Ah yes, the Internet Sneaker Culture segment has been on a hiatus of sort but the timing couldn’t be better. For part 20 we celebrate Nike Talk’s 20th Anniversary (FOR INTERNET SNEAKER CULTURE PART 1-19 CLICK HERE)
I know what you’re saying, Nike Talk? Changed the world? Ha.
But before you get all judgmental and tell me that it was your favorite YouTube sneaker vlogger that started off reviewing “exclusives” that was cause of what know as sneaker culture lets go back………..to before Niketalk.
You see, before Niketalk there were mostly smaller forums, personal blogs run by individuals with limited content and of course Nike Park. We won’t get into the spots like Shoe Trends or SLAM because ultimately they weren’t forum based.
Nike Park was the Nike Talk before there was a Nike Talk as It was one if not thee largest sneaker forum of the time period (late 90’s) The problem with Nike Park was that it was limited. If you loved any brands outside of Nike you were SOL because 99.9% of the conversation and news was Nike only. Joining and posting also wasn’t as straightforward and interaction didn’t seem as immediate. Conversations and roasting got out of hand and ultimately it begun to feel very stale.
Enter Niketalk.
Founded by Nelson Cabral (whom Complex named the 50th most influential person in sneakers in 2012 -truth be told he should have been number 1-) Nike Talk launched officially on December 7th 1999. At that time I was a freshman in College and someone that along with some of my closest friends, was constantly searching out old and new sneakers across the world wide web. Somehow I stumbled upon Niketalk early but initially I wasn’t concerned with joining and posting flicks of shoes I owned – and just as well because when I decided to send in a request to Join (sometime around 2000-2002) these “applications” vanished into thin air lol- . No, It wasn’t until April 2003 that my membership was finally approved and my “lurking” days came to an end.
As the years went on I watched as Niketalk went from sneaker forum to secret society. People came of age on Niketalk from doctors to lawyers to designers to entertainers to degenerate everyone crossed paths in a way you couldn’t do on any other site. It was a one stop shop for everything that peaked our interest and the comedy never stopped, EVER. It was the Internet equivalent of running over to your best friends house and lounging.
From the Niketalk Denim threads to the Dirtylicious photoshops
to Ninjahoods bedroom and everything in between
and while this was happening it had also transitioned into the dirty little cheat code for many industry’s employees that lurked and used Niketalk for free ideas and insight into their customer base. It was the place were trends were birthed, where sneakers were petitioned to be brought back (and because of the sites influence WERE brought back)
, where brands were launched
and in some cases resurrected.
Who could forget when someone leaked a 65% friends and family code for Ralph Lauren and dudes started buying Chandeliers and crystal skulls? lol
Or how about the time a longtime veteran of the site threatened someone with photos of a gun?
At its core however Niketalk was a sneaker forum and of course there was/is no shortage of knowledgeable members and amazing collections with enough on feet looks to last you into your next lifetime but none of this even compares to the forums most admirable achievement; charity work and lots of donations.
Since 1999 Niketalk has raised money to build a school in Africa as well as the Equal Justice Initiative, National Organization for Women, ACLU and Environmental Defense Fund to name a few branching far out out of the box of what anyone in the world could conceive of a sneaker forum where many discussions can go from favorite Seinfeld quotes to Latina appreciations threads.
Ultimately had Nelson not created Niketalk industries (primarily the Sneaker industry) could look VERY different and the many people that used Niketalk to get jobs, network and create lasting friendships may have never happened. The millions of individuals that have gone through the pages of Niketalk may have been altered forever and the funds that Niketalk raised over the years that changed lives could have never happened. Ultimately there is no denying that Niketalk is not only the most important sneaker forum of all time but that it changed the world around us.