Where have all the OG Niketalk members gone?

[bballah3]

Wow I remember that Wall-Street Journal article.....

...And that shout out in the Kicks mag. I remember NT was flooded the next couple of months after that.




I somehow have kept this name through all this time

Just looked and god damn ive been here since 12/6/00....over 8 years

......and only 4000 posts

Whats sad is I see members that have been here for a year with 3k+

 

[rocksfan25]

My name is from early '03 and started coming here in '02. I wouldn't consider that "OG" though, I'd say OG is like 2000.

 

[dub 253]

Originally Posted by Bastitch

For what it's worth, "OG" to me is anybody before Russ' shoutout to NikeTalk in Kicks.

That's like, the single defining moment for NikeTalk and the Internet sneaker movement as a whole.

I remember this. What year was that btw?

If you don't remember either, I guess I could just pull out the back issues...

 

[lazyj10]

I remember when EBW would be clowned on relentlessly.....he did take it well though.

Not quite on that one SpaceJam dude's level though.

 

[bastitch]

Here's an interview with Russ that we did on SoleControl back in October of 2002. This was well after the Kicks 2 mention the year previous:

Big Name. Bigger Game.
Don't get it twisted. Russ Bengston isn't a famous fairweather hobbyist. He's been down since day one.

SoleControl - First off, I'd like to thank you for the interview. We know that you're a busy guy and I appreciate you giving your time to our humble web site. Why don't you start this off with and introduction?

Russ Bengston - Hi, my name's Russ Bengtson and I'm a kicksaholic. I'm 31 years old, I live in New York City, and I'm the editor in chief of SLAM and KICKS magazines.



SC -How long would you say you've been in the shoe game? Are you addicted like many of us are?

RB - I've been into shoes as long as I can remember. I got my first pair of Nikes (white/blue Bruins) in fourth grade. My first pair of Nike Airs were white/natural Air Ship highs, in junior high. My first pair of Jordans were the II's, in high school. I got them for $60 when the III's came out. (I really wanted the black/cement III's, but I couldn't afford them.) They were the white/red/black mids, and I wore them until they literally fell apart during my freshman year of college. And yes, I'm definitely addicted.



SC - Shoe collecting is a new kind of hobby. Different from sports cards or beanie babies. What's your take on what the hobby is like? And what's your collection look like? Any gems in your closet?

RB - The hobby is fun, but it's crazy. There's no Blue Book or Beckett's for values, so you have to play it all by ear as far as how much you want to spend. Ebay has changed the game enormously-now you can find just about anything, provided you have the money. Also, with stores like Alife, Nort235 and Prohibit opening in NYC, you can find Euro and Japan exclusives fairly easily.

My collection is pretty diverse-Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Jordan. Jordans are still my favorites-specifically my pair of original 1's (that I wear)-but the best part of my collection has to be my three pairs of Rasheed Wallace player sample Air Force One highs (black patent, black leather, and red patent). My personal favorites, though, are a pair of deadstock white/royal Air Flight '89 highs that I found in a store in Norfolk, VA 6 or 7 years ago. The midsoles have cracked with age, so they're unwearable, but I had the same pair in high school. I also have a pair of white/blue Air Ships that are not only the first pair of Nike Airs I ever owned, but the same shoe Mike wore his rookie year before the Jordans (check your Sports Illustrateds, people). I definitely like getting back styles that I had previously.

SC - What's your view on the whole retro craze? Good or bad?

RB - Retros are good-it's a way to get back pairs that are long gone (from the days when people actually used to wear their shoes) or pairs that you may have missed. I'm not such a big fan of the old styles being released in new colors (like the Air Force II's) or old styles being modified (the lower cut-and God-awful laces-of the retro Air Revolutions), but hey, at least they're trying. I just wish that people who bought retros would learn more about the styles their wearing. If you're gonna wear a pair of Air Force 1's, you should know about Moses Malone. If you're gonna wear Revolutions, you should know that Mark Jackson won Rookie of the Year in them.


SC - The shoe hobby has really taken off, especially with the help of the internet. Are you an internet shoe junkie as well? Do you frequent any kicks sites?

RB - Niketalk.com is my most frequent stop, along with eBay. I've looked at sneakerpimp.com, vintagekicks.com, etc., but I've never bought anything from any of them. I'm also a fan of kicksology.net. I'll be checking for this site more often, know that.


SC - Working for Slam, you must get a lot of free kicks and samples for the monthly kicks section in Slam. Do you get to keep all of them or do companies have other kicks they give you?

RB - We send back most of the samples, but most of my contacts keep me laced. And every once in a while I'll rock a pair of samples (I'm a 9.5 regularly, but I'll squeeze into a 9 on special occasions). I've gotten some good stuff through the connects, including the Sheeds, and a pair of Adidas tennis shoes in a colorway that was never released to the public. Lately I've gotten the red Foamposite Pros and the T-Mac IIs..


