Launching today, until the 14th August 2022, LEGO Australia with conjunction with LEGO – 90 Years of Play! to introduce you to 20 life-size Minifigs. The event will be in the heart of Darling Harbour with fun for the whole family, LEGO Minifigures such as Benny the robot and the Ballerina will make an appearance along with one of the LEGO play ambassadors Benji Marshall from the West Tigers.
Plus LEGO Australia will be unveiling a surprise friend built by our very own LEGO certified professional Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught to join the minifigures, making this one for families don’t want to miss.
The must-visit playground, arriving on World Play Day, is a reminder to all fans and families that play matters whether you’re in Sydney or another state or territory.
No matter where you are, LEGO Australia is inviting Aussies to stop and take part in Play Hour (and a half!) on World Play Day and remember to enjoy the magic that play and creativity brings.
This is all FREE as long as you get out there, creating exciting moments for everyone to enjoy, whether it’s moon walking, break dancing, playing hide and seek or practicing your own air guitar!
Where: ICC Precinct, Darling Harbour, Sydney When: Wednesday 10 August – Sunday 14 August 2022 – Open 9am – 5pm Daily
Plan your trip in only for a short time, click the link to the Darling Harbour events page for more details. To stay up to date, make sure you sign up to our newsletter. For previous LEGO articles, click here.
Sneaker Politics has joined forces with ASICS for their upcoming GEL-LYTE™ III, ‘Always Ready’ collaboration. The design was inspired by the U.S. Army, and lives as a thank you to service members. In 1999, Sneaker Politics founder, Derek Curry joined the U.S. Army and was deployed in 2003, where he spent nine months in Iraq. He credits much of his professional success to the lessons and values he learned while serving in the military.
Since the company’s inception, Sneaker Politics and ASICS have worked closely together and developed some of the brands most celebrated products. For the duo’s latest project, Derek went back to the roots of his military career and drew inspiration from the duffle bags new recruits receive ahead of basic training. The green canvas and pig suede upper selected for the ‘Always Ready’ GEL-LYTE™ III stems from Derek’s vivid memories prior to basic training.
“From the very first day of training, it’s seared into your brain that if it doesn’t fit in bag, you don’t bring it” said Derek Curry, Founder of Sneaker Politics. “The Army played a major role in my life and I am thrilled to finally be bringing these two worlds together. Without it there wouldn’t be Sneaker Politics.”
In addition to the careful selection of materials and colour, an embossed Sneaker Politics ‘P’ logo is featured on the heel of the GEL-LYTE™ III model accompanied by Sneaker Politics’ first opening date, embroidered on the medial side of each shoe. Each pair comes with three interchangeable patches, inspired by service uniforms and include insoles with a map grid design, as well as the words “Thank You” dedicated to all service members.
Because this project is rooted in gratitude, Sneaker Politics will be donating a portion of the profits to the Wounded Warrior Project and the Lone Survivor Foundation. Both are non-profit organizations that help veterans and active-duty service members.
The name ‘LEGO’ is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt”, meaning “play well”. It’s our name and it’s our ideal. LEGO has stood by this ideology all through this journey, through each generation you can see the growth of LEGO within people’s homes.
Just a simple reminder that LEGO has been a part of many childhoods, through education and simply enjoying PLAY! Almost at it’s 90th year LEGO has only created structure in driving imagination and having FUN while doing it. The FUN I had as a child I remember vividly, and now sharing with my son sets I had when I was a kid now 25 years on as I see the same joy in his face that I had all those years ago is priceless.
Building from it’s humble beginning trying to teach the children about the world and what it has to offer. To now being able to build, live and play through favorite movies, themes and characters.
Ever expanding the brand through various platforms to reach a multitude of children, and those like myself young at heart enjoying each and every piece. Nothing is more rewarding then to finally add the finishing touches to your masterpiece.
LEGO has always given us the ability to go step-by-step through a manual and get that exact set the way LEGO intended. But never limited us to stay within the guidelines and to continually challenge our imagination and creativity to dream up unique one off sets.
