Reginald Ferguson [00:00:00]: Julian sees them and he looks down, and he just shakes his head. I couldn't have felt more more disappointed because of his disappointment. I had failed. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:15]: Welcome to the Fashion Geek podcast. The show that helps you learn more about men's fashion and get some tips to help you dress your best. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:24]: This is Reg Ferguson, Reginald Ferguson [00:00:25]: fashion geek number 1. And I'm a men's fashion consultant here in New York City, born and raised. My mission is to help you learn more about men's fashion so you can become fashion confident. Reginald Ferguson [00:00:40]: 50 years ago, an incredible sneaker was made. It was made for runners, but then everyone started rocking them. 50 years ago, a culture was being created. At first, no one gave it a chance, then became a worldwide phenomenon. The people who created the culture wore sneakers. This episode is how the 2 combined and how a third came along for the ride or run. Check it out. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:14]: Hey. If you ever found yourself staring at the closet, not knowing what to wear, or if the idea of shopping for clothes makes you feel physically ill, wait till the end of the show and I have something for you. But for now, let's get to the show. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:30]: Yo. This is Reg Ferguson, fashion geek number 1. How are you? So guess what? I'm doing a solo joint today, but it's a little special because it's not strictly audio. I'm doing video as well, y'all. It's pretty cool, but bear with me. Be gentle. So how did a sneaker made for track runners in the Olympics become one of the more popular sneakers of all time? Do you know what I'm talking about? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. I'm gonna try to keep it a mystery for a little bit. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:10]: In 1968, it's the Mexico City Olympics. Supposed to have been amazing. Actually, Noah OG who went in his Volkswagen van. I thought it was pretty cool. Big shout out to Marvin Vippler. Bob Beamon broke the high jump record there. It's pretty awesome. 2 guys decided that track runners needed better support, essentially a better shoot. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:41]: 1 of the guys you may know. 1 of the guys you may not. Who were they? Phil Knight, AKA Shoe Dog, a book I recommend, and Bill Bowerman, track and field coach at University of Oregon. They made a sneaker that based on the popularity of the 19 68 Olympics, they had ready for the 1972 Olympics, which was in Germany, and as you probably know, that became an infamous Summer Olympics. The sneaker was called the Aztec. It's a pretty cool name. Adidas didn't think so because they had a sneaker already called the Azteca so they were threatening to sue so these 2 guys decided to call it I think they'd called it the Mexico and that was gonna stick, but I think because of the Adidas beef, they decided to do something even better. They decided to call this sneaker the Cortez, after a non Cortez, the Spanish conquistador, that ruined the Aztec nation. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:03]: Take that. Take that. So what are we talking about, ladies and gentlemen? Yes. The Nike Cortez. One of the coolest sneakers ever designed. I'm gonna explain to you why. First of all, 72? I didn't know it was out that long. My recollection starts in the eighties. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:24]: At that time, living here in New York City and starting to live with my grandparents up in the Bronx, a culture was being created. A culture that would start in the 5 boroughs, but specifically in the Bronx, and then go throughout the country, and ultimately the world. We're talking about hip hop. And for me, because I'm old school, hip hop means rap, means break dancing, means graffiti, means DJing. I know it's interchangeable now, and I get that, and I do the same thing myself. But for this episode, that formation makes a lot of sense for me. In the eighties, when I was going to school, I was a preppy, and there was this cool kid, his name was Julian Kalnesian, Castle Hill Projects. If anyone knows of him, please connect him to me. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:20]: I have never seen him since, and I have thought about him often. Julian was a cool kid, and for some reason, he took a liking to me and I to him. He was a heck of a lot more popular than I was, and I thought he was a cool guy, and we became really good friends. I saw these sneakers he had on, and they were Nikes. Now in New York, I like to think we're a Nike City, but we're also an Adidas City, we were a Converse City, heck, and then in the eighties these foreign brands start coming in, Fila, Lotto, so we've always had a diversity, but Nike and New York definitely, and Adidas too, but Nike and New York have a strong connect, And he had on these cool sneakers, and I knew I was gonna get a pair of sneakers soon. I think my grandpa was gonna hook me up, up. So I was like, wow. Those sneakers are cool. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:13]: He goes, man. You gotta get some. Okay. They're Nikes. Alright. Yeah. Alright. I got it. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:21]: So I went to Modell's with my grandpa. Gotta go to Moe's. I knew them before they had that motto. So we go and I see these cool Nikes, nylon, blue suede toe, but a gray silver stripe. And I thought that was so cool, and a waffle bottom. And if you know anything about Nike, they're known for a waffle bottom. So I'm in. I'm like, man, can't wait to rock these. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:50]: I take them to school, put them on, Julian sees them and he looks down and he just shakes his head. I couldn't have felt more more disappointed because of his disappointment. I had failed. I didn't have the Cortez. I can't remember the exact model of Nikes I had. And if you've ever checked out my one and only blog post on my website, which has to change according to my SEO freelancer. Otherwise, I'm toast. I think I wrote the name down in the blog, but the bottom line was I wasn't cool like Julian, and I was really bummed out. Reginald Ferguson [00:07:37]: Fast forward within that same school year, I got some nickels and dimes put together, some dollars, and I went sneaker shopping on my own, probably with my best friend of all time, Daryl Walker. And I got the leather Cortez. That's right. The classics. White leather, red stripe, white and blue outer sole. I brought him to school. Julian gave me the nod, and he smiled. I was in heaven because now I was official, y'all. