
I've been on the Tiago 1010s for over four years now, and I wanted to share how I've been preparing them for most of this time. It's the only shoe I skate. I'd guess that I have had 25-30 pairs over this span, skating spring to fall outdoors and indoors over the winter. I have 22 pairs of brand new OrthoLite insoles, so I've been doing this method for at least that many pairs of shoes. Credit to Henry Sanchez for introducing me to it.
I unlace the shoes and remove the insole, opening the tongue as far as possible, exposing the midsole and its liner. Then, I use a box-cutter to score the midsole, being mindful of the depth and using appropriate pressure. I will make about 10 horizontal scores per shoe, aiming for about 50% of the midsole depth. I haven't cut through a shoe yet, I don't think it's possible as the midsole and sole below are pretty hard comparatively, and the thin spots are tough to get leverage on.
Twice, towards the end of the shoe's life, a single cut in the midsole fully broke through, usually near the forefoot. It didn't affect performance and they actually felt really broken in, I skated them til they were bald. Your mileage may vary based on preference, but start slow and remember to reduce pressure on thinner areas toward the front. My last pair (pictured) were well loved and the sole remained fully intact the whole time.
After making my cuts into the midsole I will then bend the shoes in my hands as much as I can, trying to really open up the midsole and dome out the toe area. Bending in all directions is important, especially pushing inwards (basically crushing it), as I find that helps get the front half nice and open. Then I will fully taco the shoes and wedge them under something that won't budge, like a couch, bench, fridge or in my case the metal bar of a heavy shoe rack. I leave these shoes here for at least overnight but usually a day or two.
Once I am ready to skate them, I will take the shoes out, lace them up and put in SuperFeet FlexThin insoles. I am a fan of additional arch support and SuperFeet are both a decent price (scope for sales) and easily available. I have tried a number of insoles including stock, FP gamechangers low-profile, flat foam insoles (like from a 440), SuperFeet Greens and Run Cushion. For skating, the FlexThin does the best job of being super thin on the toes while adding enough additional arch support. They don't have a rigid plastic piece like the Greens do, so they will lose support over time. I replace them every 8-12 months.
Now that the shoe is assembled I will fire up my electric heat gun and warm them up over the course of a couple minutes, in an effort to loosen the glue and get more of a form fit on my first wear. I'll then strap on those toasty fuckers and skate some local paths we have here, just pushing both ways and breaking them in. After that initial skate, they are good to go and feel incredible.
For me, I think these shoes are the best for my late 30's wide-ish feet. I have wasted a lot of money on stuff I don't like, so I've been sticking with what's working. NB's quality control is very good in my opinion, I've only ever had one pair I thought fit poorly. Manufacturing did appear to change over time, they got worse, then better and have been good for some time now.
This process really only takes 10-15 minutes and adds a lot of boardfeel to a shoe that fits me well, but whose cupsole and midsole can feel "numb" or disconnected from the board at times, especially when fresh.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk and what's wrong with me.