The skate industry is a fucking joke and if you think that “skater owner” means they care about you then you’re delusional. Lakai doesn’t give a fuck that I literally couldn’t even walk in that Manchester reissue cause there is zero heel support. They’re laughing to the bank while y’all police each other into what you should be wearing. As for corporate brands, they are trying to make the best possible product they can to rule a market. They are in competition with themselves and their peers, which resulted in some of the most iconic designs that have been tested by multiple different athletes of all kinds of different disciplines. (And no I’m not a “jock” I was actually first chair clarinet all thru high school
) There’s a reason why the superstar, Stan Smith, samba, dunk, blazer, Chuck Taylor, ect have been in production for generations. They are tried and true. Why wouldn’t you want to wear a shoe that has stood the test of time? Ill tell you why, Mob mentality. If you’re not one of us you’re against us mentality which, imo, is how supremacy is born. This way of thinking is directly related to how skaters interact with each other on a micro level as well. It bleeds into our social interaction with other skaters who may differ in the way they look or dress. In the end it’s purposeful ignorance, which was funny to watch at first but now it’s just plain sad and it honestly pins us against each other more than you would think. At the end of the day skate in what you think is the best shoe for your skateboarding cause as Waka Flaka once said
“fuck this industry, bitch I’m in these streets”