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:22]: I was a b boy, Julian was a breakdancer, I was not that guy, but dancing? Yeah, doing the Smurf, doing all kinds of the webbo, all those things at the roller skating rink that I could rock. Practiced all the time. So those Nikes were my entree into hip hop culture. What I find really fascinating about those sneakers is that the Cortez and hip hop, essentially, they grew up together, they're intertwined. Hip hop just celebrated 50th anniversary, These Cortez, essentially 50 somewhat years old. Who would have thought? So I'm gonna tell you a story. I have a friend whose daughter maybe still works for Nike, and big shout out to Rebecca, and big shout out to Robin Brown, her mom. And one day, I was hanging out with Rob on a Saturday, and I looked down and I jumped. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:29]: She had the classics on y'all. The classics. The leather joints. Now remember, the nylons are classics too, but it took me back to my childhood. I had sworn to myself that I would never revisit a pair of sneakers. Dungs, 1st generation. Jordans, never worn. I'm a Knicks fan. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:51]: Take that. Take that. But I looked at those Cortez, and I fell back in love. I went back into a simpler time, and I said to myself, if there was ever a sneaker, I remember saying that to her too, To revisit would be those. This is pre COVID. I'm doing some business out in Philly, and I'm killing time. And I'm in Center City, and I'm in downtown. I'm in their fashion district right on Broad. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:20]: And I saw a fact, a Nike factory outlet store. Went in, just checking out stuff, and I saw them y'all, the Cortez. I tried a few till I found the ones in the right size, went up to the counter. Sister asked me if I had the app, I did, And lo and behold, my app had, like, a 20, 30, 40% coupon. So I freaking scored. And I fit that box into my luggage. I had taken the Amtrak down the field. I had fallen in love with it again. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:01]: I had fallen in love again. It was so cool. What makes them classic? Well, again, you have the nylon, and my friend Julian had the navy with the suede toe with the white stripe, and the white and blue outer sole. Dope. I had, again, the white, and they sparkled. And they really sparkled when I was a kid in the eighties. Why? Because anybody living in New York City knew you had to keep your sneakers fresh. So how did you do that? Well, you carried a rag, you carried a toothbrush, and you carried a bottle of kiwi liquid polish. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:47]: My grandparents would look at me I'd be in the bathroom after school scrubbing away. I also used a little comet. And, man, spread that polish on. I was good to go, because it was all about being fresh. I wanted to be fresh. I'm so happy that I got these sneakers again. When I rock them, and particularly when I'm on the train, and I see younger cats with them on, I give them the nod, because it's game recognize I just think it's I don't know. I can't help it. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:24]: And if you're watching, you could see it. It just brings me back to a super duper time. I just am so impressed how a sneaker can make a transition like that. But speaking of transitions, here's some words from the OG that are very very concerning. So I was in my neighborhood and I was going past Luana's Tavern. Big shout out to Enrique Meron, the owner. He's always checking me out. He scans me for everything. Reginald Ferguson [00:13:02]: Hey. Hey. You got you got that watch there? Or, yo. Look at that belt. He sees my Cortez and he goes oh you got the Gumps yo, the Gumps? What? Forrest Gumps? This is what people call my beloved Nike Cortez? Gumps? Okay. I wanna be clear here. Yeah. I saw the movie. Reginald Ferguson [00:13:29]: I like the movie. I remember the scene. Jenny, Jenna, gives Forrest the Nikes, I remember all that and he runs across the country and then people following him and it's cool and then he just stops running. I remember all of that. The movie came out in 94. What I'm saying is, here's a sneaker that started in a subculture, then went to another subculture, and now is part of popular culture. That's what time does, y'all. But I hate when people call them Gumps. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:03]: They're Cortez, give them respect. It's so freaking annoying. But if you're much younger why wouldn't you call them that but my whole point is ladies and gentlemen, please let us never never forget the impact that these sneakers had on the hip hop culture. They always have and they always will. And it's a testament to this sneaker that it can straddle multiple cultures. So here's a question, if you ever had them would you rock them again? And do you think that make you fashion confused or fashion confident? I think you already know the answer. The reason why I got them twice. I think it's some French song, right? Edith Pia falling in love again? I did it y'all and so can you. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:03]: Always be fly. So hopefully you learned a lot about the Nike Cortez. Do you rock them? Will you rock them? What color? Are you rocking the leather or the nylon that suede you? Will they make you fashion confused or fashion confident? You can find me on Instagram at New York Fashion Geek, on LinkedIn at Reginald Ferguson, and on my website at nyfashigeek.com. If you wanna level up your sneaker game, then make it happen. Take initiative and become fashion confident in 30 minutes. All you have to do is email me at reg@nyfashioneek.com for a consultation. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:52]: Well, that's a wrap. To my team of interns past and present who have helped make the Fashion Geek podcast what it is today, Reginald Ferguson [00:16:01]: I thank you. Always be fly.