The 50 Most Influential People In Sneaker History

by Jeff Staple (@jeffstaple)

When asked to compile a list like this, two emotions come to mind:

1) A blessed feeling that the long hours and hard work that you put into your craft have been recognized by respected peers and they now, in turn, have asked for your humble opinion.

2) That “BRACE! BRACE! BRACE!” feeling you get when the overhead oxygen masks drop down in the middle of your flight.

There’s bound to be some love and there’s bound to be some hate. (Probably more of the latter.) Let’s get something out the way, people. Statistically speaking, when listing FIFTY of anything, the chances that MY fifty will agree with YOUR fifty are nearly impossible. But, I highly encourage all of you reading this to make your own Top 50 list and share it with me @jeffstaple on Twitter or whatevs… OK.

Now let’s break down the task at hand. Complex asked me to “List my Top 50 Most Influential People In Sneaker History.”

I had to assume that they were asking me because of my experience in sneaker culture, vis a vis, street culture. I think “Sneaker History” can really be told in two parts: 1) When sneaker giants made performance footwear for their esteemed athletes, and then 2) when sneaker companies, both large and independent, made shoes for “a lifestyle”. That new era does not exist because of athletes or performance. It’s based on fashion, style, trend, influencers and whatever other word marketers use today. Together, those two trains of thought make up SNEAKER HISTORY to me. So my list comprises of both: The people that made the sneaker into a viable product. And the people that made the sneaker into a religion. Enjoy. Hate. Criticize. I love you all. #pigeonhustle

50. Adam Leaventon

Who And Why: Sneaker collector, digger, Nike Talk legend, Puma lifestyle creator
Years Of Influence: 1987-present

Sneaker culture in the early days was largely made up of the individual. It wasn’t companies trying to get their product out to select tiers of distribution or anything like that. It was just passionate people that were really involved and Adam AKA Air Rev was one of them. He was instrumental in the Nike Talk BBS forum, which was like a virtual gathering place for all these unloved nerds to get together and just share their passion for sneakers. He went onto Puma to do great things there, including the ongoing UNDFTD collabs.

49. Tetsuya Shono

Who And Why: Creator of New Balance cool
Years Of Influence: 1997-present

New Balance is a fairly traditional company, but they have this really unique angle on their position in sneaker culture and one of the most instrumental people in NB that maintained relevancy with young people and the sneakerheads was Tetsuya. He was able to do the classic NB silhouettes that were really coveted by sneakerheads versus styles that were geared towards marathon and performance runners. He was really pushing the envelope in a company that was really traditional at the time.

48. Methamphibian and SBTG

Who And Why: Sneaker customizer grand masters
Years Of Influence: 1998-present

Customizing sort of splintered off into its own satellite planet of sneaker culture—people that bought shoes at retail, hand-painted them and then resold it to other people at a premium. And in this nascent era of sneaker culture, these two guys were really the premier customizers of the day. They took that simple act of just painting on shoes to another level, adding amazing gradients, finishes, patterns, and attachments and eventually figured out a way to mix their paint so that you could actually wear the shoe and not worry about it fading or cracking.

47. Michael Chang

Who And Why: Tennis icon
Years Of Influence: 1989-2003

Since I’m Asian, I have a connection to him in that I finally had a professional athlete I could look up to at a young age. Remember that match? Reebok Tennis Pumps on. Bum Leg. Couldn’t even perform a proper overhead serve. Facing No. 1 Ivan Lendl in the French Open Finals. And winning! That was one of the most inspiring things in my childhood. How does that relate to sneaker culture? Well, it’s the idea that a single athlete can elevate a shoe and then elevate an entire brand on his shoulders…

46. Sarah Lerfel

Who And Why: Retail pioneer, entrepreneur
Years Of Influence: 1997-present

Sarah deserves to be on this list because of how she was able to take sneaker culture and mix it within her idea of high fashion, music, technology, cosmetics, and fragrances. Worlds that normally you wouldn’t have thought would mix, like kicks with high fashion or runway fashion, she made it work. Sarah from Colette was able to do it successfully on a global scale so that everyone could see it. That’s key. It clicked in people’s minds that there was a synergy between all these different worlds.

45. Yu-Ming Wu

Who And Why: Sneaker collector, web pioneer
Years Of Influence: 2003-present

Freshnessmag.com is one of the earliest blogs to highlight sneakers, toy culture, and street culture. And back in the day, Yu-Ming was just an ordinary guy with a true appreciation for the sneaker culture. He eventually turned that love into a business and you always have to commend a guy like that… who is able to do what he loves for a living.