SC - Where did the idea for "Kicks" come from?

RB - It was just a natural progression from SLAM-the kicks are such a big part of b-ball culture. Being a sneaker junkie, whenever we'd pick photos I'd be checking for kicks anyway. The first KICKS was a joint venture between SLAM and Nike-a single-sponsor book. It worked out so well, we expanded it to include all companies products. We just want to make it better, so feel free to float me any ideas.


SC - Any chances of making it a sub monthly project like Slam? I know many hobbyist would LOVE to see an all Jordan issue like Japan puts out every once in awhile. Any possibility of that happening?

RB - Pretty doubtful, I think. We're a small staff, and doubling production (or whatever) just isn't practical. One more issue a year at least would be nice, though. As would another single-sponsor book. Jordan would be logical, but I'm not making any promises. Adidas would be good, too-their history is ridiculously deep.


SC - What are some ideas that we can look forward to in the upcoming issue and future issues of "Kicks"? Maybe a lil something on the internet kicks scene...ahem...solecontrol.net...ahem

RB - The internet kicks scene would be something logical to touch on-although some at Niketalk weren't thrilled when I dropped their URL. I'd like to expand on the designers section (maybe with some input from amateurs), touch on the sneaker painting biz, and do more on people with killer collections. I plan on continuing to suggest kicks that need to be retroed, since I think we play a role in what's selected sometimes. I don't want to give too much away, though.


SC - Any particular kicks that have eluded you?

RB - A lot. I'd like to get another pair of the white/black/red Jordan IV's, and another pair of the white/black/red (w/23) Jordan V's. I had them both in college, and absolutely killed them. Same goes for the white/light silver/true red Jordan VII's. I even still have the box. But the holy grail for me is the white/red Jordan II highs. I missed a pair on eBay in my size a few months ago and I'm still kicking myself.


SC - If you were a pro athlete, what particular shoe would you endorse?

RB - I know this much, I wouldn't be good enough to wear Jordans. Something with good ankle support, I know that.


SC - Most Over-rated shoe in your opinion?

RB - Hard to say. Right now the Dunks are getting a ridiculous amount of attention. I mean, they're great shoes, but some people are definitely getting carried away. Same goes for certain colorways of the Air Force 1. Then again, you can't mess with a classic. I think the Air Jordan and Iverson shoes get away with having a lot of flaws because of the names that are attached to them.


SC - Most Under-rated shoe in your opinion?

RB - Anything Barkley wore. The Reebok Question is an all-timer. And the Air Flight '89 high (although I'm definitely prejudiced). And I still can't believe the Shox VCs did as bad as they did. I know $160s a lot, but those are right there with the best basketball shoes ever made.


SC - What's your opinion on Reebok taking over the NBA and NFL uniforms next year?

RB - They wanted it, and they went after it. Simple as that. I give them props for making such a major move.


SC - Any athlete stories you'd like to share? Who's cool, who's not?

RB - I'm just gonna go with the first part of that. My top five guys I have major love for are Paul Pierce, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephon Marbury, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Those guys have all been cool. T-Mac, too. Same goes for a lot of vets-Johnny Newman, Shawn Kemp, Dale Davis. MJ of course, but he's on a whole other level. 90 percent of the League is real cool.

Stories? Man, there have just been too many. Spending the day at KG's house and playing ball in his driveway with the OBF, shooting hoops in Santa Monica with Stevie Franchise, rolling to the club in Indiana in Jermaine's Bentley (and stopping on the way home to swap it for the Benz 6), getting sprayed with Champagne in the Lakers (twice) and Spurs locker rooms, meeting Kobe for the first time at the McDonald's All-American game (and knowing right then that kid was gonna be a star), spending an hour interviewing MJ in a private room at his restaurant, then sitting in with him in a Jordan Brand meeting in Portland the next year.

Most appropriate though? Every time I'd hand Tim Hardaway a new issue of SLAM, he'd flip right to the Kicks section. Tim knows his shoes.


SC - Do you have any personal ideas you'd like to see if future shoes?

RB - It's hard to say in the abstract. I know what I like, though.


SC - Where do you see the hobby heading in the next 5 years? 10 years?

RB - I think in a lot of ways it could get like baseball cards or anything else. Not that the bottom will drop out completely, but things will fall back. Right now it's crazy-you can buy a pair of shoes in the store for $130 (I'm thinking of the Zoo York SP Dunks) and flip them for $700 the same day. That's crazy. So people are just buying shoes to collect now, figuring they're gonna be worth major bank in the future. But if 100,000 people keep the same shoe DS (the Zoos are an exception, of course), how much is it really gonna be worth? A DS pair of original Jordan 1s is worth over a grand because there aren't many left. Your black/red XI Retros are never gonna be worth that much, so why not wear 'em? Then again, I talk a better game than I play. I've got plenty of DS kicks that need to get some sun. Maybe next summer. It's easy to forget that the best part about shoes is that you can wear them.

