclean.com.au/
Mafia: http://yo-mafia.com/