The Kickback Sneaker Podcast: Recent Episodes
Fabian Gorsler, Josh Dominic
The Kickback is a sneaker podcast co-hosted by Fabian Gorsler (Fabs) and Josh Dominic aka JD, two sneakerheads with way too many shoes. On every episode, we will discuss weekly news, trends, and releases, as well as topics ranging from starting your collection to storing your sneakers and everything else a bonafide sneakerhead needs to know.
This week Josh is fresh back from his trip to Amsterdam, a city he dubs "one of the most dangerous in the world" and Fabs gearing up for wedding SZN. Since a lot has happened in the sneaker world, the boys discuss some of the hottest news, ranging from the attempted break-in at A Ma Maniere in Atlanta, Benjamin Kickz claiming he gets his sneakers direct from the source (read: Nike). In addition, Josh and Fabs discuss whether JJJJOUND is getting too boring or if his signature style will stand the test of time.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://instagram.com/kickback.pod Follow Josh on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jdkicks6 Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://instagram.com/maisaipak
This week, Fabs and Josh discuss whether Nike Air Jordan 1 hype has reached its lowest point in recent memory. Are sneakerheads over the silhouette that many credit with kick-starting sneaker culture as we know it? Whose fault is it that AJ1 colorways are sitting on shelves and not selling out? What should Jordan Brand do?
All that, and more, is covered in this week's episode.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/
Air Max Day 2022 saw Nike put a lot of effort into fostering a sense of community and bringing back live events across some of Europe's biggest cities following a two-year Coronavirus hiatus. Josh and Fabs discuss what went down, what they thought of it, and what we expect moving forward.
Special guest Chris Danforth shares his first-hand experiences competing at Nike's Quiz Show as part of Team Berlin in London.
In addition, the boys chat their favorite pickups, upcoming drops, and a roundup of news.
This week, Josh and Fabs dive deep into the world of sneaker news, breaking down the biggest headlines and storylines that have popped up over the past two weeks.
Fabs noticed that a lot of ’90s basketball sneakers (particularly from the Swoosh) are making a comeback, that Air Max Day has been pretty boring recently, and that Teddy Santis has already proven his worth to New Balance. Josh talks about the return of the elusive Nike Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” colorway and what to expect from this year's rumored return, as well as YEEZYs brand strategy.
This week Josh and Fabs go into detail about some of their biggest (and most personal) sneaker regrets. Whether it was sneakers they regretted buying, sneakers they regretted selling, or sneakers they regretted not buying, some of these stories are relatable AF.
Additionally, the boys discuss their latest pickups, what they've been up to, and what upcoming drops they're looking forward to.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/ Follow Fabian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/
This week, Josh is back from quarantine and the dynamic duo take on the NBA All-Star Weekend. Fabs walks us through a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about one of the most iconic Slam Dunk Contest moments in history, while JD lists off some of the best sneaker releases in recent years.
In addition, the boys talk about Kanye going crazy on Instagram, the Super Bowl, and the Union x Nike Dunk Lows.
This week, Josh is out sick, so Fabs runs us through some of the most important news stories of the past 14 days, as well as what sneaker drops are coming up and require our attention. Everything from Nike going back to court to Joe FreshGoods’ New Balance collaboration being unveiled is included.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
This week, Josh & Fabs do their best to ruffle some feathers with their hottest sneaker takes. Josh has a very spicy opinion on an OG Nike Air Jordan, while Fabs is coming in hot and taking no prisoners.
Josh and Fabs kick off the new year with over an hour’s worth of sneaker resolutions, predications, and most-anticipated drops of 2022. Find out what Josh wants to achieve this year, while Fabian has a couple of big announcements to share with you.
Follow the Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/
Josh and Fabs round up the year by running through their most noteworthy sneaker moments of 2021, as well as their picks for the top 10 best sneakers of the past 12 months.
In addition, Josh walks us through his latest pickups, and the boys look ahead to what will likely be some of the last drops of the year.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
Virgil Abloh passed away over the weekend after battling with a rare form of cancer for two years. The Off-White™ founder, Louis Vuitton Men’s creative director, and all-around visionary left a huge impression on the fashion industry and streetwear and sneaker culture.
In this episode, Fabs and Josh talk about how Virgil has influenced them, their favorite Off-White™ x Nike kicks, and what the designer’s lasting legacy will be.
