The end of Cons

[somethingmustbreaknow]

one time James at Labor gave me a pair of Sean Pablo's navy one stars. I saw Sean on the street while I was wearing them and said, "I'm wearing your shoes." He said I wore them well.

did that happen for real? amazing
props. pretty funny from both of you 

[EdLawndale]

When people think Vans they think Authentic/Era/Old Skool/Sk8Hi.

[bokchoy]

That scene in that movie made Vans popular globally. Couldn't ask for better advertising

[layzieyez]

Why did they have to go with the Con in Converse instead of Verse?

I’d rather skate around in some verses than having my feet wrapped in a pair of cons.

[Lo-fi Explosion]

I’m not sure, but this MAY be what OP was hinting at. https://www.dailymail.com/yourmoney/article-15760475/nike-axes-jobs-layoffs.html

Caused by woke push? What kinda newspaper is this?

[bokchoy]

Why did they have to go with the Con in Converse instead of Verse?

I’d rather skate around in some verses than having my feet wrapped in a pair of cons.

No

Im not wearing anything that says "verse". lmao.

[spanyard]

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I’m not sure, but this MAY be what OP was hinting at. https://www.dailymail.com/yourmoney/article-15760475/nike-axes-jobs-layoffs.html

[close]

The daily Mail is basically the fox news of rags.

Caused by woke push? What kinda newspaper is this?

[dumptruck12]

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Heard there’s only a handful of guys getting an opportunity to re-sign their contracts

[close]

I'd imagine Louie at least. The guy is such a good skater and deserves to be on even if they take away his shoe. Get rid of the FA guys and Baca. Hopefully Zered is still on but he hard has any sponsors going on.

Baca? Baca has been loyal since day one, and puts out nothing but bangers, if anything the dude deserves a shoe

[apport]

suggesting cons should kick of baca is so insane, it should be literally everyone else before baca

remember the og canvas ctas pros with the lunarlon insole? those were the best

[The real veganshawn]

suggesting cons should kick of baca is so insane, it should be literally everyone else before baca

remember the og canvas ctas pros with the lunarlon insole? those were the best

[Useless_wooden_lurker]

suggesting cons should kick of baca is so insane, it should be literally everyone else before baca

remember the og canvas ctas pros with the lunarlon insole? those were the best

Those shoes were the absolute greatest. I hoarded about a dozen pairs of the insoles and have been putting them in the CTAS Pros they still make which objectively simply are not as good but it's all I got at the moment.

Speaking of which, for when Cons eventually bites the dust, what are my options for comparable hightop vulc shoes, preferably non-leather? Anyone?

[rawbertson.]

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suggesting cons should kick of baca is so insane, it should be literally everyone else before baca

remember the og canvas ctas pros with the lunarlon insole? those were the best

[close]

Those shoes were the absolute greatest. I hoarded about a dozen pairs of the insoles and have been putting them in the CTAS Pros they still make which objectively simply are not as good but it's all I got at the moment.

Speaking of which, for when Cons eventually bites the dust, what are my options for comparable hightop vulc shoes, preferably non-leather? Anyone?

Grasshopper, 440, Old Skool

[Dj Paul]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

[Mandatory Reload]

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suggesting cons should kick of baca is so insane, it should be literally everyone else before baca

remember the og canvas ctas pros with the lunarlon insole? those were the best

[close]

Those shoes were the absolute greatest. I hoarded about a dozen pairs of the insoles and have been putting them in the CTAS Pros they still make which objectively simply are not as good but it's all I got at the moment.

Speaking of which, for when Cons eventually bites the dust, what are my options for comparable hightop vulc shoes, preferably non-leather? Anyone?

[close]

Grasshopper, 440, Old Skool

Grasshopper and 440 are both cupsole actually, although 440 is a good in between. The Vans Crockett Hi also falls in that in between cup/vulc area.

Blazer Mids, Last Resort VM001 or VM003, Vans SK8-Hi or Authentic Mid/Hi are all in the ballpark of the Chuck Mid/Hi. NB Franky Villani shoe is NB's mid/high top vulc option. Emerica used to have a couple, the Winkowski and I think there's a Spanky Hi. LRAB and Vans are probably your best bet if you want to stay as true as possible to the Chuck. Blazer Mids are are probably the best shoe of them all but they're not quite as slim of a profile as the Chuck.

[swongolianbbq]

Speaking of which, for when Cons eventually bites the dust, what are my options for comparable hightop vulc shoes, preferably non-leather? Anyone?

[bokchoy]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.


Not true... back then everyone got paid, now only a handful of dudes are getting paid.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Nike never had 40 AMs and Pros at once. Or those other companies... we aren't including flow riders...

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

No they didn't... and lot of those brands didnt make it because skaters stopped wearing skate brand clothes to wear non-skate clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

No... no one was buying 4 star towards the end because it became wack... same thing with Dickies... we been wearing that before the skate program. They saw a business opportunity and made a Dickies skate line...

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

[Dj Paul]

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Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.


Not true... back then everyone got paid, now only a handful of dudes are getting paid.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Nike never had 40 AMs and Pros at once. Or those other companies... we aren't including flow riders...

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

No they didn't... and lot of those brands didnt make it because skaters stopped wearing skate brand clothes to wear non-skate clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

No... no one was buying 4 star towards the end because it became wack... same thing with Dickies... we been wearing that before the skate program. They saw a business opportunity and made a Dickies skate line...

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

[close]

4star went under due nike effect when Koston and Mariano leaved crail tap cause nike checks was good enough for dont care about dress money.

