Poll: should we let soletech die

[Troubadour26]

I think it would help if Adio brings back purple Bam v2’s

[FirstBlood82]

G6 ❤️❤️❤️❤️ fuck the rest

[slapcurbsnotwomen]

I heard the emerica riders are going to Ipath for the reboot

[OldieButFrenchie]

When was the last time Pierre Andre got on a skateboard

Come on, he posts skating clips pretty regularly on IG. He still has impossibles at 60.

now of course my French ass is kinda biased with this, and I don't even like the way Etnies or es shoes look personnaly but I have so much respect for PAS. To come over from Europe and build a successful brand in the US in those days was such a big accomplishment. It's so different from being a born Californian who grew up with everything surf and skate-related on his doorstep, like 90 % of industry guys. Plus the one time I ran into him in Paris as a 14 year old, he was super nice.
anyways I'm honestly surprised and disappointed to see half of responders say Soletech should die.
What is the problem with re-issuing classic models? Nike is still selling Blazers and Dunks, Vans still selling eras and whatnot....Plus Aurélien and Joslin have pro models, so Soletech does give current pros their shine. And we just saw with Fabiana Delfino that Etnies has much more of a grip on things than Vans.

oh btw this is Pierre André in 1982. He's always been a real skate rat. Pro freestyler but could still ride a bowl. Of course he's fucking one of us.

[Prostate Exam]

Unfortunately no "Fred Gall" option in the poll

[Mean salto]

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When was the last time Pierre Andre got on a skateboard

[close]

Come on, he posts skating clips pretty regularly on IG. He still has impossibles at 60.

now of course my French ass is kinda biased with this, and I don't even like the way Etnies or es shoes look personnaly but I have so much respect for PAS. To come over from Europe and build a successful brand in the US in those days was such a big accomplishment. It's so different from being a born Californian who grew up with everything surf and skate-related on his doorstep, like 90 % of industry guys. Plus the one time I ran into him in Paris as a 14 year old, he was super nice.
anyways I'm honestly surprised and disappointed to see half of responders say Soletech should die.
What is the problem with re-issuing classic models? Nike is still selling Blazers and Dunks, Vans still selling eras and whatnot....Plus Aurélien and Joslin have pro models, so Soletech does give current pros their shine. And we just saw with Fabiana Delfino that Etnies has much more of a grip on things than Vans.

oh btw this is Pierre André in 1982. He's always been a real skate rat. Pro freestyler but could still ride a bowl. Of course he's fucking one of us.

Not that I care about this at all really but just for the convo I think the difference between Nike blazer, dunk and vans era etc vs remaking the Muska is Nike and vans never stopped making that style of shoe. Sure some people currently don't like them but there's no gimmicks about those shoes they've just always existed because they work whereas the Muska, creager etc were just a tiny blip in skateboardings timeline and are only back to take advantage of sad people missing their youth or kids who don't know any better.

I don't actually want any of the sole tech brands to die I just also don't believe a shoe company that most people get from the bargain table at mall surf stores controls our culture etc

[DarkPools]

I'd like to throw out that the Marana and the Joslin have both virtually had almost zero "bad" colorways since their launch
(2013 & 2018). Almost every colorway has been either a simple staple or a complementary pallete of colors that works if you know what clothes to pair them with. If you didn't like the color choices on a couple pairs or more, that's one thing. Not your preference, I get it. Same is said for Nike, Cons, etc.

Silver Maranas are obviously the egregious bad ones (yes I own a pair) that hold them back.

[DarkPools]

Unfortunately no "Fred Gall" option in the poll

[borntoexpire]

never been a fan of most Etnies and Emerica models, but the Snake coming back is going to be sweet and I do actually like what Es is trying with their reissues.

[Cuban_Lynx]

never been a fan of most Etnies and Emerica models, but the Snake coming back is going to be sweet and I do actually like what Es is trying with their reissues.

I was hyped for a bit, but it seems like they’re overdoing it. After the inevitable Koston 3, they’re going to run out of shoes to re-issue.

Plus it’s kinda whack they’re running all these re-issues without the skater’s involvement (minus Muska). I’d feel weird buying some Ellington or Reynolds model if their name wasn’t on it and knowing it’s just Sole Tech on life support.

[Rick Trapasso]

If soletech ceased to exist I would be willing to bet that roughly half of their customer base would buy at least one pair of cariumas.

For that reason alone, they should stick around.

[kook1234]

me and the rest of the groomsmen all wore maranas in my buddies wedding

[Rick Trapasso]

me and the rest of the groomsmen all wore maranas in my buddies wedding

username checks out.

