HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Nike / NIke A few weeks ago now infamous sneaker reseller Michael Malekzadeh a.k.a Zadeh Kicks was charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and money laundering after jerking many sneakerheads out of millions of dollars. Now his own personal collection is up for auction courtesy of the U.S. Government. According to Fortune, more than 60,000 pairs of sneakers that Malekzadeh held at a warehouse have hit the auction block in an attempt to recoup some of the $70 million that the reseller had swindled out of countless customers who pre-ordered sneakers that he couldn’t have possibly obtained. Of the tens of thousands of sneakers that the government is reselling (LOL), 1,100 pairs are from Malekzadeh’s own personal collection and have an estim...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Black Footwear Forum / BFF The 2022 Black Footwear Forum (BFF), formerly the African American Footwear Forum (AAFF), is going down this September in Detroit. The gathering aims to address issues of diversity in the world of footwear, and the list of attendees features a who’s who of creatives and talent in the business. Source: Black Footwear Forum / BFF The BFF is scheduled for Friday, September 16 through Sunday, September 18, and will be held at the Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design and in partnership with Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA). If you don’t know, the Lewis College of Business was acquired by Pensole Academy founder and renowned designer D’Wayne Edwards in 2021. As such, it became what’s touted as not o...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: @glencocolaflare / Twitter The Air Jordan x A Ma Maniére collaborations have become some of the hottest drops for the past year and change now we’ve gotten a sneak peak at another collabo that’ll unfortunately have sneaker bots on the prowl. Source: @glencocolaflare / Twitter Just months before the release of the highly-anticipated A Ma Maniére x Air Jordan 4‘s, HypeBeast has given us our first look at the never-before-seen A Ma Maniére x Air Ship’s which was technically the Air Jordan 1 before the Air Jordan 1 was a thing. In 2020 the OG Chicago colorway to the Nike Air Ship’s dropped as a Europe exclusive for whatever reason, but luckily this A Ma Manier version will see a release in the United States. Related Stories The upcoming pairs are found ...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Reebok / Reebok One of Allen Iverson‘s best and more beloved takes on his signature sneaker is coming back. The Reebok Question Mid in the “Blue Toe” colorway is on the schedule. Source: Reebok / Reebok On Thursday (Aug. 4), Reebok announced that the Question Mid “Blue Toe” will release globally on August 19. A.I. rocked the model during his rookie season (’96/’97 and it has been a highly-coveted model ever since. With that in mind, Reebok is pulling out all the stops for its return. Related Stories “It was a dream come true,” said Iverson of lacing up his own signature shoe in ’96. “It was close to the same feeling of when you get drafted. Only a certain amount of people have their own signature shoe; that really means you’re special.” But Bubba Ch...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Jordan Brand / Jordan Brand This past June, infamous sneaker reseller,Michael Malekzadeh a.k.a Zadeh Kicks sent shockwaves through the sneaker community when he dissolved his Zadeh Kicks LLC and made off with millions of dollars of sneaker pre-order money leaving many customers thousands of dollars poorer. Now Bloomberg is reporting on how Malekzadeh was able to swindle countless people out of tens of thousands of dollars in one fell swoop, and in the process earning himself federal charges such as wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering. Referring to him as the “Bernie Madoff of sneakers,” Zadeh would sell highly-sought after Air Jordans, Nikes, and Yeezy’s at below market price months before their scheduled release dates an...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Nike / Nike That took entirely too long. The highly-anticipated, sure to be heartbreaking, for those without a plug or excessive income, the Jackie Robinson Nike Dunks finally have a release date. Source: Nike / Nike On July 11, Nike finally revealed that the Nike Dunk Low that honors the legacy of the late, great Jackie Robinson will be getting released the day of the MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles. That would be June 19. The Nike Dunk Low pays homage to the Black man that not only broke the color barrier in major league baseball but was one of its most outstanding players of all time. As for the kicks, the Brooklyn Dodgers great’s quote from 1947 gets printed across the shoe’s blue hits: “I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me…All I ...