In addition, we discuss our latest pickups and upcoming drops.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
This week, Josh and Fabs take on a very serious topic in the wake of the Astroworld Festival tragedy. In addition to the regular programming, the Kickback duo discuss what went down at Astroworld Fest and how the reaction to Travis Scott has been since.
As this is a highly emotional topic, we understand if some of you don’t feel able to listen to that segment. It starts at 19:30 and ends at 36:46 for those that want to skip over it. We felt it was necessary to discuss, due to the events’ significance within our culture. In no way do we want to disrespect any of the victims, their families, and the survivors of this tragedy.
This week, Fabs and Josh take a look at the most underrated sneaker models from some of the biggest brands. Then, both share their pick for the most underrated sneaker brand, as well as their latest pick ups and upcoming drops.
Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/ Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/
This week, Josh has a massive amount of LPUs, while Fabian has his fair share of new sneakers, too.
The main topic covers hype and how real or fabricated that feeling of “got to have it” is. How much of hype is down to clever marketing by brands and how much of it is organic or authentic? The boys explore this and more in episode 19 of The Kickback Podcast.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabian on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
The Kickback boys literally kick back, relax, and go through some of the biggest release stories from the past two weeks. First up is the Patta x Nike Air Max 1, which is followed closely by the YEEZY Knit Runner and YEEZY Foam Runner in all red (new Red Octobers, anyone?). In addition, we talk about Drake’s collaboration with Nike.
Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/ Follow the Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/
This week, Josh and Fabs discuss the concept of a sneaker of the moment. What criteria needs to be hit for a model to be considered the de facto sneaker of the time? What is the current sneaker of the moment? What sneaker has got next?
Both Fabs and Josh have slightly differing opinions on what could be coming up next. Listen to find out.
And, as always, the boys talk about their LPUs and upcoming drops.
Follow: The Kickback: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Fabs: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Josh: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
This week, and following the releases of CLB and DONDA, Fabs and Josh discuss all things YEEZY. We walk you through the entire history of YEEZY sneaker collaborations, Kanye West’s adidas deal, and all noteworthy releases from the last few years. To finish off, we also pick our top three all-time YEEZYs.
As always, we also discuss LPUs and upcoming drops.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
This week Josh & Fabs discuss the similarities and differences between sneaker culture in the US and sneaker culture in Europe. Everything from different tastes, brand affinity, and origin of the subcultures gets discussed. Additionally, the boys are back with their latest pickups, upcoming drops, and a healthy does of sneaker news.
Follow The Kickback on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
This week, Josh and Fabs discuss what they like and what they don’t like about so-called “Sneaker Days.” They review recent ones, such as SNKRS Day and YEEZY Day, and talk briefly about Gray Day and Air Max Day.
Additionally, the Kickback crew chats about Travis Scott’s latest Nike collab, what they think of the fact that colorways of the Off-White™ x Nike Dunk Low “The 50” will be distributed randomly, and much more.
This week, Fabs and Josh discuss the usual: latest pickups and upcoming drops, as well as a news-filled episode. Leading the episode is the news that Nike’s factories in Vietnam have been closed due to COVID-19, which could result in some drop delays.
Other news includes Nike’s lawsuits against big-time sneaker customizers and the upcoming YEEZY Day (August 2 and 3), which will likely see a lot of popular styles restock.
Follow The Kickback Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickback.pod/ Follow Fabian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisaipak/ Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdkicks6/
Fabs and Josh are back at it with the hot takes, this time talking about their favorite five shoes of the year so far. Both co-hosts pick five shoes each, with predictably very different rankings.
Additionally, Fabs and Josh list off some honorable mentions that were sent to them on Instagram but did not make either of their lists.
As always, they talk about their latest pickups (Fabian sets a record) and upcoming drops.
Following our big news kick last week, Fabs and Josh dissect Fabian’s Highsnobiety article on whether sneaker collaborations have become over saturated and what they are still worth nowadays, especially with multiple high-heat drops every weekend.
In line with the main topic, the guys talk LV x Nike Air Force 1 and share their thoughts on this blockbuster collaboration.
And, as always, Josh and Fabs share their latest pick-ups (which features a Kickback first) and what upcoming drops to look out for.
