For my latest design I wanted to balance the simplicity of my previous post with something a little more dynamic. After throwing down some sketches in my Moleskine, I hit upon a thumbnail that had potential. The end result was solid mid-cut skate sneaker that I’m pretty happy with. 

The primary visual element is a color popped eyestay overlay attached to the front quarter panel with a closed seam for grip tape abrasion. The top of the eyestay continues into the main ankle overlay for stability. The heel overlay is offset from the collar lining to keep the achilles notch nice and soft. Because I wanted to add some flavor to this design, I made the tongue pretty long and added a closed seam so it would kick forward nicely.  Lastly, I the sole is a combination of a molded rubber cupsole with a compression molded EVA foam midsole partially exposed at the shank. The heel of the cup has a slightly concave profile that smooths out as it wraps around to the sidewall.

The name is a tip of the hat to the gritty and abysmal skate park in Hyde Park, MA. It’s a park that perfectly reflects the realities of skateboarding in Massachusetts. Concrete that’s chipped and cracked. Warped and destroyed sidewalks from snow maintenance. Black ice on the mini ramp. Skaters and BMX kids who are there year round in any weather.

Not sure if anyone has written about this, but a couple years ago some local skaters took the time to build and pour a bunch of concrete ramps that were hilariously omitted from the original plans. There were literally no good approach ramps in the park aside from one shallow double sided funbox that was more suited for BMX. The ramps that these kids poured weren’t exactly an homage to German engineering, but they added some key features that were totally missing. Sure enough, someone from the city eventually started creepin’, and shortly thereafter they were all demolished.

So, thank you lawyers and insurance agents and all the other people who ruin everything for everyone. 

After a couple weeks traveling out of country, I finally managed to put the last touches on a design that’s been 85% complete since March. This latest concept is a wide, heavily padded BMX sneaker with material piecing to accommodate the skaters who still like to rock the fat boys. 

Like most of my designs, the upper was an exercise in simple function. The eyestay underlay is a micro-injection molded piece with a small color hit in the recessed last logo. The front and rear quarter panels are sewn to the stitching flange molded into the eyestay, and should sit flush with the top surface. The placement of the quarter stitching is behind the ollie area, so the upper won’t disintegrate if it’s used for serious skateboarding. 

The main quarter and vamp details are intended to be laser cut perforations in suede or nubuck. From a manufacturing standpoint, the combination the laser perfing with the molded lateral and medial eyestay pieces would make this shoe pretty expensive. I chose to not add any significant tongue overlays to maintain optimal breathability. With the amount of padding in the tongue and collar of a BMX sneaker, anything that increases the insulation will just make the foot sweat even more.