[MareVitals]

Soletech has a foot in the grave but the amount of people simping for the corporate shoe brands is exhausting. Yall are just as bad as the "only skate core brands" people. Buy what you want, but don't feel some strange need to justify it.

"their tech is better" skateboarding is legit almost technology-resistant. Are yall out there skating powell flight decks or Almost "Uber Pop" back in the day? Hell no, you're skating whatever your favorite cool boi brand is. I mentioned this in another thread but, why did thin vulcs thrive in the heyday of hucking? Because tech barely matters in skateboarding. The products are primarily bought by teenagers who couldn't give a shit if they blew mom and dad's money (I know I didn't back in the day). It is all marketing an image.

People will talk up these better materials and tech and completely ignore the fact that everyone gives vans a free pass when they've been making the same low to mid-quality shoes for 40 years. Why? Because people like their marketing and non-skaters will think you're cool when you wear them.

When was the last time Pierre even skated? Someone posts a video of him doing an impossible at 60 lol. Can't make this shit up.

I don't care if it's soletech but a market with only those big brands is like four different flavors of vanilla. I got into skateboarding when I was young because I didn't like traditional sports and skateboard-only brands were appealing. Yeah Nike sponsors Max Palmer but Nyjah and P Rod are the ones with shoes. 
 

[manysnakes]

The important thing to remember is that there's a right and wrong way to consume disposable leather and petrochemical products made in the developing world by underpaid laborers. I do it the moral way.

[thehogsniper]

Any brand that gives Andy Anderson a signature model should die immediately.

[parasocial skater]

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Emericas are the best tho

[close]

Haven’t tried any emerics but eś are stable and nice

oh that explains it

[Rick Trapasso]

Any brand that gives Andy Anderson a signature model should die immediately.

The only reasonable take here.

[BurgerCop]

Fuck, man, can't y'all dislike a brand without wishing for it's demise?
There's plenty of brands I don't really fuck with but I'm not like "THEY NEED TO GO BANKRUPT AND DIE!!!"

[big_kev_215]

The impending Etnies Snake is the only good thing about current day Sole Tech

[mclovin1336]

Wait? Whats going on at Emerica?

[Madam, I'm Adam]

If Sole Tech puts out shoes that are solid to skate in and look good, and doesn't do any corny advertising or back the wrong people, and generally just embarks on a respectable path overall, I'd still be open to buying their shoes.

I'm still into a few of their models across all three companies. I like the MC Rap lo in the off-white colourway. I bought a pair of the Figgy G6s recently as well.

[Pooh Drunx]

Im not gonna do what everyone thinks im gonna do, and flip out, man.

[Eric Dolphy]

If people want to buy ugly ass shoes, let them be. Just judge them silently.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

If people want to buy ugly ass shoes, let them be. Just judge them silently.

shoes are the most hate-able gear

Nike? Corporate shill

NB#? Okay dad

Emerica? eS? Actual trash

Cons? Goofy-ass clown shoes

Last Resort? Don't make me laugh

Vans? Okay dad

[Mean salto]

Expand Quote

If people want to buy ugly ass shoes, let them be. Just judge them silently.

[close]

shoes are the most hate-able gear

Nike? Corporate shill

NB#? Okay dad

Emerica? eS? Actual trash

Cons? Goofy-ass clown shoes

Last Resort? Don't make me laugh

Vans? Okay dad

Are Adidas corporate shill or okay dad? ASICS would have to be okay dads

[jums]

Soletech has a foot in the grave but the amount of people simping for the corporate shoe brands is exhausting. Yall are just as bad as the "only skate core brands" people. Buy what you want, but don't feel some strange need to justify it.

"their tech is better" skateboarding is legit almost technology-resistant. Are yall out there skating powell flight decks or Almost "Uber Pop" back in the day? Hell no, you're skating whatever your favorite cool boi brand is. I mentioned this in another thread but, why did thin vulcs thrive in the heyday of hucking? Because tech barely matters in skateboarding. The products are primarily bought by teenagers who couldn't give a shit if they blew mom and dad's money (I know I didn't back in the day). It is all marketing an image.

People will talk up these better materials and tech and completely ignore the fact that everyone gives vans a free pass when they've been making the same low to mid-quality shoes for 40 years. Why? Because people like their marketing and non-skaters will think you're cool when you wear them.

When was the last time Pierre even skated? Someone posts a video of him doing an impossible at 60 lol. Can't make this shit up.

I don't care if it's soletech but a market with only those big brands is like four different flavors of vanilla. I got into skateboarding when I was young because I didn't like traditional sports and skateboard-only brands were appealing. Yeah Nike sponsors Max Palmer but Nyjah and P Rod are the ones with shoes.

