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words // Nick DePaula:
After blessing the internet with best-in-class vintage features and interviews on the footwear industry for more than a decade, Nick Santora is now bringing his top notch content to magazine form. His Classic Kicks platform, which includes a website, podcast and social media channels, just dropped a 124-page monster of a debut issue.
The first Classic Kicks Magazine Volume 1 narrows in on the 80s, highlighting some of the most beloved marketing campaigns and athletes of the time, along with cult stories and more niche-oriented profiles.
As Santora frames it, “Volume 1 focuses on the 1980s to explore key moments, athletes, and artists that elevated sportswear beyond the games and into mainstream consciousness. It was a decade defined by timeless products, captivating athletes, and genius marketing campaigns that laid the foundation for today’s sneaker culture.”
Interviews & features include:
– Nike photographers Chuck Kuhn, Bob Peterson, and Bill Sumner reveal the stories behind ‘Bo Knows,’ ‘The Jumpman,’ and ‘It’s Gotta Be The Shoes’ – three revolutionary ad campaigns.
– The roots of luxurious European sportswear are traced back to the origins of adidas and FILA.
– John Costacos, who built a poster empire conjuring up superhero athletes.
– Ricky Powell shares the stories behind his iconic Def Jam photographs
– Stanley Chow takes a break from The New Yorker to illustrate classic footballers
– Witness the skateboarding revolution of the late 1970s through the lens of Jim Goodrich
– Roger Steffens decodes the mystery of the Rasta Man Nike running sneakers.
You can download Classic Kicks Volume 1 through web browsers, Apple Store and Google Play, priced at $3.99 for a single issue, with discounted quarterly subscriptions also available. Be sure to also follow Classic Kicks on both Instagram and Twitter for constant history lessons on the footwear and the athletic advertising industry, and check out selected highlights from the debut issue below!
Browser / Desktop: http://bit.ly/ClassicKicksMagv1Browser
iOS: http://bit.ly/ClassicKicksMagv1IOS
Android: http://bit.ly/ClassicKicksMagv1Android