SC - Any crazy shoe stories that come to mind? Any incredible/amazing finds?

RB - Those Flight '89s. I was in Norfolk, VA for the '97 McDonald's game (Ronald Curry's year), and I walked into this little mom and pop store. They had EVERYTHING. Flight '89 highs in all three colors, Air Force III's-all kinds of stuff. Still at '89 prices. I just got the one pair of Flights because I wasn't making much money, and I had to figure out how to get them back to NYC. Now I wish I maxed out my credit cards, bought out the whole place. I'm sure someone else found that spot by now and cleaned it out.
I also regret not loading up on the '94 Jordan (I, II, III) retros when they went on clearance. Same thing, though-I was in college, and spare loot for sneakers just wasn't there. I bought one pair of each-unfortunately I got the black/cement III's and the black/red I's. Those were the ones I wanted, but of course they were also the ones that got re-retroed.


SC - Top 5 shoes you wouldn't mind seeing retro'd?

RB - Tough one. Off the top of my head, the white/red Air Jordan II highs, the Air Flight '89 high, the Air Jordan VII Olympic, the adidas Abdul-Jabbar, and the original Reebok Pump. All exactly the same as the originals, please.


SC - Tell us something that not many people would know?

RB - My girlfriend's grandfather played in the NBA back in the '40s.



SC - Any last words or comments you'd like to add?
RB - Just buy what you like, not what you think other people will like. That applies for everything, not just shoes. Be yourself. Read SLAM and KICKS. And if you have any comments or suggestions (or a pair of red/white AJII's in a 9.5), feel free to e-mail me at russb@harris-pub.com Peace.

 

[prowler 23]

I lurked for about 2 years before I actually Joined

 

[finnns2003]

Man... back in the early days, we were still on dial-up. The browsing experience was so bad back then, can't recall how many times I was kicked off whiletrying to browse NT...

 

[Hijo Del Promo]

been here since 9-11-02, lurkin since 01

 

[dub 253]

Originally Posted by Bastitch

Here's an interview with Russ that we did on SoleControl back in October of 2002. This was well after the Kicks 2 mention the year previous:

Ya I remember that article, but not the first Kicks shout out then. I must be thinking about something else. The timeline at that age is veryvague to me. I didn't realize I lurked on this site for like 2 years tho...

 

[ajchick23]

I don't consider myself an OG but I was lurkin a few years before I joined in 04.

 

[lilpro4u]

Been here since 2000

J Rada..

 

[0cks]

Yo Jdot how's Jessica Sproles?

 

[mac a roni]

[color= rgb(102, 0, 153)]I have never been to any forums besides, Nike retro, JB, general, and showcase....i found general ithink last year which led to me getting banned...sports, music, and everything else is new to me[/color]

 

[club29]

Club27 > *

 

[dunkairs]

^ lol

 

[ericberry14]

Originally Posted by bballah3

Wow I remember that Wall-Street Journal article.....

...And that shout out in the Kicks mag. I remember NT was flooded the next couple of months after that.




I somehow have kept this name through all this time

Just looked and god damn ive been here since 12/6/00....over 8 years

......and only 4000 posts

Whats sad is I see members that have been here for a year with 3k+

that isnt a lot of posts at all. some people just like NT a whole lot more than you

 

[boot and leg]

SUPER PORN THUG...i joined sometime early 2001.

 

[ogbobbyjohnson773]

Did someone say OG?

 

[mr fizzy womack]

I remember this. What year was that btw?

If you don't remember either, I guess I could just pull out the back issues...

Had to be summer/fall 2000. My OG join date is 12/2000 and I had just moved to NC in 1999.

I picked the aforementioned Kicks mag from my job (Eckerd's) and it's been a wrap since.

 

[spyda23]

Ive been lurkin since 'like 02 and didnt join until '04. When i joined dudes who got banned on nt would go to h00dtalk and just flame dudes. Now that imention ht i wanna know whateva happen to shynop. That was a wild dude.

 

[jpthe3]

Originally Posted by OGbobbyjohnson773

Did someone say OG?

 

[numba1kickrocka]

I've lurked since about 04 so im far from an OG

 

[in yo nostril]

airrev hasnt been here in 4 years. and if you are old enough to remember his name then you should know why he left.

 

[dunkairs]

i know why he left but i remember him posting after he got the job at pums but dont remember him saying he cant post anymore.

 

[aka king arthur]

cp

og

out