10 Pro Skaters Talk About Their Personal Sneaker Habits

Skateboarders are sneakerheads, but not in they way that you might think. Most of them require the latest and greatest footwear to earn their living and to keep their feet protected from the rigors of skating. This past weekend, the Street League Skateboarding Pro Open took place in Los Angeles, and we took the time to sit down with a few of the riders to talk sneakers. From big ticket names like Paul Rodriguez to Shane O'Neil, learn a bit more about their style and how quick they trash a pair of kicks on the course. You can catch these skaters and more when they hit the SLS tour circuit this summer. See what skateboarding's headliners had to say about kicks by checking out 10 Pro Skaters Weigh In On Their Sneaker Habits.

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Hometown: Langhorne, Penn.
Accolades: Finished 9th at X Games Munich
Twitter: @Tom_Asta

Favorite sneaker spot?
"It would be the spot in my home town. It was called G Spot Skate Shop. They had all the skate stuff I wanted when I was growing up."

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"For an event like this, I go with what is more familiar for me at the time. They can be brand new if I've skated them before and I know how they break in, that's OK. I don't mind skating it new. I just wouldn't pick something I haven't skated before."

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"Back when Arto Saari had this shoe with Etnies, I believe it was called the Arto, I liked those. It is a little bulky for nowadays, but back then I skated it like crazy."

How many pairs do you skate through in a week?
"A pair of shoes will last me a week and a half to two weeks. Some guys go through them faster than that, but I like to break them in and wear them."

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"They just lose their shape and they become too much like a sock. They get too floppy or stretched and they feel old."

Hometown: Cayey, Puerto Rico
Accolades: Finished 1st at SLS Select Series Barcelona in 2013
Twitter: @Mannyslaysall

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"Usually, I will go with the shoe that I'm really comfortable skating. Right now, it is the P-Rod 7. I just skated the Jordan 1 '94. Right now they are destroyed. As a kid, I always wanted to afford Jordans, and now I can get them. So I skate in them and mess them up."

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"I used to skate for this company called Axion. They had this shoe called the Heritage. I actually based my signature shoe, the Mijo, off of that shoe as well. I would say the Heritage and the P-Rod 7 are my favorite shoes."

How many pairs do you skate through in a week?
"Usually about one a week or a week and half."

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"I skate them to the bone. I have pairs that I can wear, but it is more about what you do in the shoes and what you get out of each pair. I go until my feet start hurting. For the most part, as long as my soles are clean, I'll skate them."

Hometown: Chula Vista, Calif.
Accolades: Finished 10th at X Games Munich
Twitter: @Skateratofcv

Favorite sneaker spot?
"I never really had a place to buy them. I've probably bought 2 or 3 pairs of brand new shoes my whole life. I was skating for Notable, a skate shop, so I never really pair full price. I got a discount. Otherwise, I would just get them from friends. "

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"As long as the shoe feels right then I am good to go. They basically just have to be broken in. If the don't feel right in even one way, then I switch them out. I don't skate in the new, they just feel weird. "

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"My favorite shoe was the Coronado with Fallen. Now it is the Easy, the Slash model. Beyond Fallen, I used to skate Vans or the Koston eS."

How many pairs do you skate through in a week?
"I probably go through one a week. If I was on a tour, probably two. "

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"When they just don't work. Sliding here and there. When you can't really feel the grippyness of them. Mostly when I lose the ability to do my normal tricks."

Hometown: Newbury Park, Calif.
Accolades: Finished 7th in SLS
Twitter: @Mikey_Tay1or

Favorite sneaker spot?
"Not really. Especially now since they send them to me. I get about 12 pairs a month. "

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"I don't try anything new. It has to be a shoe that I know I like. I keep it simple. Black shoe, white sole. "

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"My favorite shoe right now is my shoe with DC, the Mikey Taylor S shoe. When I was a kid, I used to love the Eric Koston eS shoe, the first one with eS. The eS Koston One."

How many pairs do you skate through in a week?
"I probably skate one or two per week. Depends on whats happening. Probably safe to say three every two weeks. "

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"For me its when I have no more grip."

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Accolades: Finished 5th at X Games Los Angeles 2013
Twitter: @ShaneJOneill

Favorite sneaker spot?
"I've actually been riding with Nike SB since I was 13 years old. When they first started back up. Before then, it would have been just at a regular skate shop."

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"I like them brand new. One Shots and Janoskis from Nike SB are good to go with me. I skate them brand new pretty often. More grip."

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"My favorite of all-time would have to be the Janoski. It's always classy. It's flat. Ready to go. Before those, I skated Nike Blazers. "

How many pair do you skate through in a week?
"Depends on the week. If I am just street skating, one pair will last me about a week. If I am in a competition it may be more. I'd say regularly about two a week. But I am fortunate. Lucky to have them at my disposal. "

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"For me it would be when I wear down the sole or rip the suede. It takes a while though."

Hometown: Liverpool, United Kingdom
Accolades: Thrasher Magazine 'Skater of the Year" 2000
Twitter: @GeoffRowley

Favorite sneaker spot?
"When I was paying for skate shoe, I was always looking for deals. By basketball shoe cause they are similar to skate shoes. The old '70s shoes. I would just go to discount footwear places and find stuff like that. I even skated in a pair of Dr. Martens. I actually skated all they way through the rubber on those to my foot."

