Inside the Skaters Closet: Vans Old Skool

Being from Southern California I've been wearing Vans shoes since I was in grade school. Just your typical $30 (then) tennis shoe that you'd wear for everything in a 10 year old's life. I always knew Vans were skate shoes but I had never skated.
The early 90's was when I picked up the stuntwood after being mind blown from watching "clips" of street skating on an ESPN show that played music with action sports back in the day. The Vans Old Skool was the first Vans / skate shoe that I was infatuated with at the time. Im not gonna front, I saw the older skaters wearing em and i thought they were the shit so of course i had to get a pair!
A big first half a year which included learning how to "Ollie" were in Old Skools. The grippy sticky vulcanized sole felt like the board stuck with you and made you Ollie higher.

As the years passed and the evolution of skate shoes progressed (climaxed right before the Osiris D3), we find ourselves back to the basics. Back to the vulc. And although the progression of skateboarding itself is at it's peak, the classics from then are as popular now than ever. Collaborations and new materials and colorways keep it fresh and new.

From the Vans Old Skools to the Nike Blazer and the Addidas campus and even the likes of the DC Mantecca or the Etnies RAP. The classics remain supreme and a skater can always affiliate a certain time in their skate game with a particular shoe. My big ups to the Vans Old Skool.

Ive got a few pairs of old skools now and have been skating in them just for kicks. Which brings me to this question: How do you skate old skools without blowing a hole in the Ollie area the first session? And how long do they last you? Im gonna have to invest in some shoe goo or get sponsored. I'm guessing the pros go through em on the daily! Lol.


Here are my likes and dislikes for this weeks shoe feature Vans Old Skools:

My Likes: A Timeless Classic, to the status of the Chuck Taylor All-Star. Epicly will never go out of style. Comfortable. Grippy sticky soles that Vans has been so famous for. Something about rubber soles that at times, I feel I can walk forever in them as opposed to some of my other shoes with "air" cushion technology. Reasonably inexpensive. New colorways and collaborations keep popping up.

My Dislikes: The canvas uppers (including the ollie area) make it super easy to put a hole through one heavy session of skating. I wish they would back just that one area up for skating. In the meantime, I'll have to shoe goo that baby. They are no longer made in the U.S.A. The red label in the back bottom sole.

With that said, Get your roll on.