Sneakers: Air MAX 1

Video: Le Bron needs a Chill-Pill!

Dear Nike...what's all that white powder?

Sneakers: Nike reads my blog....

Or at least that's what we wished they did. Remember months ago when we posted some videos about Obama's glory days as a Baller? Well Nike (not really...) surprisingly came up with these:

Info and Picture via Highsnobiety: "Artist Virtual Mo created two pairs of the Mobama Dunk Low 2008 in the Nike Innovation Kitchen. The shoe features many laser details, hinting at senator Obama and the elections. It is a custom shoe, in the sense that Virtual Mo designed it, but they have been entirely manufactured in the Nike Innovation Kitchen. For now there are onlz two pairs, but as the elections heat up, there is a good chance that the shoe will release in a very limited edition. "

Manifest Destitute on these Dunks: For a Candidate that's about to make history, these pair of Dunks are quite mediocre. No offense to Mr. Mo because we love his work but these pair are nothing a little Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop couldn't handle to design them. As for innovation, Lasering is not really ground breaking anymore. How about making a shoe...that's Eco-friendly and concentrates on Obama's campaign promises? Innovation Kitchen my ass. You know what?...I'm gonna go to Reebok and pitch my idea for the McPump. That's right! I'm gonna go to MIT and design it using military textiles and high tech materials. When you pump the tongue, oil will flow down to the sole. This shoe is gonna be so energy inneficient, they are gonna be made in North Korea and sold only in Iran...that's how limited they'll be. Why the Reebok pump? Simple...it's Vintage just like John McCain.

ps: Nike...we kid we kid (but how about a job though?)

Ad: Courage to be different...

It's amazing how W+K keeps coming up after all these years with interesting ads. Although their new campaign entitled "courage" doesn't really do anything extraordinary, it's still a great piece of advertising in what it tries to achieve. A collection of clips from the past and present, this video shows the intensity of sports and the hardships of its athletes fusing images of pain, glory, effort along with what has inspired Nike over the years. I could have done without the Christiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney images though...I mean, don't they still sponsor Maldini and Cantona?

Music/Fashion: Busy P is a sneakerhead too.

Busy P, the Influential head honcho of Ed Banger Records and (ex manager for Daft Punk) was recently rewarded by Nike with a limited edition Air Force One. The Sneakers are to be available only at Colette and they'll retail for about €200 euro. Designed in collaboration with the Ed Banger's art director soME, the shoe is a playful battle of words between Busy P and SoMe about the design of the shoe. Part of the "influencer pack" it is unlikely we'll see the shoe in America although who knows, it might just come out on selected tier zero accounts.

As a way to promote the shoe release, french blog La MJC did a photo shoot reminiscent of the famous Andy Warhol vs. Jean-Michel Basquiat photos by Michael Halsband. Pairing Busy P to Senegalese-French Rapper Elie “Booba” Yaffa the campaign focuses on the influences the two have brought have had in their city of Paris. In any case....Nike blah blah blah. The real reason for this post was to give you guys this ridiculous remix by Crookers of Busy P's "to protect and entertain".

Busy P - To Protect and Entertain (Crookers Remix)

Event: How some Lobster Dunks Invaded Harvard Square!!!

Photo: Hypebeast

As you know, Saturday May 31st was a huge day for Sneakerheads in the Boston Area. With the release of the Concepts Lobster Dunk, Harvard Square was invaded by over 300 passionate people hoping to get their hands on the Nike Dunk that our friend Rob Heppler and Concepts designed a little more than year ago. The "Camp Out" began on Wednesday@10pm when 5 Brooklyn kids parked their foldout chairs outside the store on 37 Brattle Street. By Thursday night, the line had grown around the block making of this an unprecedented event in Boston. When we saw the line that night the chances of getting a pair started to fade faster than Donald trump's hair.

