May 4 19 under Videos, Waffleheads | Comments Off on Meet The Waffleheads – Bill Cruz @DJGuamstyles
“It’s not just fashion, it’s an actual cool little community that we’ve created”
Bill Cruz is one of the OGs of the Vans collector world. What started off as a hobby turned into a full blown addiction – hundreds of Vans stuffed away in a storage unit near his California home. It opened a world for him that went beyond the fashion; it led to the creation of Under the Palms, a community of other like-minded collectors from around the world.
May 3 19 under Videos, Waffleheads | Comments Off on Meet The Waffleheads – Jayass @jayasscom
“I don’t call myself, or think of myself as a collector.”
Jayass has one philosophy in life – if he wants it, he buys it. And over the past ten years, he has come across a lot of things he wants. His home is a happy clash of vintage chairs, gas lanterns, street cats, and a massive wall of Vans. Sometimes you don’t choose collecting, collecting chooses you.
May 3 19 under Videos, Waffleheads | Comments Off on Meet The Waffleheads – Penelope Gazin @PenelopeGazin
“Nobody Else is Making What I Want, So I’m Going To Make It.”
For artist Penelope Gazin, customization is second nature. In the spirit of DIY, when she wants something made, she makes it herself – because no else can make the same vision come to life.
May 3 19 under Videos, Waffleheads | Comments Off on Meet The Waffleheads – Panda Mei @panda_mei
“It’s a pair of shoes that has history and meaning.”
As a nontraditional artist, Panda Mei grew up with a foot in both eastern and western cultures. His constant need to try something different led him to bring his two worlds together: combining ceramic sculptures with Vans silhouettes.
May 2 19 under Videos, Waffleheads | Comments Off on Meet The Waffleheads – Henry Davies @pillowHeat
“The More Meaning Loaded into a Product, the Better. “
In 1999, Pillow Heat founder Henry Davies kicked off an ambitious goal – to collect every vintage Vans shoe that was made in America. For him, it’s not about the acquisition of the shoe. It’s the hunt, the history, and the meaning loaded into each new find.
Who knew that what started out as just another brand of sneaker to collect, would grow into something as big and impactful, as what my friends and I have built over the past decade. Under The Palms was created as a Vans community gathering place, which slowly turned into a worldwide community, which turned into a culture. All over the world, there are now pockets of Vans collecting communities, with their own branding and names, and it’s growing each day. The more I learned about Vans’ heritage, I found that their same values of being original, authentic, and different, are ideals that so many others around the globe also believe in. So when my friends at Vans reached out to me to learn about collecting Vans, I was more than happy to introduce them to my long list of friends, but they wanted to hear it from me instead, and so here I am as one of the selected Vans Brand Ambassadors for 2019, representing the worldwide Vans sneaker collecting community, who are being dubbed #waffleheads. I hope I’ve represented us properly, and in a way that can speak for us all. We chose to go left, when everybody was going right!
Please feel free to share this video on as many platforms as you possibly can. Not for me, but for all of us. I’ve always wanted Vans to recognize us all, and to find a way to connect with their Vans sneaker collecting community, similar in how Sole Collector did with Nike. I want this campaign to reach all over the world, to show our strength in numbers. I promise to do my work and try to bring more of you on this journey, to tell some of your stories as well. It’s more than just buying sneakers. Oh and by the way, I’m actually from Glendora, not Ventura. I guess that sounded more glamorous, lol? Check out the rest of the waffleheads over at https://www.vans.com/waffleheads.
Check out our gatekeeper to Vans’ past, Henry aka @pillowheat, as his The Other Side Of The Pillow business is featured on INSIDER’s youtube channel. Gotta love our heritage, and it’s cool to see it being shared via new platforms!
“Instagrammer Henry Davies has a 5000-strong Vans collection, featuring nearly 700 pairs of sneakers. The bulk of the collection is in a store room in Clapton, east London, but items are also for sale at the Vans store in London’s Carnaby Street.”
Nov 21 18 under Collaborations, Reviews, Vault, Videos | Comments Off on Shoe Review by LBIFBACK: Vans Vault Originals x Pilgrim Surf+Supply “3 Year Anniversary” OG Slip On (Black) @lbifback #lbifback
Oct 12 18 under Art, Bands, Videos | Comments Off on Vans – Youtube Series: Sidestripe Sessions (Watch Now!) #sidestripesessions
Words via Vans:
“Vans, the original youth culture brand and icon of creative expression has announced a new global music series, Sidestripe Sessions. Filmed at Vans Global Headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, the series features different artists across all genres ranging from punk, experimental, indie to hip hop all filmed in a giant Vans shoe box with a rotating backdrop of art installations. Celebrating creative diversity in music and art, the video series highlights Vans’ extended family of musicians through a two-song performance.
The first season of Sidestripe Sessions will include 12 episodes, and Vans is excited to release the first five episodes today, featuring LA indie band Wallows, avant-garde performance artist Serpentwithfeet, emo-rock legends The Get Up Kids, NY rapper Young M.A and Chicano solo artist Cuco. Each performance is filmed inside a giant Vans shoe box with art installations created by Jenny Sharaf, Maxwell McMaster, and Upendo. The rest of the season’s episodes will be rolled out every other Monday, with the next episode featuring post-hardcore band Quicksand on October 22.
Watch the first five episodes now at https://www.youtube.com/Vans. A new Vans Sidestripe Sessions episode will premiere on a bi-weekly basis beginning October 22. Be sure to subscribe for upcoming Sidestripe Sessions performances by IDLES, Nothing, Masego, Gouge Away and J-Fever. For more information on Sidestripe Sessions, please visit Vans YouTube Channel.”
Check out and add to our collaborative playlist on Spotify. Let's hear some of your favorite, obscure, B-side, and personal selections. The funkier and more eclectic it gets, the better. Let's show everyone how much range our community has!