Nah, the jeans got tighter and the puffy shoes didn’t look right with them. Also, and just my theory, those tech shoes lasted longer than vulcs… what shoe company wouldn’t want kids to buy shoes more often than not…

And as far as sole tech, their time in skateboarding is pretty much over. What everyone knew what was going to happen once Nike came in the game happened…

Last time Soletech was on top was when they were sponsoring the top skateboarders… Arto on Etnies… Koston, Prod, and Ladd on Es… Reynolds on Emerica…

Nike, Adidas, and NB sponsor everyone now and kids wanna buy the shoes their favorite skater wears. Soletech doesn’t have any mega popular skaters modeling their shit that’s their problem.

[TheLurper]

I'm surprised SoleTech has lasted this long.

The company doesn't know their audience at all and makes no effort to learn about them.

They also try to act like they're DLX, but don't do any of the community support that DLX does. DLX not only makes a solid product, but they make a visible effort to support the local skate communities. SoleTech does neither.

And, I'll forever be disappointed with SoleTech relying on distribution companies outside of the US. Their use of distribution companies is a shortcut and one that backfired immensely in the Russian market a decade ago when Gosha Konyshev went from repping his Emerica sponsorship to riding for a different shoe company that actually put effort into understand the local market and didn't have to worry about the politics between the local distribution companies.

I pretty much only wore the Accel, Accelerate, Accel+, and then the Square One for roughly a decade, I can't imagine going back. I exclusively buy the Adidas MatchBreak over and over again now.

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

If people want to buy ugly ass shoes, let them be. Just judge them silently.

[close]

shoes are the most hate-able gear

Nike? Corporate shill

NB#? Okay dad

Emerica? eS? Actual trash

Cons? Goofy-ass clown shoes

Last Resort? Don't make me laugh

Vans? Okay dad

[close]

Are Adidas corporate shill or okay dad? ASICS would have to be okay dads

Adi's are quickly turning into okay dad, but would personally place in the "wishes they were Nike" category

[MareVitals]

Expand Quote

Soletech has a foot in the grave but the amount of people simping for the corporate shoe brands is exhausting. Yall are just as bad as the "only skate core brands" people. Buy what you want, but don't feel some strange need to justify it.

"their tech is better" skateboarding is legit almost technology-resistant. Are yall out there skating powell flight decks or Almost "Uber Pop" back in the day? Hell no, you're skating whatever your favorite cool boi brand is. I mentioned this in another thread but, why did thin vulcs thrive in the heyday of hucking? Because tech barely matters in skateboarding. The products are primarily bought by teenagers who couldn't give a shit if they blew mom and dad's money (I know I didn't back in the day). It is all marketing an image.

People will talk up these better materials and tech and completely ignore the fact that everyone gives vans a free pass when they've been making the same low to mid-quality shoes for 40 years. Why? Because people like their marketing and non-skaters will think you're cool when you wear them.

When was the last time Pierre even skated? Someone posts a video of him doing an impossible at 60 lol. Can't make this shit up.

I don't care if it's soletech but a market with only those big brands is like four different flavors of vanilla. I got into skateboarding when I was young because I didn't like traditional sports and skateboard-only brands were appealing. Yeah Nike sponsors Max Palmer but Nyjah and P Rod are the ones with shoes.

[close]

Nah, the jeans got tighter and the puffy shoes didn’t look right with them. Also, and just my theory, those tech shoes lasted longer than vulcs… what shoe company wouldn’t want kids to buy shoes more often than not…

And as far as sole tech, their time in skateboarding is pretty much over. What everyone knew what was going to happen once Nike came in the game happened…

Last time Soletech was on top was when they were sponsoring the top skateboarders… Arto on Etnies… Koston, Prod, and Ladd on Es… Reynolds on Emerica…

Nike, Adidas, and NB sponsor everyone now and kids wanna buy the shoes their favorite skater wears. Soletech doesn’t have any mega popular skaters modeling their shit that’s their problem.

Yeah, that's my point it's style over function. Why talk up tech shoes and performance when skateboarding is almost exclusively about what looks cool?

Soletech is pretty cooked and agree we all saw the writing on the wall. A lot of it is their own fault but can't lie it's sad we have literally none of the skater run companies left. You can pretty much swap logos on the videos coming out of those big companies and not tell the difference. All super generic feeling.

End of the day money talks and those companies have money to throw at skateboarding. They undoubtedly took a loss to break in and now nobody else can compete. If any competitor starts picking up steam they can afford to poach literally anybody. If I was etnies I'd be selling in Walmart too. What else can you really do?

I also don't feel like skateboarding shoe sales is even the main motivator behind these big companies coming into skateboarding. They're down to take a loss to have that "cool" rub off on their brand as long as skateboarding is in fashion.