P.rod leaves 4star right after sign with Nike.

At one point I counted more than 40 pros on nike site: https://www.nikesb.com/team

Skate wear was more for the kid and skateboarding enthusiasts, but having pros in ads and videos commercials helped brands to sell for other people that liked skate. Now its 2 big brands paying few dudes for only wear they pants.

[Atiba Applebum]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

Don’t remember any of these being particularly good quality

Ezekiel was irrelevant in the late 90s, still exists
Elwood was irrelevant in early 00s, still exists
4star was a skater owned brand until other skaters tried to fuck with their ownership
LRG’s decline was linked to their owners untimely death, still exists
Krew tied to streetwear trend and didn’t change with them, still exists

[Mandatory Reload]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

This part is also just untrue. Tons of Nike/Adidas/etc. riders are on other clothing brands (Supreme, Carhartt WIP, Palace, Huf, etc). Some of the more contest-oriented skaters will have a dual footwear/clothing contract but doesn't seem like that's very common.

[rawbertson.]

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

Those brands don't make sense anyway. Only a small % of skaters have lots of money to buy crap like that, and those brands only cater to actual skateboarders. They were too inside baseball for most pedestrians to care about - maybe not LRG, but that one definitely was not killed by a Nike takeover lol. I think it just got played the fuck out.

Non skaters like shit like DC / Element with the huge logos. That was closer to the core (at least in their minds) where that other stuff was too far off the mark and doesnt broadcast I AM SK8, it was just some jeans and flannels and shit trying to look like Gap. Actual skaters mostly just getting stuff from thrift / department / workwear dont have the money to spend on that shit when you are buying so many boards and shoes, destroying your clothes sliding out.

[TreBombMartin]

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I think Ethan Fowler and Trapasso will be the first to get the boot.

[close]

The Trapasso pro model skated so good

[close]

Trapasso I and II were some of my favorite shoes ever. Still search for pairs online.

[close]

the tongue was perfect! the one stars are close, but the tongue and collar padding on the Trapassos were so good

https://www.consortium.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/c/o/cons_trapasso_pro_ox_charcoal_white_light_gold_1.jpg

I believe that colorway was the consensus #1. I had multiple pairs of those, amazing!

[botefdunn]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

I don't pretend to have good stats, but from what I've seen, most dudes today would be lucky to make a couple gs a month. Early 2000s companies were flush,  there were so many shoe companies and most of the money was flowing back into skating.
My guess, Ronnie Bertino made more from his Kastel pro model than Andrew Wilson does on Nike, but just a guess.

[PAWL]

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Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

[close]

I don't pretend to have good stats, but from what I've seen, most dudes today would be lucky to make a couple gs a month. Early 2000s companies were flush,  there were so many shoe companies and most of the money was flowing back into skating.
My guess, Ronnie Bertino made more from his Kastel pro model than Andrew Wilson does on Nike, but just a guess.

inflation adjusted maybe, but how long did Kastel even last?

[Dj Paul]

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Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

[close]

I don't pretend to have good stats, but from what I've seen, most dudes today would be lucky to make a couple gs a month. Early 2000s companies were flush,  there were so many shoe companies and most of the money was flowing back into skating.
My guess, Ronnie Bertino made more from his Kastel pro model than Andrew Wilson does on Nike, but just a guess.

My bad...what I wanted to mean: FEW skaters now are making a good money.

I remember reading a Kalis interview  that he says pro used to do a lot of mony not only from shoes but from decks promodels too.

[easymoneysniper]

Bummer if true

[Safariferrari]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

Ive never heard of anyone lamenting the loss of skate clothing brands from that era. Those all sucked so much tbh good riddance. 4star was good culturally at its peak but its clothes were terrible quality and Krew had its moment during the skinny jean trends. People just realized that there was no point in paying more for clothes that were worse quality than just regular workwear like carhartt or regular dickies. Also everyone got tired of plastered logos on bad quality t shirts, including the pros, and now just wears blanks.

[shannamal]

2 pages in and no one is questioning the validity of this claim?

i mentioned it somewhere else, but cons is hemorrhaging money. it wouldn't surprise me to see nike sell it off, or at least significantly downsize it

[Pbn_jake]

Selt out to big corps was not an economic problem, now we see skaters with big checks compared to core brand era.

Nike team at one point had like 40 skaters, its Adio, Es, Lakai and Fallen teams all combined. But Dvs, DC, Circa and Osiris used to like 20 skaters on the team.

Big corp shoes killed skate brand clothes also, Ezekiel, Elwood, 4 star, Krew, LRG etc. Cause big corp riders cant dress another brand shirts and other clothes.

Carhart is cooler than 4 star now, but what they has to do with skateboarding history?

Nothing remains strong and historic without strong cultural structures and rituals.

Carhartt was in the thrasher skate and destroy game.

I bought dickies cause they were 30 dollars while skate brands were more expensive

[oyolar]

Didn’t Carhartt have a huge Euro skate team presence for forever? I vaguely remember Pontus having had worked with them for a long time even before he launched Polar.

[Atiba Applebum]

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2 pages in and no one is questioning the validity of this claim?

[close]

i mentioned it somewhere else, but cons is hemorrhaging money. it wouldn't surprise me to see nike sell it off, or at least significantly downsize it

I was reading an article about it and Nike seems bullish that it’s keeping Converse, but that could also be posturing.   The article did say that Cons makes up like 3% of Nike’s total profits and they only don’t like cons being down because it’s fucking with the perception of Nike turning things around