YO!MAFIA

May 4, 2011

SNKRFRKR SWAPMEET PICS

This past weekend my crew SNEAKERFREAKER threw our annual sneaker swap meet at Fed Square in the city. The event was part of the epic CARBON festival, so speakers BOBBY HUNDREDS, FRANK LIEW, FUTURA, NOAH CALLAHAN-BEVER, CHOOEE and more were also in attendance. It was a massive day with plenty of peeps rolling through, and although I’ve already put some pics up on the Sneaker Freaker site, you can see the entire roll of pics here after the jump…CHECK OUT SOME OF THE INSANE HEAT ON SALE after the jump!

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Tags: carbon, melbourne, sneaker freaker, swap meet, yo!mafia

February 17, 2011

RASHAD SMITH

If you haven’t read my post on SNEAKER FREAKER yet, then jump on over or stay here and I’ll school you on who RASHAD SMITH is. He’s been making beats like forever, most notably selling killer tunes to Main Source, Eric B and Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest since the age of 19. He worked over at Uptown Records when MJB was on the come up and was eventually taken over to Bad Boy and created the infamous HITMEN team. He pretty much is the reason why you nod your head so hard to BIGGIE SMALLS, turning ONE MORE CHANCE into the most played remix of its time. He’s worked with everyone and is responsible for the majority of beats coming out of hip hop’s golden era. Oh and yeah on the side, he’s a DJ. He was in town last week spinning for Erykah Badu and hit me up through a mutual mate (the incomparable Mr OMAR EDWARDS aka THE ROC BOYS!), so we connected and off to Sneaker Freaker we went. Read the rest of what went down HERE. He’s a legend and so bluddy humble – they just don’t make em like this anymore!

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Tags: bad boy, erykah badu, notorious, rashad smith, sneaker freaker, yo! mafia

October 7, 2010

SNKRKFRKR X ALVIN PURPLE RECAP

After working on this shoe for nearly three years, we finally were able to launch our new collabo with Asics – The Alvin Purple. Many have asked where we got the name from. Well sticking with the Aussie battler theme, we based this Gel Ltye III around the soft porn star from the 70s, Alvin Purple. He was a bit of a ladies man and made the chicks melt with his purple ways. We often nicknamed the project ‘Blue Balls’ as we waited so long for each sample to come back and each tweak to be made. Call it what you want, it’s one dope ass looking shoe! Check out the feature on Sneaker Freaker HERE. Most of the pics I took went up on Freaker, but you can see the entire recap HERE.

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Tags: alvin purple, asics, gel lyte III, sneaker freaker, yo! mafia

September 8, 2010

SNEAKER FREAKER X SIZE? X PUMA

A whiles back we (SNEAKER FREAKER) were asked to collaborate with Puma and Size? for the store’s 20 year anniversary, with a shoe that was to be inspired and based on the Geography teacher. It reminds me of a pancake with lavender jam! The lilac pops are just gorgeous as is the buttery suede pops. The fellas took ages designing this bad boy and they’ve come up trumps! You can read more about the collabo HERE. Not sure when and if these will go on sale – I’m hella lucky to be hooked up though!

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Tags: puma, size?, sneaker freaker, sneakers

September 8, 2010

COVE LUVIN’

Big ups to my favourite New York brother man, the amazing Mr RONNIE FIEG for these super sweet, extra buttery Asic Gel Lyte IIIs nicknamed The Cove. There’s a pretty sweet back story behind these which you can read all about on Ronnie’s insanely crispy blog HERE. The suede on these puppies is just ridiculous and I’m hanging for the Summer sun to bust out behind these bleak ass clouds so I can rock with a fresh pair of shorts.

Ronnie is the REAL DEAL, having started working at the famous DAVID Z in NYC at 13. Now pushing into his mid 20s, he has brands from all over the shop busting a nut to work with him. One look at his rolodex of collabs and you’ll see why. I’m honoured to say I was fortunate enough to not only interview him for the new issue of SNEAKER FREAKER (oh, it’s OUT NOW!!!), but I was super lucky to meet up with him in ATL this past May at SNEAKER FRIENDS. He was rocking these bad boys way back then – here, and I’ve been dreaming about them ever since. Dreams do come true!

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Tags: asics, ronnie fieg, sneaker freaker, sneaker friends, sneakers, the cove, yo! mafia

September 8, 2010

SNEAKERNESS

Thanks to Pascal and team at SNEAKERNESS for taking some time out to ask me three very important questions! If you don’t know about Sneakerness, best get over to their site now and find out why they are fast becoming Europe’s (if not, the world’s) biggest and best sneaker tradeshow!

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Tags: sneaker freaker, sneakers

June 25, 2010

SNEAKER FREAKER RUSSIA

Look what just rolled through SNKRFRKR’s HQ!!! Sneaker Freaker RUSSIA baby. We’ve conquered Spain, as our first international taste of Freaker, and now Russia comes on board to create their own version of our stealth mag. These will never be made available down under, so this is probably the only place you’re gunna see this bad boy. With loads of features taken and translated in Russian from Issue 18, the Russians have added their own touch of vodka to this killer little volume. Make sure to drop back for pics of the next Issue…as yet we’re not sure when that will drop, but you know YO! MAFIA got ya goods for ya!

If only we could understand what this article was about….looks rad tho

How dope does the Russian print look!

Apparently even though this Puma Cabana Racer is on the cover, there is no mention of it inside!

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Tags: russia, sneaker freaker, yo mafia

June 4, 2010

PREMIUM PETE

Perhaps the nicest dude I met while I was overseas was PREMIUM PETE, – he’s a BK babe through and through and has an unlimited knowledge of sneakers and the culture. It was a must that I send him a little care package as a small thanks for looking out for me in ATLANTA. In a scene full of posers and major egos, Premium Pete lets his sneaker knowledge speak for itself – and made sure that everyone knew who I was, introducing me to plenty of heavy hitters. He currently has a sweet as blog on SNEAKER NEWS, I suggest you bookmark it and learn a thing or two about being a humble sneaker collector. Oh, and make sure you follow him on twitter HERE. Costra Nostra loves ya mate!

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Tags: atlanta, brooklyn, magazine, new york, premium pete, sneaker freaker, sneakers news

June 3, 2010

BTS – SNEAKER FREAKER HQ

Ever wondered just what happens BEHIND THE SCENES at SNEAKER FREAKER HQ? Woody, the head honch allowed photographer PAUL BARBERA inside the private walls of SF to take some banging snaps! Check them out below!

Oh look – a rare glimpse of Woody!

I see this scene every day with Woody checking, reviewing and discussing new kicks every day with us lucky cats at SF

Sticker wall! We’ve had debates on just how this board should be arranged. Good lookin HANS DC for getting it off the ground. And a millionth of just how many laces we see at SF HQ

Research is key!

A minute taste of Woody’s freebies!

Stay tuned for more news from Puma, until then check out Woody’s insane robot collection.

We took a long minute to get stickers made for the store, but these have been going like hot cakes. On the right is a taste of graphic designer Jimmy’s desk

One of Hans’ jobs is relacing all the kicks for photoshoots. The curse of being the best lacer in Melbourne! I’m pretty sure Hans is facebook chatting me here! I sit on the other side of him.

Woody is obsessed with Bob Hawke. I don’t get it.

Oh look it’s me, next to my boy Shaq on my left and B-Ball guru Brad on my right. Erika from COP mag came in for a six week project…stay tuned for that one!