Photo: Hinagiku
On Friday afternoon when we finally got a chance to make it to Harvard, we became the 130th person in line. For a couple of minutes we started feeling self-conscious about about being the last on line, but knowing that the person in front of me flew in from Chicago made me realize the wait was gonna be worth it. A couple of hours went by and Catie was kind enough to Bring us Pizza and some cold ones. Throughout the night people stopped by wondering what we were waiting for, but by the end of the night they began to get answers ranging from Jenna Jameson's book signing to tickets for the Sex & the City premiere (which also happened to be down the street).

Photo: Dreamsrey
I do admit that camping out for sneakers might seem ridiculous to some, but seeing the determination that these kids had, to camp out for days, actually deserves a lot of credit. As one camper said to an older "highly educated" woman questioning our actions: "Lady, At least I'm not smoking crack or stealing your car!" Needless to say, Harvard Square began over analyzing us like an anthropological experiment.

Photo: Tina L.
The atmosphere however was friendly, some people brought us Candy, some of the other businesses brought us water and energy drinks. By the end of the night the Corner of Brattle Street and Church Street had become a full-on Block Party. In between cars people threw around footballs and shared stories varying from Basketball Stats to inappropriate Youtube videos. Friendships were formed through this experience and people bonded not only for their love of sneakers but because the last 12 hours were a hell of long time.

Photo: Tina L.
When the morning came back on Saturday, euphoria kept everyone going. The lobster truck showed up early giving people a taste of what was to come. Lobster rolls and Clam chowder were served to us while on line by the staff at concepts making this experience even more special. For those of us who were lucky to get a ticket the night before, waiting just became a celebration. For those who decided to sleep on their own beds, he tension grew as the line began moving. By the time the doors at concepts finally opened, 300 people stood in single file awaiting the moment and cheering for the Brooklyn kids when they came out holding the boxes like a heavy weight championship belt.

Photo: Tina L.
Our friends at Concepts did an amazing job not only designing the packaging for the shoes, but really making sure this event went smooth and without problems. Special shout out here for all the staff at concepts, but in particular Jimmy, Deon, Cheddah, Frank, Natalie and Chris for making sure everyone was happy with what they got. Like it wasn't enough though, Graffiti Legends and Friends of Concepts, Stash and Futura joined the Celebration signing the limited edition (50 total) Wooden Boxes. A raffle put a nice end to the festivities with 37 limited posters and some Shirts given out to the lucky holders of the tickets. Again, Congratulations to Concepts for the Show they put up and Congratulations to all of those who waited patiently. We all got definitely something to remember here!

ps: with all the commotion going on in the Square, we didn't even open our package till we got home, and i gotta say, it was like Christmas over at Casa Manifest Destitute.


Can you Spot us? We are 130th


Don't believe the Hype? try checking ebay...

Shop: Sneaker Dillema!!!

For all sneaker aficionados May 31st is gonna be a Big Day in Boston. As both Concepts (Cambridge) and Bodega plan to release their limited edition sneakers on this day, collectors might be finding themselves camping out for their precious shoes even days in advance. Trust me, you better get there early because this is gonna be an event to remember.

Concepts collaborative Nike SB “Lobster” Dunk is inspired by the seafood heritage of New England and will be available in a limited edition set available ONLY and exclusively at Concepts. The first 200 pairs include a limited packaging equipped with a lobster claw rubber band, a tee shirt, a condiment box (which includes lobster shell cracker, fork, bib, an extra set of laces, and wet nap) and a poster. The items will be all put into a traditional paper bag as used by typical lobster shops. Not only will the packaging and bag be branded with the “Concepts Fishing Company” graphic, but the release at Concepts will also be catered by Legal Seafoods, who will be serving tasty seafood appetizers. The release will be followed by a raffle for some additional exclusive goodies. Although the special pack will be extremely limited to 200 pairs, the first 50 pairs will come in a special limited edition wooden box. In any case, Seafood never looked so good before.


The "Lobster Dunk" hits our shores Sat May 31st!!!