LEGO 19361920 – LEGO Idea House1938 LEGO Wooden CarsOle Kirk Kristiansen1946 – First Plastic Injection Moulding Machine
The introduction of TV shows such as LEGO Masters AU highlights that LEGO bricks are limitless and can explore your own creativity and expand your imagination.
There’s also LEGO Ideas giving your passionate Master builders a chance to express themselves and to expose their ideas to like minded people who support and encourage each other. Building on getting your idea made into an official LEGO set, it’s what dreams are made of and has happened for some, attempting to create a new product line or theme. For example, the LEGO ideas Back to the future DeLoreon time machine (2013) has lead to the release of a more detailed build for the avid Back to the future fan.
Some links to articles we have posted previously on what LEGO has released over the last couple of years:
There are endless possibilities, we are only limited to how we express ourselves and where our imagination can take us.
History of LEGO: Where it all began….
“The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, the company has passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder.
It has come a long way over the past almost 90 years, from a small carpenter’s workshop to a modern, global enterprise that is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys.
The brick in its present form was launched in 1958. The interlocking principle with its tubes makes it unique and offers unlimited building possibilities. It’s just a matter of getting the imagination going, and letting a wealth of creative ideas emerge through play.”
1949 – LEGO Brick Design1979 (Fabuland)1984 LEGO Partnership with MIT2002 – Lego Store
Whether your a Master builder or just an admirer of the “Brick” you can say that through the generations it has inspired you in one way or another. Inspiring us to challenge our imagination in being able to create wonderful designs and bringing to life our favourite characters at the palm of our hands. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for LEGO and how they can immerse and captivate us for more years to come. To stay up to date, make sure you sign up to our newsletter. For previous LEGO articles, click here.
I would like to thank The Kickz Stand for choosing my photo and sharing my creativity with the community. I started collecting AF1s in the early 2000s. However, my priorities changed and I decided a hiatus was necessary from collecting. I sold a lot of the shoes that I had collected as I didn’t wear them. Fast Forward to 2018 my love for sneakers was reignited and I started to collect kicks again.
With the volume of kicks dropping and with the size of my collection, I’ve become more selective what I buy.
I buy what I like and what is comfortable on foot! I haven’t been a huge fan of many Jordan drops this year. So recently, I have been selling a lot of the pairs that I haven’t gotten around to wearing and buying grails. I feel that somebody should enjoy the pairs that I don’t wear. Recently, I have started collecting New Balance and ASICS. My favourite pair this year is recent NB x Upthere 2002r!!!
Sometimes spontaneity is the key to my photos! I will be walking down the street, in a car park or getting out of the car and the lighting and background are perfect for a great capture. Sometimes I am driving and I see a great opportunity so I jump out of the car and take a photo!!!
In this photo, I was walking back to my car in a shopping centre car park and I saw a bike rack that was a perfect height… So I decided to balance my phone against my wallet and take a photo. I use an iPhone and trigger the “shutter” with my Apple watch. I edit my photos using an array of apps on my iPhone. For example, Photoshop Mix and PS Express.
New Balance 2002R x @uptherestore ‘Backyard Legends’ @lucasblackman Nike Dunk Hi (Nike By You) ‘Trail End’ @shaan_noidy Saucony Shadow 5000 ‘Burger’ Customs @arkeimmanNew Balance 2002R x @uptherestore ‘Backyard Legends’ @natejrawlings Jordan 1 low Retro x @travisscott ‘Mocha’ Jordan 1 Retro High x Spiderman ‘Origin Story’ Nike Dunk Low x @off____white ‘Pine Green’ @_bastyleiNike Dunk Low SB ‘Chicago’ @supeeeme Jordan 5 Retro ‘Oreo’ @ateacherwithsoleNike Dunk Low ‘Essential Paisley Pack Orange’ @annabellesneaksAsics Gel Lyte III x @sneakerfreakermag x @atmos_japan ‘Alley Cats’ @sckicks5
Well, what a weekend it was for Marvel fans at San Diego Comic Con. We all knew leading into this event, Marvel was going to bring some incredible news as to whats coming in the MCU & Disney+ world, but i dont think we were ready for what actually came.