This week, we take a break from our Classics Series and do a big news catch up. On the menu this time around are: Offspring’s failed attempt at curbing resale by destroying the AMBUSH x Nike Dunk High boxes and selling the sneakers without them; Nike being granted a trademark for the Air Jordan 1 High, Low, and Low SE to combat bootleggers and fakes; and Virgil Abloh’s “The 50” is confirmed and uploaded on Nike SNKRS, giving us our best look yet at the monster collaboration.
Additionally, as they do every week, Josh & Fabs talk about their latest pickups and favorite upcoming drops.
Fabs and Josh dive deep into the world of New Balance, taking a look at two of the New England brand’s most iconic sneakers: the 990 series and the 574.
In addition, the boys debate the upcoming Union LA x Nike Air Jordan 4s and discuss what drops they’re looking forward to in the coming weeks.
Following last week’s crash course on iconic adidas sneakers, Fabs and Josh take a look at two of Nike’s most classic sneakers. Fabs walks us through the Nike Air Tailwind from 1979, Nike’s first-ever Air-equipped sneaker, while Josh runs through the Nike Dunk’s glory-filled history.
We also talk about our latest pickups (spoiler alert: Josh has got his hands on some heaters again) as well as Nike’s obsession with three-way collaborations.
To finish things off, we take a look at what’s dropping soon.
In this week’s episode, Fabs and Josh launch a new mini-series called “The Classics.” Kicking things off, we take a look at two of adidas’ most timeless models: the Stan Smith and the Forum Low.
Josh tackles the Forum, diving deep into the ’80s, while Fabs takes a look at why the Stan Smith became the fashion icon it is today.
In addition, we go through our latest pickups as well as what sneakers we’re looking forward to copping in the coming weeks.
This week, Josh and Fabs dissect the Highsnobiety Q1 Sneaker Report, which uses StockX data to tell the biggest stories of the past three months. Fabs summarizes whether we’re feeling Dunk Fatigue™ (and if hype is dying out), how Nike’s strategy in Q1 was different to adidas’, and why there is such a huge crossover between sneaker and trading card collectors.
In addition, both pick their three favorite sneakers of Q1 (one of Fabs’ selection was technically released in April aka Q2 but we’ll ignore that little slip up).
Josh & Fabs discuss the announcement that Teddy Santis will become creative director of New Balance Made in USA in 2022 and whether NFTs and digital sneakers are the future of the industry (and how we could see them implemented).
Also, as is the case every week, Fabs has another almost pick-up but not story and Josh looks ahead at what sneaker drops he’s most excited for.
Josh & Fabs discuss the recent announcement that Stone Island and New Balance have signed a multi-year deal and what kind of sneakers that could bring. Fabs has a funny LPU story (where an L became a W and then turned into an L again) and Josh has his sights set on some tasty upcoming drops.
The meaty part of this episode is dedicated to sneaker collaborations, what goes into them, why they exist, and what constitutes success — from the brand, creative, and consumer POVs.
This week, we discuss the latest Nike backdooring scandal resulting in an exec handing in her resignation for the role her son played in a major reselling business. As per usual, we also talk about our latest pickups and what drops we have our eyes on in the upcoming weeks.
Our main topic of the day is “Where to buy sneakers.” A question many starting out in the sneaker world are probably asking themselves. Josh covers the art of scouring the web for resale steals, while Fabs talks about his love for browsing the sale sections.
In the second episode of The Kickback, we discuss our latest pickups and upcoming releases, as well as the pandemonium that followed two Air Jordan releases over the past two weeks (yup, we’re talking about the Trophy Room AJ1 and Carmine 6s).
Our big topic of the week is budgeting for sneakers. Both of us share our tactics for staying sane and — more importantly — financially stable in an age where sneaker drops are coming at you faster than you can think. We also discuss how much is too much to spend on sneakers, as well as whether we pay resale for shoes we’ve missed out on.
This episode is a little longer than usual, but it’s definitely worth it. Enjoy!
In the first-ever episode of The Kickback, we (Josh and Fabian) discuss how best to start your sneaker collection. With sneakers infiltrating every corner of pop culture, a lot of people might be interested in collecting but unsure of how to start. We outline what’s most important and what to look out for when you start making your very first sneaker purchases.
Additionally, we talk shop about how the sneaker releases have been so far in 2021, what’s to come and what we’re looking forward to. Dunk fatigue is also a hot topic, as is New Balance’s scorching streak of collaborations.