June 04, 2021

Meet the Community: Pop

 

Meet Pop, a Bronx native and sneaker connoisseur who always needs a fresh fitted to match his kicks. We recently linked up with him to hear about his love for New Eras, learned about his Kicks & Brims challenge, and discussed his early beginnings in the game. 

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOU, WHO IS POP?

Pop is the name my family gave me as a child and stuck with me as I grew up. I also go by the name Mister Nice Pair, which came about as my love for sneakers grew throughout the recent years and for acquiring limited and rare sneakers. I have always had a passion for sneakers since a youth growing up in the Bronx, New York. Wearing the latest kicks was a statement of showing your style and making an impression in your neighborhood.

TELL US ABOUT KICKS AND BRIMS:

#KicksAndBrims started with me taking pictures of sneakers out of my collection, matching them with rare hats, and posting them on Instagram. Not until my homie @nohonati asked me if I wanted to do an Instagram live show with my bro @hkbilly. Then my homie @beardedgoose came up with the name.

“The Rundown,” which consisted of 4 segments: We did a recap of the latest hats and sneakers drops that week. “point em out”, where we pointed out anybody who was wearing a “FINKY” or “Ficy” which are pink brim or icy blue hats made by other people and not by the originator @pinkbottomjus (a suspect hat). You could have been a celebrity, a store or store owner who was selling it; no one was safe, lol.

The “Pindemic” where I added my cousin @layedbackloso showcased the latest hat pins produced by fellow hat connoisseurs throughout the hat community. And last but not least was the “Kicks and Brims Challenge,” where sneaker and hat collectors had to battle it out every Sunday. They go head to head every week and have to follow the criteria of each challenge to advance to the next week, and ultimately become the winner. At the end, the final winner is awarded a hat-sneaker combo.

LET'S TALK ABOUT HATS. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE HAT? MOST POPULAR HAT?

When it comes to choosing a favorite hat, it constantly changes. There's too many hats that I love. But when it comes to patch work on a hat, my favorite side patch is the 1999 World Series patch, hands down! For the most popular hat, I have to give it to my boy @jaetips and his collaboration with @hatclub. He set the tone with it and had the city in a frenzy!!!

KICKS AND BRIM'S CHALLENGE: POP PUT TOGETHER SOME KICKS & BRIMS FOR US WITH HIS NEW ERA COLLECTION AND SNEAKERS FROM OUR  STORE.

OVERKILL X ADIDAS ZX 8500

PUMA MIRAGE MOX EB

 

NIKE OVERBREAK SP

BRAINDEAD X REEBOK ZIG KINETICA II

SHOP POP'S ATMOS PICKS

Written by Frederick Scott