So lets do a run down of what was announced. This might take a while, so get comfy fam!
Marvel fans have been a little concerned over the past 12 months as to where everything was going. We have had so much content in Phase 4 of the MCU but no clear direction. After the mega Hall H panel yesterday, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has outlined the remaining Phase 4 projects and announced all of Phase 5 and introduced some of Phase 6.
Phase 4 – Whats remaining?
We have touched on Phase 4 before, however the COVID pandemic definately shook it up forcing movie release date changes and even movies getting shifted around.
First one of the ranks was a trailer for the upcoming Disney+ shorts “I Am Groot” which will air on Disney+ on August 10th. This will consist of 5 original shorts starring Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. These shorts pick up with Groot still regrowing his body, and all of the crazy adventures he gets up to.
1 week later, we skip into “She-Hulk: Attorny at Law” which will air from August 17th and will run for 9 episodes. We got a new trailer for the upcoming series which would hopefully please the MCU fans a bit more as the CGI was alot better. Looking at this trailer below, it appears we are getting a few cameos from past projects including Abomination (Tim Roth), Wong (Benedict Wong) and an epic surprise at the end of the trailer Daredevil (Charlie Cox).
Then onto the final project of Phase 4, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”. Now this trailer that dropped was truly a masterpiece. Hits right in the feels after the passing of Chadwick Boseman and where they are going with this. Whoever done the editing for this, deserves an Oscar. Marvel confirmed what we were all hoping would happen, and thats the introduction of Namor, the Sub-Mariner from Atlantis. And the footage of him in the trailer was just perfect. Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) will play Namor.
Phase 5 – What’s in store?
Marvel just made every fan’s mind explode with whats in store for Phase 5 starting in 2023. It appears Phase 5 will run over 18 months with 6 movies and 6 Disney+ shows. Now thats alot of content to get through in a short timeframe. Not much has been mentioned so far in depth about each project, but here is whats coming and when to expect it.
Antman & The Wasp: Quantumania – Feb 17, 2023 Secret Invasion – Autumn 2023 – No release date confirmed as of yet Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – May 2, 2023 Echo – Winter 2023 – No release date confirmed as of yet Loki Season 2 – Winter 2023 – No release date confirmed as of yet The Marvels – July 22, 2023 Blade – Nov 3, 2023 Ironheart – Spring 2023 Agatha: Coven of Chaos – Summer 2023/24 Daredevil: Born Again – Autumn 2024 Captain America: New World Order – May 3, 2024 Thunderbolts: July 25, 2024
This period in the MCU is going to be wild. What it will lead into with Phase 6, is going to be insane.
Phase 6 – What we know so far!
The biggest surprise so far from Phase 6 is that the fact we are getting 2…thats right…2 Avengers movies in the SAME YEAR!
As we can see, there is alot of content coming in Phase 6, but the main thing is that in 2025 we will come to the conclusion of what is dubbed “The Multiverse Saga” with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty & Avengers: Secret Wars.
This next 3 years of the MCU is going to be wild. Let us know what you think of whats coming? Are you excited or getting over all the Marvel content?
One of the most innovative moments in Brazil’s cultural history, the Tropicália movement, is celebrated in the Guadalupe x ASICS collaboration, released worldwide. This is a first for Guadalupe, the retailer responsible for promoting sneaker culture in the country. The new Guadalupe x ASICS GEL-LYTE™ III ‘Tropicália’ recalls the movement that conquered the world and still influences to this day, countless national and international artists.
