Commentary: Are “Leaks” Ruining The New Sneaker Experience?

Note: This piece first ran on November 25, 2014. If you change “Nike Kobe 10″ to “Nike Kobe 11” it surprisingly still makes sense save for some outdated jokes and references.

The Nike Kobe 10 (or “X” for all the Jordan ‘heads who know their Roman numerals) is here! Thanks to a Nike employee who leaks things both for funsies and to get an early pulse on the community intrepid sneakerhead, we now have a definitive, absolutely, positively, 100% final look at Kobe Bryant’s latest signature shoe.  And because this is the sneaker internet that we know and love, people have already decided if they’re going to buy the shoe or not…

@kicksonfire please gawd no

— .dB (@dotdB) November 24, 2014

But wait, do we actually know that this is the Nike Kobe 10? Has Nike’s news site already announced the shoe?  Has Nike’s Twitter account already confirmed or denied that we’re going back to low-cuts as the launch model?  What if that poor excuse for a “leaked” picture (ever notice that all these “leaks” are from the same craptacular first-generation Nokia camera phone?) was actually the latest Venomenon model?  What if that tech sheet (see above) that “leaked” a few months ago was just made up by someone who was bored and typed up something on Microsoft Word just to see how much he/she can get Nike Talk buzzing? Better yet, what if that picture is actually just a fake that got their inspiration from the tech sheet that we don’t even know for sure is real?

And then there’s the “leaked” release dates that already has everybody calling the alleged shoe the “Blue Lagoon” colorway because it’s blue and lagoon… ish. No really, lagoon-ish is now a thing people now use to describe this Kobe 10 that may not even be the Kobe 10.

My guess? This is an “alpha” Nike Kobe 10 and we might just be ruining it for ourselves.  Or just making our lives just a little bit more stressful than it has to be.

The never-ending cycle of kicks news has made us uber-obssesive with our passion.  Unlike the old days when kicks just dropped in stores and you were pleasantly surprised or horribly disgusted at what you saw on the shelves, we now get to see the timeline of the shoe from their earliest form (concept sketches and wear-test samples) to when they finally hit store shelves.  For some sneakerheads, these “leaks” are fascinating looks behind the curtain and gives them an insight into the process that only makes them appreciate the work of the creative minds behind the shoes (think the Tinker Hatfields and Eric Avars of the world) even more.  But for others, this insatiable desire for knowledge leads them to a ridiculous charade of hating a shoe months before they even drop and the kicks get their a final pass through quality control to uttering one of the most annoying phrases (“they’re growing on me”) in the community when a colorway gets a little hype.

Thinks that’s an exaggeration?  Here’s an example: Remember around early May of last year when pictures of a new KD shoe started making the rounds?  The internet was quick to crap on the daring new look with some even speculating that there’s no way Nike would make that the signature Kevin Durant shoe.  The KD 6 was not popular at all prior to release; the people had already spoken.  Over a year later and the same shoe is now a contender for Kicks on Fire’s Kicks Of The Year award.  Amazing what official pictures, on-foot time and a few choice colorways will do to a reputation.

This desire to “know” is not unlike what we see in the entertainment world, especially those that have rabid fan bases.  Most Star Wars fans are at the very least curious to see how Episode VII is going to pan out, but there are also fans that are into scouring the message boards and refreshing J.J. Abrams’ reddit AMA every second just to see if he’s going to “leak” (see what we’ve been doing there?) a picture from the set or an obscure in-joke that no one outside of the cast and crew will understand and appreciate.  Today, the actual movie is the secondary experience and the anticipation and the drips of information are what really drive the train. Similarly, sneakerheads in the comments and on social media are more tuned in when “leaks” happen and are more likely to pass judgement and spread rumors than they are to tune in to a livestream of the official unveiling or actually buy the actual shoe they’ve been hating/loving on for the past several months.

Could all of this chatter actually be productive in the long run?  If fans see a “leaked” sneaker that we know isn’t set to drop for another six to eight months, is that enough time for brands to make changes or scrap projects before they even get off the ground.  We started seeing the Nike LeBron 12 months before the “NSRL” colorway hit has yet to hit stores and the reactions were mostly of the “WTF?!” variety.  Other than a “cosmetic change” (the official phrasing from Nike) that might just be much ado about nothing, we didn’t see Nike change all that much from “leak” to reveal.  A whole lot of hot air for nothing, right?  Or is it?  Now that’s classified information that we will never know.

We live in a world where the the full fury of the internet will come down upon you for daring to post spoilers (or “leaks”) for Breaking Bad months after the show ended but won’t think twice about posting a sneaker that might not even be in their final form and already declaring them to be awesome or garbage.  Which side of the “leaks”/”no leaks” side do you fall on?  Do you want you to never see the machinations behind the making of the sneaker and just want the final product and the official word of Nike/Jordan/adidas/Juan Martinez or do you crave every bit of info because it only enhances your experience? Can there be room for both sides if we just learn to play along?

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