Imagine the sound of fresh sneakers echoing from a well executed cross over on Rucker Park pavement. Submerging yourself in decades of sneaker history creatively written well before the boom of Sneakerhead culture. Picture the timeless skill of blending hip hop beats for a crowded club with only the aid of clean technique needles, turntables and a mixer. Or Fathom sitting down with some of Nike’s greatest designers and creating multi pairs of exclusive kicks with your influence incorporated within the stitching that holds it together. 

In a world where sneakers are more than an athletic shoe, there is still someone who knows the origin and basis for all the sneaker hype. The well-known Street ball player, critically acclaimed author of “Where’d You Get Those? NYC’s Sneaker Culture 1960-1987” (Testify Books), world-class club DJ and host of ESPN2’s “It’s the Shoes” series, Robert “Bobbito” Garcia sits with Premium Plus to explain true origin of the Sneakers rise from an Athletic Shoe to a fashion staple.

So you’re a “reformed sneaker addict”?

Bobbito: I am. I started wearing joints in the ‘70s. It’s been a long stretch. I’m no longer the guy that purveys the stores feening to find that limited edition release, or the perfect color. I don’t have anything more to prove. You can say I’m retired. If you look at my book, Where’d You Get Those? New York City’s Sneaker Culture 1960-1987 (Testify Books), you’ll see me with very different sneakers throughout the years. I even customized back in that era. Don’t get it twisted; I still buy sneakers, and get a lot of freebies. I still look at people’s feet when they walk by.

I read in an interview that you give your sneakers away to charity, which one?

 Absolutely. I donate regularly to Hoops 4 Hope.  Bounce Magazine, which I co-founded, featured an article on them in ‘04. They provide sneakers, basketballs, and uniforms to underprivileged kids in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The program attracts the youth with basketball clinics, and while they have their attention they broaden horizons about HIV and life skills. Now sneakers that I may buy or are given to me, I give to them.

Is it easy to send them the sneakers you want to give away?

They will take care of shipping sneakers and things to Zimbabwe; you only have to worry about getting the package to them in the US.

In your book, Where’d You Get Those?, you focused in on the beginning of the sneaker culture, did you feel that was important?

Mega important! Mainstream media was writing that the sneaker phenomenon was new. I had to document the truth. I proved unequivocally that African Americans and Latinos here in New York created the movement through self-expression, and that it was big in our community before all the hype. It was then that the sneaker craze jumped off to new levels.

On your Bobbito AF1’s, did you choose the colorways?

I chose the colors, fabrics, and the Bobbito logo. I worked together with an Art Director from Nike. I’m stupid happy with the way they came out! I picked colors that would work well with those who would buy them. I’m a sneaker connoisseur, a ballplayer, and a hip-hop kid. I wanted my sneakers to appeal to all 3. Whether you’re a 17 year old online looking for sneakers, or an old school ballplayer that wants to go play. It’s an old school and new school aesthetic. I wanted to achieve new combinations. No one has ever put Wheat and Cactus together. I have seen other combinations that are interesting but don’t work together. I wear my sneakers; I do not put them in the closet.

So anything new coming up this year for you?

I’m going to have the AF1 Kool Bob Love spring pack. I’m also releasing another pack in the fall for the 25th anniversary of the AF1. I’m an Editor at Large for Bounce Magazine  and write a sneaker column there. I was also a reporter for the NY Knicks this past season. I was their first Latino reporter in the 60-year history of the franchise. If anyone wants more information, they can check out my page on Myspace.