The new Guadalupe x ASICS GEL-LYTE™ III ‘Tropicália’ will be sold globally, and its design is signed by Pedro Andrade, bringing psychedelic references, materials and graphics that translate the spirit of the time and some icons of the movement. The colourways were inspired by the tones of the cover of the album Acabou Chorare, by Novos Baianos, one of the great masterpieces of the time.
Although music was its main expression, Tropicália brought a series of innovations and ruptures in the fields of arts, cinema, theatre, and literature. The movement came to life in the 1960s, at the Brazilian Popular Music Festival where Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and the band Os Mutantes broke with the tradition of Brazilian music, in a process of aesthetic innovation full of complex sounds and implicit criticism of the political regime at the time.
Tropicalismo, the name given to the movement, was also guided by the idea of absorbing what is good in foreign cultures and reinventing these elements within an authentic Brazilian language, a movement also carried out by Guadalupe in favour of sneakerhead culture in the country. The new Guadalupe x ASICS GEL-LYTE™ III ‘Tropicália’ shows these ruptures in a current and more urban interpretation of the movement, which is a fundamental part of the current Brazilian artistic narrative.
The Tropicalist aesthetic sets the tone for the collab’s launch campaign, which features photos and videos signed by Hick Duarte. The set design was inspired by renowned immersive pieces of the time, while the video has a soundtrack produced by Mudroi, rescuing the sound of Tropicália through experimental hip-hop inspired by some of the movement’s leading artists.
ASICS‘ classic model, the GEL-LYTE™ III, was created by designer Shigeyuki Mitsui in 1990, and is still loved by sneaker fans to this day. It’s known for its unique ‘split tongue’ that wraps the top of the foot for an easy lace up and great fit.
The Guadalupe x ASICS GEL-LYTE™ III ‘Tropicália’ are now available from ASICS.com, Up There, Laced and SUBTYPE. Make sure you sign up to our newsletter, so you can stay up to date! For other ASICS features, click HERE and for sneaker features, click HERE.
Would you believe that it has been 1218 days (that’s 3 years, 4 months) between drinks for It’s More Than Just Sneakers in Adelaide? Crazy, right?
After a great turn out in Brisbane, the It’s More Than Just Sneakers Lifestyle Tour rolled into the City of Churches to one of the more unique event spaces on the calendar. With help from the staff at The Nairobi Affair Lounge and Bar, we transformed the various bar and lounge spaces into a cool marketplace with a mix of vendors from around Adelaide. Some vendors even travelled from interstate to be there.
The Adelaide events have always been unique as patrons can enjoy a beer or two whilst soaking up all the heat that was on offer. It was great to see and be united with our old friends, and to make new ones as well. No doubt the Adelaide community came out in full force to support and show love to everyone.
We already have the wheels in motion to hold the next Adelaide event in 2023. However, you can catch the following It’s More Than Just Sneakers events coming up in these cities: * Brisbane – 10th of September * Sydney – 1st of October * Perth – 15th of October * Auckland (NZ) – 26th of November
A massive thank you to our Adelaide organising team for their awesome work on the event. Also, we want to thank our amazing sponsors for their continued support with our events. Please see the list and be sure to give them each a follow:
After the huge success of their ASICS GT-II collaboration, Melbourne’s premier sneaker and fashion boutique Up There is back at it again with another huge collaboration, this time around with New Balance. Up There and New Balance join forces to create a custom version of the 2002R dubbed the ‘Backyard Legends’. Born from a love of sports footwear, inspired by a laid-back Australian lifestyle, translated through the lens of the New Balance expertise.
The neo-retro 2002R forms a base for the collaboration, with it’s technical panelling and N-ergy infused sole representing a high watermark for early 2000’s running technology.
Rich green suede uppers are intersected by purple ultralight panels, fused to a highly breathable white mesh. The contrast of classic suede against performance focussed materials merges two often-opposing ideals.
Powder blue borders the custom N logo — designed in homage to the990v3. This inspiration carries over to the tongue, which mirrors the shape and distinctive diamond pattern of the v3. Keen-eyed fans might also notice the subtle flip of the tongue’s “USA” badge to “AUS”.
