Words by Community member @slangwerks
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m Will, 40(ish) from Cardiff, Wales. By day I run technology projects for an insurance company, and by… erm the rest of the day, I’m a keen runner, hiker, and footwear collector. My collection is mainly Nike, as I’m a huge Jordan fan. I played basketball for decades, until Lyme disease meant I had to give it up. Now I concentrate on outdoors’ activities to stay healthy, whilst trying to raise some money for Lyme Disease UK by taking on some running challenges. Next up is the Great North Run in September.
You’re known for your love for Nike ACG, tell us more. When did It start?
When I first got into Nike it was the early 90s, and I loved all things Huarache – so when I first saw the ‘Trail ends brown’ ACG Mowabb my eyes lit up – a rugged cross-trainer outdoor Huarache that I could probably pass off as school footwear, and also play basketball in? Yes please!
Unfortunately, as a 13-year-old with no money, it remained a dream. But as I got older and started to build a Nike collection, Mowabbs were a must-have to tick off the list. From there I picked up a few other ACG models (Wildwoods, Lava Domes and Magmas) during my shoe hunts to make sure that when the Welsh weather turned nasty, I still had something classic in the rotation!
Then in 2018 I started heading out on some hikes to help both my mental and physical health – it was only right to start using some of the ACG gear I’d collected for its intended purpose.
You’ve been to a few of our ACG outdoor events. Which was your favourite?
The Offspring ACG days I’ve attended have been great – I’m blessed to live near to mountains, forests, and the coast so an urban hike through London is a nice change for me – especially when you also get to talk footwear all day with like-minded people. However, the most recent event has to be my favourite – abseiling down the side of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was not something I expected to end up doing – a lot of people conquered their fear of heights that day.
I went on to start the @allconditionsclub after the first Offspring ACG event, having been inspired by seeing how much passion there was for ACG amongst the community.
You’ve got some vintage ACG and some new models, what’s your favourite?
Other than the Mowabb, I love the other 90s-era technical shoes like the Air Terra and Air Revarderchi. However, my favourite ACG model is a recent one – the Mountain Fly Hi Gore-tex. They look great, I’ve been up all the major peaks in the Bannau Brycheinog (Brecon Beacons) national park in them, and also ran the Gower coast trail in them – for me, they do everything.
Do you like the direction Nike is going in with ACG and modern tech or do you still prefer the old heritage look?
I love the boldness and unmistakeable 90s heritage of original ACG, which gradually became more technical as it went into the 2000s, with the Oregon Series. But I also liked a lot of the 2014-2019 pieces released under Errolson Hugh’s direction. The more recent 2018-on ranges have had some very strong points, but have occasionally felt scattershot, like it isn’t sure what story it’s focussing on.
Like a lot of Nike product, ACG is at its best to me when there’s a clear story and purpose behind the range.
Describe how trail/hiking silhouettes have influences the sneaker industry compared to previously and what are your thoughts on the shift?
It’s hugely evident that mainstream fashion has been influenced by trail/hiking ranges, from the ubiquity of North Face Jackets right through to the ACG Mountain Fly’s upmarket cousin at the top of the food chain, the Moncler Trailgrip. For me it’s good to see the functionality and comfort of trail-wear cross over into streetwear… mainly because it means I can just stay in my ACG stuff more often, as long as I’ve cleaned the mud off.
As an avid runner and outdoor adventurist how was it trailing the Nike ACG Watercat+? Will it become a part of your sneaker rotation?
It was great to wear-test the Watercat+ as I’ve got a good collection of Gore-tex footwear, so normally keep the water out rather than welcoming it in! For the test I chose to explore Ogmore Castle, which is a great focal point for some superb routes following the river down to the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. On the one side, the trail opens up to the fantastic beaches of Ogmore and Southerndown, whilst on the other side it reaches into the Merthyr Mawr dunes, which are the biggest sand dunes in the UK.
After the recent dry spell, the river was low – but crossing it would have still been too much for the Mountain Fly Low GTX I was wearing. No such problem for the Watercat+, which allowed me to cool off whilst crossing the river up to my knees at several points. They drained quickly, so it wasn’t squelchy when I got to the other side, and whilst they did struggle for grip on a few algae-covered underwater rocks, on most surfaces from rocky trails and dry riverbed, to sand dunes, they gave great traction.
When it was time to head back after the final river crossing, I hung them off my pack, and they were pretty much dry in a few minutes. I much preferred them to foam hydro-shoes I’ve previously tried – which get badly chewed up by this type of activity.
They would make a great choice for boating or stand-up paddleboarding – or even a beach holiday.
As an ACG enthusiast, what would you love to see next for Nike ACG?
What would I like to see next from ACG? The range of very limited chair and tent collabs they have done with Helinox are brilliant, so I’d like to see some of that get a wider release as I love to go camping with the family. Equipment wise it would be nice to see some proper trail running shoes, but Nike Trail focusses on that currently – would be good to see them cross over! If not, how about a proper retro of the Air Terra?
Check out more from Will on Instagram @slangwerks and @allconditionsclub