Across the Charles, Bodega's Reebok Omni Pump Lite was inspired by the renegade, borderline illegal, semi-dangerous, insanely cheap, revolutionary, independently run bus lines that link Boston's Chinatown to NYCs Chinatown. Their "Escape pack" includes everything you need to escape to another city for an overnight excursion in the city that never sleeps. The Reebok Omni Pump Lite is the centerpiece of the project featuring a luminous jade and charcoal color-way detailed with a map of the route embossed on the ankle collar. A matching 5-panel cap by "ELM" and tee are also included in the pack (although a pair of boxers could have really sold this one for me). As part of the pack, they boys at bodega threw in mix-tapes, rolling papers, paint markers, and good luck charms to round out the contents of this extremely limited release. Only 100 Escape packs have been produced but here's the catch...within ONE of the packs is a GOLDEN TICKET upgrade. The lucky winner of the upgrade will get airfare to anywhere in the continental US, as well as a suitcase filled with past limited releases from Reebok. An additional 200 pairs "the travel pack" are also being released, but these ones come with a gym sack and not as many goodies as the "escape pack".


So there you have it. If you like sneakers as much as we do here, then start planing ahead. I'm really curious to see if anyone is gonna be able to cop both...who knows maybe there'll be an organized camp-outs. You never know to what lengths sneakerheads will go to, to get their precious...

Ad: Lock, Stock, and two smoking footballs?

Dear Mr. Guy Ritchie,

For some reason you've been having bad luck at the movies recently. We know everyone keeps blaming your lovely wife but we are fans of her as well, and cannot tolerate the nerve these movie critics have at hinting she sucks the creativity out of you. Although I have yet to watch Revolver, we did stumble upon the commercial you did recently for Nike football, and in our humble opinion it was damn fine. We are hopeful however, that doing commercials won't become a full-time job. We miss your movies and really...Swept Away wasn't all that bad. We have a copy on DVD. Good Luck in your upcoming projects. We can't wait to see them soon.

Best Regards,

Manifest Destitute

Shop: Parra @ Concepts Cambridge!!!

I stopped by Harvard Square on Sunday to see what was new, and to talk to our friends over at Concepts. I went to the OG Concepts first, and it's good to see that even with the new store open, the old spot is still holding it down. Lot's of Fresh new stuff from Stussy, Twelve Bar, Futura Labs, and obviously, the Latest from the Jordan Line. What was a real treat was to see the new Piet Parra Colab with Nike. This colab windrunner is part of the Running Man Series and comes in a black/ blue chill/ cherry colorway. Parra also runs the streetwear brand "Rockwell", but he's probably best known as an artist/ typographer for his twisted illustrations on album covers (Pase Rock, Teenage Bad Girl..) and flyers (Stones Throw). An underground sensation in Amsterdam, Parra has also received commercial success with his sold out gallery openings, and features in magazines like Arkitip and WAD. So, if you can't get a hold of his prints then go get yourself the windrunner and gear up for this spring. They might have the sneakers too, just ask Jimmy.

In any case, our friends at Concepts have been real busy this year with the opening of the new spot and it's nice to see how well the store came out. Now Carrying Visvim, Vintage Gucci, and limited edition Levis, the store is bound to become a boutique with international credentials. If you read the streetwear blogs, you probably know about their colabs with Recon, False, The Hundreds, New Balance and Clarks. Well, Expect more to come though...I hear there's some great things lined up for the summer. And don't forget to go to their "pre-launch" party this Friday at Z-square in... yes you guessed it, Harvard Square.

Fashion: Not Exactly a Mexican Sandal.

This past Saturday morning I rushed to Concepts Cambridge to get these beautiful pair of kicks. Featured recently on the cover of "sneaker freaker", these are actually better looking in person. If you live in the Boston area, head over to Concepts (The Tannery) in Cambridge and satisfy your sneaker fetish. You know you want them.