The v3 fabric carries over to a custom lace shroud, one of the shoe’s most recognisable features. This accessory allows the shoes to effectively be worn as slip-ons. Laces are also included, albeit anything but conventional ones. Instead the shoes employ Sure Laces — an early-2000s New Balance innovation designed to stop laces coming loose.
Subtler details include asymmetrical sole colour blocking between left and right shoe, along with a small square NB logo on the heel. The latter, a nod to the Blue Tab series created by New Balance in the mid-2010’s.
The Up There x New Balance M2002RUT ‘Backyard Legends’ will be available exclusively in-store at Up There from 8AM AEST on the 15th of July and with an online release from 8AM AEST on the 16th of July with a suggested retail price of $250AUD.
Make sure you sign up to our newsletter, so you can stay up to date! For other Up There features, click HERE and for New Balance features, click HERE.
I got into sneaker collecting through a mate I went to school with. He introduced me to his mates who were into sneakers (shoutout to the homies at #azpoo!). A lot of those guys are into sneaker photography and I was amazed by the content they make. As I started to build up my collection and wanted to take my new favourite hobby further, I thought I’d start sneaker photography too. I’m nowhere near their level of skill but I love getting creative and trying to improve with every pic I post. It has made me many new friends, and we try to catch up as a crew at least a few times a year for beers and a few sneaker shots!
I love the new Asics Gel lyte lll x Sneaker Freaker x Atmos collab. I am a die-hard SF fan, especially since I’m from Melbourne too, so this was really exciting to see. It’s also good to see the classic Gel Lyte lll shape make a return and generate some hype behind the shoe. The detailing and materials on the Alley Cats is superb. The stamped logos on the heel is a really nice touch. I can’t wait to see what SF does next!!!
Jordan 1 Retro High OG (2013) ‘Shadows’ @kickzfigzJordan 1 Retro High x @travisscott ‘Mocha’ @mugsymagsJordan 4 Retro ‘Military Black’ @_fr4nkxAir Max 1 x @atmos_japan ‘Animal Pack 2.0’ @jeezy_29Nike Dunk Low x @off____white ‘Lot 42’ @jespiritu_Nike SB Dunk High x @diamondsupplyco ‘Tiffany’ @numbersnzJordan 1 High Retro ‘Heritage’ @mercurialkicksJordan 2 Retro x @maisonchateaurouge @kickinitwithgeeNike SB Dunk Low x @supremenewyork ‘Red Cement’ @inoshin556 OG
ASICSSportstyle announces a triple-branded collaboration with the iconic GEL-LYTE Ⅲ OG with atmos from Tokyo, Japan and our homies from Melbourne, Australia, Sneaker Freaker. The design of this collaboration has been inspired by the stray cats in Tokyo and Melbourne.
Melbourne, Australia is renowned for its inter-connected laneways that make the city full of energy during the late nights. The AC/DC Lane, Celestial Avenue and Meyers Place are jam-packed with noodle joints, laidback speakeasys and underground clubs.
While in Tokyo, Japan, it’s the street-level network of boutiques, micro-bars and izakaya’s in Harajuku, Golden Gai and Harmonica Alley offers a reminder that humans still power the biggest urban economies and one of the world’s great megalopolises.
The stray cats in back alleys are very common to the both cities of Tokyo and Melbourne. Expressed in fur and phosphorescent materials and the colour of purple and green a reminder the neon lights in the cities.
The eye-catching purple on the upper and midsole is a mixture of blue, which is the brand colour of atmos, and red which is known as the key colour of Sneaker Freaker. This sneaker is packed with the unique commitment of collaboration with asymmetrical logos on each part such as tongue, heel and inner sole.
The iconic GEL-LYTE III originally designed by Shigeyuki Mitsui and released way back in 1990 when both the technology inside and the construction were both cutting-edge. Rich with history of going against tradition and subverting stereotypes, with this new iteration being no different.
