It was nice to sit down at Gekco coffee house on Bethnal Green road with Joe, founder of Kicksncoffee, the sneaker and streetwear festival doing great things in terms of supporting sneaker culture and understanding its the community that Is the life and soul of this movement of sneakerhead across the globe.
Joe is an easy guy to have a conversation with and it’s clear to see when you sit down with him why his love of sneakers, coffee and community has led to him starting a business that celebrates all of his passions. Like all true sneakerheads Joe can remember the moment he fell in love with the works of art we wear on our feet, and it’s these origin stories that I always find intriguing.
Where and how our passion for sneakers took root, how the circumstances, certain releases, local trends, marketing, and hype helped to cultivate and nurture this love, this need, this obsession for sneakers.
This Is why the community, the people that use the products should be taken a bit more seriously, I see certain brands that are definitely making a valiant effort to give back and engage the community on so many entertaining levels.
I don’t like to name names but Offspring has to be one of, if not the best at connecting with the community, so I have to give them their props. Of course you have others, brands and individuals doing great things with that community spirit In mind and respect to them, you know who you are, but a lot more could be done that promotes and celebrates the people that spend their money and fly the flag everyday.
So when Jumpman Journals gets a chance to break bread with brands and people that champion life, and by that I mean the people that breathe life into sneaker culture, it’s always a pleasure. Kicksncoffee has that feel about them, with an emphasis on connecting, chilling and engaging the event has grown quite rapidly and has the potential to do special things In the future.
With some really outstanding vendors confirmed and that list growing on a daily basis, the next festival on Saturday 27 April, Copeland Park, Peckham will be one for the calendar. With Lab.Customs, one of the UK’s top custom designers doing his first show, an exhibition of some unseen bespoke kicks that will blow your mind, this will be an event not to be missed!