In chapter one of my book “Nike’s Consumer Direct Offense…” I state:
Sneaker culture has become mainstream. A quick search online garners report after report on reselling sneakers and articles on how athleisure is driving fashion. One look at the income of major sneaker companies now vs the year 2000 and there is a direct correlation to the rise of the NBA which is also synonymous with the rise of Hip-Hop culture. Here is the annual revenue of the biggest sneaker companies in 2017/2018:
Nike’s annual revenue = 34.5 Billion dollars
adidas’ annual revenue = 24.4 Billion dollars
Here are the annual revenues of Nike and adidas in 2000:
Nike’s annual revenue = 8.9 Billion dollars
adidas’ annual revenue = 5 Billion dollars
I’m leading with this quote from the book because I’m trying to establish that sneaker culture has changed everything about how popular sneaker sales have grown. Wearing sneakers casually wasn’t really a thing until kids in the 70s and 80s replaced Sebagos with Puma. I go into this in some detail in the book, but the most important statement is that sneakers are mainstream and as much as those who have been at the forefront of sneaker media and culture want it to remain “pure” and all about the kicks, sneaker culture is comparable to anything that has been commodified.
If it makes money it will be driven towards the masses and the masses will alter how the culture is perceived. Rock music, Rap music, Sports, have all been shifted and the benefits are obvious. Millionaires and Billionaires are being created. The people who love these things are at odds with making money and staying true to the culture.
I start this post this way because a week ago I dropped this article below to keep track of the dialogue being initiated about the show:
A Conversation is Developing Around Complex’s “Sneakerheads” Sitcom on Netflix
In the link/article above, a discussion on the lack of Black people involved behind the scenes was taking shape. There was also the topic of the story being appropriated from actual things that have happened in sneaker culture. In the comment sections and in reviews “real” sneakerheads both love/hate the show. I posted the article above to keep track while I had a chance to watch the series. I completed my viewership last week. My wife, who lives a sneaker life because of me, but isn’t invested in any part of it other how much money I make, lol, left me with the most memorable topic of discussion from the short series.
Complex, as a business, catered to the hype and business of selling Hip-Hop and sneaker culture. When a long time analyst and cultural critic like Jazerai Allen-Lord comments, in so many words, that this show is a continuation of Complex’s business model which remains sexist and racist, her position is valid. She worked there and has insight I could never have. When sneaker culture expert Sean Williams challenges the community to tell their own stories because no one can represent the culture better than those in it, he has a valid point as well.
Complex, however, has investors. Their loyalty is to ensuring that their employees stay employed and that they generate income. There isn’t anything wrong with that. It’s an excellent business model that brings the company 200 Million a year in revenue. Complex shouldn’t be held to a standard that caters to the desires and hopes of multiple demographics within sneaker culture, because the business wasn’t born that way. It doesn’t matter that their business was built on the back of Black culture… or does it?
Remember I said that the one major topic of discussion from the show I remember is from my wife? In the show there is a running reference to “The Head Nod“. The writers of the show stress that this is something people outside of sneaker culture would never understand. In the show (spoiler alert), the conversation arrives at the doorstep of the main character’s wife, Christine (played by Yaani King Mondeschein).
What I Liked About the Show
What I liked about the show is the non-traditional role reversal of Devin being a stay at home dad (I have a few friends who are stay-at-home dads) and this bit of writing was cool. I also appreciated that Christine was about to take the bar. Here is a couple living in Los Angeles in a beautiful home with a woman at the helm who is about to become a lawyer.
I’m a San Diegan… Our 2 bedroom apartment with no dishwasher or air conditioning was right at 1800 a month. It was also in Asian gang territory, with a Somalian gang on the other side, but that’s not the point. The show’s leads are a married Black couple and the entire show is built on the memory of the pair of kicks being worn when the couple first met. That shit is powerful.
The Problem With the Show
Back to the show and that major point of discussion. The Head Nod. Christine has natural hair. The reason I established that Complex isn’t about the more serious side of things is that when the White girl comes to Christine about her not understanding the The Head Nod, if the Black writers were actually well versed in Black culture, they would have known that Black women basically started The Head Nod. It’s been an element of understanding between Black folks forever. For the purpose of this discussion I will focus on another culture, Natural Hair. My wife ran the site Natural-Ness since the mid 2000s. Her writing shows up in books by Curly Nikki and while she stopped writing on the site years ago, her sister (who has locs) took over. The domain isn’t there anymore, but the site is still around. In the natural hair community when a Black woman makes the decision to do what’s called The Big Chop, cutting off all of their hair to grow their natural hair after years of perms and damaging hair treatments, those women have a code of support which includes The Head Nod.
I remembered my wife’s comment that the show got that wrong and I immediately thought of Jazzy and her comment on Complex. After I finished the show I looked up the writers:
| Jay Longino | … | (created by) (6 episodes, 2020) |
| Jason Belleville | … | (2 episodes, 2020) |
| Carl Tart | … | (2 episodes, 2020) |
| Kara Brown | … | (1 episode, 2020) |
| Inny Clemons | … | (1 episode, 2020) |
| Rose McAleese | … | (1 episode, 2020) |
3 of the writers are Black, listed above: Carl, Kara and Inny. There is diversity on the writer’s staff. The cast is led by three black actors. That’s diversity. The rest of the people who worked on the show, and there are a lot, there isn’t much diversity. I’m adding this because Jazzy was right and Sean was right.
My Thoughts on Complex and Sneakerheads
When I look at Complex, I position myself as the alternative to Complex. What they do has considerable monetary value and it makes money. I never expect big business to save things. I operate a sneaker and lifestyle site at a considerably smaller level than Complex. I do deep dives because I don’t expect Complex to be anything other than a surface look at the culture. I’ve made myself the roots. Complex purpose in creating Sneakerheads is to continue building a powerhouse media company. Sneakerheads adds to the wealth of content they create. Should they do a better job of diversity throughout the ensemble working on the show? Hell yes. I can’t lie, it’s shitty to watch people eat on the culture created by Black and Brown people… BUT Sean was right, we can tell our own stories. Unfortunately, money makes money and getting to 200 million a year requires investment. I’ve made myself one of the roots, but this site makes nothing so my content never hits the masses. That isn’t Complex’s fault; that’s just the way it is.
Sneakerheads was a fun series. Being so embedded in the culture there were obvious places where I could complain, but I didn’t because the show was par. It was what I expected. It was funny at points and hella cheesy, but to be fair if you take a moment to browse sneakers on YouTube what you will find is going to be corny. I began this post with the quote that sneaker culture is mainstream. If you enter into this show understanding an idea like Drake is considered the greatest rapper by people who rank rappers today, then you get that mainstream is topical. If you’re like me and you know that Sa Roc is the best emcee today, but you get why people like Drake, you can walk into this show and understand it was created by a company that has made sneakerheads out of everybody… then you know what to expect.
Oh, I don’t care if you’re serious about sneaker culture or not, the last scene when the neighbor explains how he got his White Cement 4s nails the reality of sneaker culture today.
