Ladies, Gentlemen and Sneakerheads across the land. It’s official. The winner of the Offspring Shoe of the Year 2022, as voted by the Community is the Travis Scott Air Jordan Low ‘Reverse Mocha’.

There it is, the Community have spoken. Ain’t no questioning the Reverse Mochas are sure-fire heat – an incredible pair and a worthy winner. Many had them tipped for the crown before we even kicked off the knockouts. Not all the sneakerhead fam agreed, but at the time of release 99% of the Community desperately ‘NEED’-ed them! The demand was just crazy and let’s not even chat about the ‘salt’ levels after. So, surely a shoe that everyone wanted justifies the crown.

Let’s face it, 2022 was a solid year for releases, so narrowing down to the final few was always gonna be a tricky task. We did the easy bit and got down to an initial 132, before inviting a few familiar faces from the Community to join the debate. Step forward @carmichaelgram, @crepsaholic, @fitriatjandra, @kaff_official_insta, @lejoant, @n1keb4by, @schopes and @tash_mas, to give a balanced view and represent all the sneaker models, not just the usual suspects. We also threw our mate ‘Mr Paint Pot’ into the mix, knowing how vocal he can be when it comes to the SOTY. (If you know, you know).

THE GREAT DEBATE

It got tasty! Trust us when we say it was a ‘looooong’ process getting down from 132 to 32. The passion was coming through. Big up @tash_mas, fighting hard for the Air Max 1s. Amongst the deliberation, all agreed it was a very saturated Nike year, mainly due to the whole Yeezy situation.

Despite adidas having one of their best years, very few of their silhouettes were involved within the line-up. The same goes for New Balance. The lack of NB in the more crucial stages of the knockouts was quite shocking, even though they had a fantastic year in terms of accessibility, quality and variety. Newer silhouettes such as the Salomon, SB Crocs and Yurt, were instantly removed from initial selection. Sorry.

The most noticeable absentee from the 132 was the black suede Louis Vuitton Nike AF1. Its absence raised a few eyebrows, but most had already earmarked the final being an all-Jordan showdown. The Travis Lows raised an interesting discussion through the ‘Phantom vs Reverse Mocha’, with the sick Phantom packaging and overall unboxing experience vs arguably a better colourway in the Reverse Mocha.

We’re sure the ‘Panda Dunks’ also got one or two mentions.

LET BATTLE COMMENCE

Narrowing down the sneakers made for a great listen. Everyone had their own reasons as to why certain silhouettes should be included in the shortlist, with availability, quality, colourways and retro models, all being factors coming into play. Weather was also seemingly a factor. Having spent what feels like forever in the rain, the Gore-Tex AJ5’s were a very popular shoe amongst the panel – a ‘must have’. Why didn’t they release them in bigger sizes tho?

Our panel settled on the final selection but had to accept some of their favoured silhouettes didn’t make it through. The West Indies AF1, Wabi Sabi AM1, Ducklings Pecan AM1, Atmosphere AJ1, Silver Bullet AM97, Chateau Rouge AJ2 and Paisley Dunks were no longer in the game.

With the final 32 sorted, the knockouts began. So as you know, we played it totally legit, going old school and picking names out of a hat. Don’t be hating on the Maniere 4 vs Travis Low Phantom, it was just the luck of the draw. With the Chicago ‘Lost and Found’ and Travis Reverse Mocha also in the same half of the knockouts, there were going to be some big upsets.

Check out the below video in full, along with more from the SOTY debate @offspringhq

THE KNOCKOUTS

And over to you, the Community. It got serious, brutal and heated. We’ve got to try and stay unbiased but just to get it of our chest, the Dunk Low Union knocking out the AM1 Concepts Heavy, despite the AM1s having an amazing year – naaaah, what you lot thinking? Shocking outcome. There, it’s been said. Let’s move on.

The biggest battle throughout the comp was between the AJ4 A Ma Maniere and the Travis AJ1 Low ‘Phantom’. Over 16k votes were cast by the Community, with it coming down to only 30 votes in favour of the Manieres. Fair to say the Jordan 4s smashed SOTY, progressing through the rounds with the Red Thunder and Military Black, alongside the Manieres. Some could argue the J4 Military Black had an easier route the final. Can’t disagree but the Military Blacks were phenomenal in terms of demand, accessibility, and wearability.

Knocking out the Trophy Room, Union and Concepts Dunks, and Travis AM1 ain’t no small feat either.

Many had predicted the J1 Chicago ‘Lost and Found’ as the overall winner, but they lost out against the Travis Reverse Mocha in the final 8. We’re not surprised to hear several of the Community still voicing the Chicagos as their personal SOTY, regardless of the overall result.

Also featuring in the final 8 were the Concepts Lobster Dunks, Travis AM1, White Patta AM1, Jordan 4 Maniere and Military Black. The surprise package in the 8 however, seemed to be the Sacai Vaporwaffle, getting further than you all thought.

Disappointingly, there were no New Balance or adidas that made it to the final 8 (or even 16) battle, cementing Nike and Jordan brand as the massive Community favourites. So, it was no surprise to see a heavyweight final between two Jordan silhouettes. The rest as they say is history.

“Well deserved. The AMM 4 was my personal SOTY, but I’m not mad at these winning. Another great year for Jordan brand. Hopefully 2023 is even better! Was great to be a part of the panel this time round. Hopefully same again next year.” @carmichaelgram

With a winning streak of 4 years in a row, who can knock Jordan brand off the podium? Will they retain it for the 5th year in a row in 2023? From what we’ve seen they’re going to take some stopping.

We’ve gotta say a huge thanks to all that voted, with nearly 500k votes coming in. A special thanks must go to our panel – members of the Community who represented, debated, deliberated, and kept it fun and interesting. Collectively, it was great to see the passion we all hold for this incredible culture being so passionately debated.

This year we’re hoping to host it in a special place at its right time in December.

Stay tuned. #offspringhqcommunity