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Nice Kicks: From classic appeal to new school collabs, how do you feel PUMA thrives in today’s sneaker culture?
Chase Reed: PUMA is what you would call the OG of the sneaker game; it is one of the four pillars of footwear. I think PUMA is always trying to reinvent itself by giving kids like me a chance to speak out about the living legend of PUMA.
Nice Kicks: If you could add one pair of PUMAs to your collection what would they be?
Chase Reed: My favorite PUMA is the Ralph Sampson high top, my father used to have those.
Nice Kicks: Before Sneaker Pawn, you started off customizing kicks. If there was one pair of PUMAs you could put your own custom flavor on or collaborate on which pair would it be?
Chase Reed: If I could customize a pair of PUMAs it would be the Ralph Sampsons, they’re classic and I would really do a nice job on those.
PUMA Ralph Sampson (photo via K’LEKT)Nice Kicks: From a style standpoint, how does Foot Locker having a one stop shop like the Puma Lab allow you to curate your outfit from the ground up?
Chase Reed: Having everything PUMA in one place makes the whole experience of picking out an outfit or outfits so much easier. It’s almost like online shopping, you get to see everything right in front of you at once and really visualize how well it goes together– just like having multiple browser screens open trying to pair things together. I love the idea of PUMA Lab being in Foot Locker because if I want to be PUMA’d out I would pick a couple pairs of sneakers first, then hit the apparel to see what goes with what best and to feel out my mood…
Nice Kicks: Lastly, what can readers of Nice Kicks expect next from Sneaker Pawn?
Chase Reed: Sneaker Pawn plans on opening its first sneaker store on the west coast in the next sixty days on Melrose in LA, along with launching my first Kickstarter (@sneaker_pawn) to help raise funding to franchise my business.
Chase is wearing the PUMA XS 500 Graphic and new apparel from the PUMA Lab powered by Foot Locker.
