Fuck You Money

Deviating a bit from mining the R&B charts for tenuous pro skater comparisons

Taking a break from beating the Koston shoe-sponsor horse into a fine, not-all-that-humorous powder has provided some time to really ponder on the whole thing. Like, perhaps Koston’s abrupt ship-jumping isn’t predicated on some brass-ring grab or a valiant effort to shore up Lakai’s balance sheet, but rather a wish to live out the remaining years of pro-skaterdom in whichever kicks he sees fit.

The above pic, which purports to depict Koston skating a pair of Adidas, suggests that he may be having a jolly old time sampling the ever-expanding skate shoe buffet, confounding internet speculators, and why not? Koston’s been a loyal soldier for the past 15 years or so, if you aren’t looking at his trucks, and if he hasn’t earned the right to play the field before Nike makes the official announcement, well, who has.

However – 1990s reference incoming – it would be kind of cool if Eric Koston played this thread out for the rest of his career. Forthcoming multi-zillion-dollar contracts notwithstanding, he’s already got some money, and if there ever was a working pro skater out there that can get by without a shoe check, he’s the one right? A video part featuring a smorgasbord of skate shoes on Koston’s feet would probably be kinda jarring, but could serve to remind that there once was a time when you could maybe skate another company’s board/shoes/shirt and the footage wouldn’t be slated for the low-res web clip file. An element of mystique even – recall if you will Gino’s Reeboks from the 101 part, the shoes that launched a thousand Slap board queries; to a lesser extent, the Sauconys sported by Smolik in his TSM interview or Simon Woodstock’s clown shoes.

Tags: Adidas, coulrophobia, Eric Koston, Gino Iannucci, Imelda Marcos, Lakai, Nike, Oh The Places You'll Go, ponderosa, Reebok, Saucony, the SAG system