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"You have to make sure it will make it through the day. You wouldn't believe how quick you blow out your laces. I like my shoes worn in. I wear my pairs until they are basically falling off my feet. I don't like to wear anything new. "

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"It's Vans for me. Outside of my shoes, I would say the Vans Era. Love the American made shoe right here in Orange County. They were really grippy. They don't make shoes like that any more. "

How many pair do you skate through in a week?
"If I was on tour and skating every single day, I'd probably go through a pair a day. I am really abusive on product. Some guys really bash their stuff up. I am one of those guys. It's crazy to have to pack 20 pairs of shoes for a 15 day tour. "

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"When my feet are bleeding, and that's the truth. I wear Vans and they are canvas. I like that cause you get a lot of board feel. I'm like a golfer with his golf glove. They are not going to go into the open with a new glove—don't want to mess up their swing. Same with skate. I wear them until they don't really function anymore. "

Hometown: Kansas City, Missouri
Accolades: 2011 Street League Skateboading Champion.
Twitter: @Sean_Malto

Favorite sneaker spot?
"I just went to local skate shops. Escapsit in Kansas City. They had all the shoes. I would go there and just look at the shoes on the wall and save up for the one I wanted. I like to hold them in my hands, so I would always go to a local shop."

How do you choose a pair for an event like SLS Pro-Am?
"It's all about what you've been skating and what works best for the course. I am used to new shoes. I like shoes that are broken in about 30 minutes to an hour."

Favorite skate shoe of all time?
"I know I'm signed to Nike, but it would have to be the Janoski. I've never skated anything better than that one."

How many pairs do you skate through in a week?
"Usually two pairs. If you're skating that much, you want your equipment to be dialed in and ready at all times."

How do you know when it's time to retire a pair?
"When they don't feel right anymore. It also depends on what I am doing."

Hometown: Los Angeles
Accolades: Has won six medals at the X Games, four of which are Gold
Twitter: @Prod84

Favorite sneaker spot?
"To be honest, I haven't had to go to a sneaker shop for the last 10 years because I have the best sponsor in the world, Nike. Before then, it was places like Foot Locker. I was so young, that I wasn't hip to places like Supreme and Undefeated. I definitely have a ton of respect for those guys. If I hadn't become a part of Primitive, I would become a customer there. "

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"Sometime there is a certain colorway that is tied to a particular theme that we are pushing. For the most part, my competition shoe and my skate shoe and my competition shoe are the same. I like them already broken in. I've been skating in these a couple days already. I like them to be two or three days old. I don't want to have to spend half the day at practice breaking them in. I want them to be ready to go. I like some good suede and a protective sole and what every colorway matches my gear. "

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"I don't want to sound too much into my own stuff, but for me it was my first shoe. It was my first time having my name on a shoe. It marked such a change in my career from a regular skater to a higher level. "

How many pair do you skate through in a week?
"In a week, no more than two. I like them when they hit that sweet spot and are broken in. However, that only last a couple of days and I am done looking at them."

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"After this weekend, this pair I have on will be done It's mostly when I don't like looking down at them anymore. When they start to look grimy and get torn up. Maybe they start smelling real bad. Pretty obvious signs. "

Hometown: Philadelphia
Accolades: Thrasher Magazine 2013 Skate of the Year
Twitter: @Ishod_Wair

Favorite sneaker spot?
"G-Spot. They had everything you needed there."

How do you choose a pair for an event like SLS Pro-Am?
"I'd start the event with a brand new pair and wear those throughout the event. That way they get me through practice and are broken in by the time the event really starts. Sometimes I bring two brand new pairs depending on the tricks that I am doing. During practice I am in there skating like four hours straight and I will go through one pair."

Favorite skate shoe of all time?
"Wow. That is a tough one. I like the Bruin. I've been skating that shoe a lot lately."

How many pairs do you skate through in a week?
"It all depends on how much I am skating. Whether its a tournament or a park with my friends. I probably go through two pairs at the most if I am just destroying my shoes that week. More than likely, it is a pair a week."

How do you know when it's time to retire a pair?
"It depends on several things. Sometimes it depends on the shoe and sometimes it depends on how I am doing personally."

Hometown: Statesville, N.C.
Accolades: Won the Gold Medal X Games Much 2013
Twitter: @ChrisCobraCole

Favorite sneaker spot?
"The local skate shop. Before I started getting shoes from the skate shop, I would go to Marshalls and Ross. They had the City Reeboks and the FILAs that looked just like them. They had this Nike volleyball shoe that was cool. I even skated in a pair of Jerry Stackhouse FILAs. "

How do you choose a pair for an event like the SLS Pro-Am?
"I usually skate the same type of shoe all the time. My signature shoe. I'll wear a new pair the first two days of practice, and by the third day they are perfect. They are usually perfect by the second day like a new board. Never go new shoes, old board. "

Favorite skate shoe of all-time?
"They Cole Light 2 is what I am skating now. It feels absolutely the best. It performs the best of anything that I have had. When I used to skate for Fallen, my first signature shoe was the Trooper. It has an amazing shoe for the time. I couldn't imagine skating in it now, but at the time, it lasted forever. That was important for me. "

How many pair do you skate through in a week?
"I'll skate the same pair for like a week or two. Because I am a grown up and I have kids and I don't skate as much as I did, it takes about a week or two. During a contest or a summer tour, it only takes about 3 days to get through a pair of shoes. You are skating like 4 to 5 hours a day in those situations. "

How do you know when its time to retire a pair?
"You usually feel like. They lose the magic. You look down and they are kind of beat up. Though, it is less how they look and more how they feel. Once I start landing and my feet start stinging; and the shoes get baggy and their is now support, I have to move on. It's hard though, because you board control is better when they are older because you can feel everything, but at the same time, you can feel everything. At 183, it ain't a nice thing to jump down. "