A quiet rise in sneaker-centric podcasts is a way for sneakerheads to get, and stay, connected to the community.
By Dan Baines @danbaines10
When you think of ‘sneaker culture’, what comes to mind? Images of Michael Jordan dunking on Mutombo in Taxi 12s? Travis Scott raging in Mocha 1s? A fitspo Instagram feed? In 2022, sneaker culture is more than sport, music or fashion, it’s an intersection between the joy of self-expression and the comfort of belonging.
You might not immediately think of podcasts as being a window into sneakers, but in recent years there has been a quiet rise in sneaker-centric podcasts as a way for sneakerheads to get, and stay, connected to the community.
Personally, I prefer the more conversational pods for being natural and relatable. In a world where many people around you might recoil at the thought of spending more than £100-150 on a pair of GR beaters, it feels good to hear other people discussing their grails, debating whether they’d ever do a ‘shoey’ from a Balvin Jordan, or whether you can call yourself a sneakerhead if you only collect one brand (looking at you, Adidas fanatics, and yes, you can).
I got into sneaker podcasts with the launch of The Complex Sneakers Podcast in late 2019. At first it was just that pod, but as the world descended into chaos in early 2020, and relationships and communities became so much more disparate, the need to find more ways to connect took over and I would write in regularly. In late 2020, the Sneaker Annexe podcast came along, having already been established on YouTube with its video content. This was a great bridge to the UK sneakerhead community for many, and if you haven’t gotten involved yet, you need to get on it.
So, I’ve put together this list of 5 must-listen sneaker podcasts.
_WomenInSneakers is a platform that champions women in the sneaker industry. It’s a black-owned, creative and expert-led space within UK sneaker culture. Guests range from designers to VPs, editors to CEOs and episodes are super digestible at around 30 minutes, all whilst packing in plenty of deep conversation exploring processes, creative inspiration, and overcoming barriers.
Soleful: Sneaker Stories features deep dive interviews with individuals from footwear designers to collectors. Hosts Kish Kash and Jason Coles have bags of personality, and they do a great job of presenting different narratives from the world of sneakers, looking at historic stories from a broad range of brands.
Sneakernomics is a BBC Four podcast that fuses knowledge of the sporting heritage that spawned sneaker culture in places like America and Germany, and perspectives from British trainer culture, with its roots in music and streetwear. It’s a documentary-style podcast but it serves as a great entry point to learning more about how we got to where we are now in sneaker culture.
The Sneaker Annexe is helmed by Northern sneakerhead Danny, who is often joined by friends Tess and Dan, they all have great chemistry and they’re down to earth. They have a rich history of experience in UK sneaker culture and were embedded from a time when the Dunk was still an emerging beast in the UK. The overall dynamics of commentary on sneaker aesthetics, blended with great anecdotes, is quality listening.
The Complex Sneakers Podcast has top tier production value. It might seem like an obvious recommendation but really, if you’re not listening to this, what are you doing? Hosted by expert industry commentators Joe La Puma, Matt Welty and Brendan Dunne, this podcast features the most insightful guests, from chats with Chicago legend Don C, to the real story about how the Air Max 90 DQM Bacons were drunkenly designed by Dave Ortiz.