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: SOPA Images / Getty For a while now sneakerheads have been complaining that their sneaker orders have been disappearing whenever FedEx is tasked with delivering their grails. It seems like they’re finally being heard as the delivery service is taking a new step to ensure their customers get their footwear delivered. According to Business Wire, FedEx will begin taking pictures of their delivered packages that don’t require a signature to show and prove that their drivers didn’t pocket the package and show the customers exactly where it was left. Unfortunately that leaves the door open for a neighbor or someone just passing by to up and take the goods once FedEx drivers leave the scene. Still, the higher ups at FedEx feel this is the best way for their cust...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Snipes / Snipes Foot Locker might have the game on smash, but SNIPES is out here making their own moves to help the community as much as they can, and for that we thank them. On Wednesday, June 22, SNIPES announced their brand new initiative, Crack The Code, which is aiming to close the learning gap by promoting digital equity, in an effort to build the next generation of STEM leaders. How will they do this exactly? Well, the goal for SNIPES is to get out there and build state-of-the-art computer labs in key retail markets throughout the United States with the first one already up and running at Brooklyn’s Wyckoff Gardens Housing. Related Stories Consisting of desktops, laptops, iPads, printers and smartboards, the first computer lab is the blueprint...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Snipes / Snipes Foot Locker might have the game on smash, but SNIPES is out here making their own moves to help the community as much as they can, and for that we thank them. On Wednesday, June 22, SNIPES announced their brand new initiative, Crack The Code, which is aiming to close the learning gap by promoting digital equity, in an effort to build the next generation of STEM leaders. How will they do this exactly? Well, the goal for SNIPES is to get out there and build state-of-the-art computer labs in key retail markets throughout the United States with the first one already up and running at Brooklyn’s Wyckoff Gardens Housing. Related Stories Consisting of desktops, laptops, iPads, printers and smartboards, the first computer lab is the blueprint...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Nike / NIke A few weeks ago it was reported that known sneaker-reseller Zadeh Kicks found himself under fire for pulling thee biggest jux in sneaker history and suddenly closing up shop, dissolving his LLC, and making off with millions of dollars in pre-orders that he had no intention of fulfilling. Now in a new article from NiceKicks.com, we get an amazingly in-depth look at how Zadeh rose to the top of the reselling game even though he’s seemingly always been a struggling business man. Starting his Zadeh Kicks website back in 2013 in which he’d take pre-orders for limited edition sneakers for a hefty marked up price, Zadeh was seemingly making good on his promises as he had plugs all over the place and would be able to get his customers their kicks even...
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: WSOC-TV / WSOC-TV For some time, sneakerheads have been voicing complaints about coveted sneakers they ordered getting “lost” while in the hands of LaserShip. They weren’t kidding, as a LaserShip warehouse manager has been arrested for allegedly stealing kicks. Apparently, enough people complaining about LaserShip pulling the jig that a reporter from WSOC-TV, Jason Stoogenke, began investigating. The receipts started adding up—kicks were getting pilfered, and a culprit was identified. Related Stories Stoogenke delved deeper into the complaints against LaserShip and started noticing a pattern. Sneakers were going missing after purchasers were told they were shipped, and they tended to be Nikes. Over 40 people told Stoogenke about the struggle, and 28 of th...
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: SNKRS / NIke Today (May 27) was a bad day for a whole lot of sneaker aficionados. Two versions and two colorways of the latest Travis Scott and Nike collab was available on the SNKRS app, but thanks to limited quantities, way more people caught L’s than got blessed with a “Got ‘Em” notification. The SNKRS swings it pendulum towards more disappointment than elation on any given sneakers release, but even more so for shoes as hyped as Travis Scott’s. The drop featured versions of the classic Air Max 1 and the Air Trainer 1 except retrofitted in CACT.US CORP aesthetics that implement zippers for stowaway pockets, reverse Swooshers and other flourishes. And at $150 and $140, respectively, the retail price is right. However, most people can’t get them at...