44. Hiroki Nakamura

Who And Why: Visvim founder, designer
Years Of Influence: 2002-present

Hiroki Nakamura was able to take a streetwear brand and redefine what it could be, recognizing that well-crafted footwear deserves to be sold at a premium. It’s still a young brand, and he understands that a lot of people aren’t comfortable spending $1,500 on a pair of shoes or jacket, but he’s trying to make that happen. And it’s commendable that he’s doing that.

43. Andy Friedman

Who And Why: Timberland lifestyle guru
Years Of Influence: 2000-present

When you have a guy that tries to put out interesting stuff within a billion-dollar company like Timberland, you have to respect that. He’s a renegade in a business that focuses more on making margins, than on making a culture. And there are a lot of confines in such a big company, from battling egos, attitudes, and sales, which can really interfere with your ability to put out dope shit. Andy is one the footwear industry O.G.s. (Notably, Andy is the one who came to Reed Space a day after the Pigeon Dunk event and said “Timberland would like a riot, too.”)

42. Fraser Cooke

Who And Why: DJ, hairdresser, Nike energy leader
Years Of Influence: 1989-present

Each major region of Nike has an energy leader, and that person is responsible for all the cool shit that happens in that region. Fraser is the head of all those regions. On his business card, it actually says Nike Global Energy Leader, which sounds like he’s some sort of engineer. It’s a very powerful position in Nike that comes with a ton of responsibility. But Fraser is a guy that isn’t afraid to do what he wants, no matter how experimental or creative it gets.

41. DJ Clark Kent

Who And Why: DJ, sneaker connoisseur, designer
Years Of Influence: 1985-present

Clark Kent actually got to design shoes with Nike and release them on a global scale, even becoming an ambassador for AF1s. To be able to parlay your thriving music career into a position that allows you to work directly with brands such as Nike is so dope. You don’t see that happening often.

40. Ronnie Fieg

Who And Why: Designer, entrepreneur, collaborator
Years Of Influence: 1998-present

Ronnie was the head buyer for David Z for many years. He now has a store called Kith and in my mind, Ronnie is one of those young guns that will carry the torch for sneaker culture as it moves forward. He’s a great mix of being educated from the streets and yet, experienced and professional enough to work within large companies. To have both of those ears finely tuned is a really powerful thing to have.

39. Paul Fireman

Who And Why: Established Reebok in America, challenged Nike
Years Of Influence: 1979-present

Paul is responsible for everything that Reebok has done from the '70s through the '00s. And regardless of what you may think of Reebok as a brand, they are major players in the sneaker culture. Any sneaker executive will tell you that, while there’s a love-hate relationship between all major shoe companies, they all need each other, and if one brand sinks, the whole economy sinks. Freestyle, Aerobics, Reebok Classics, RBK, S. Carter, Pump…not a bad resume.

38. Julius Erving

Who And Why: Basketball legend, slam dunk innovator
Years Of Influence: 1971-1987

Beyond his sports resume, Dr. J was just one of those athletes that was able to carry a brand like Converse on his shoulders. No one will forget his behind-the-backboard layup, or his performance in the first-ever ABA Slam Dunk contest, and I think that he really catapulted Converse further into sneaker lore.

37. Kazuki Kuraishi

Who And Why: Streetwear icon, designer
Years Of Influence: 2003-present

Like Ronnie Fieg, Kazuki is sort of carrying the torch for sneaker culture. He’s an extremely talented, hard-working, humble designer in both fashion and footwear and has done a lot of stuff with adidas Originals, including the dope ObyO collection.

36. Jesse Levya

Who And Why: Nike designer, innovator, creative
Years Of Influence: 1996-present

Jesse was extremely instrumental in a lot of the energy product that was being released out of Nike. The entire distribution of tiered accounts that they have today also owes him a lot of credit. Working mostly on the product side, Jesse was also one of the few footwear designers Nike put in front of a camera to represent The Swoosh. (Probably because of his boyish good looks!)

35. Edison Chen

Who And Why: Actor, musician, entrepreneur, founder and owner, CLOT
Years Of Influence: 2000-present

Edison has been able to use his position and leverage to sort of become an ambassador for companies that want to enter the mysterious, complex Far East market. And economically, a lot of people are starting to see China as the global powerhouse, so he definitely deserves to be on this list for turning into a gatekeeper for that future global leader. In turns of sneaker culture, I just see him as being a player for a long time.

34. John McEnroe

Who And Why: Tennis bad boy, rebel
Years Of Influence: 1977-1992

John embodied the bad-boy mentality. And tennis has a lot of great, great players today, but I don’t see them bleeding competitiveness the same way John did. They’re almost robot-like nowadays. And the thing about John, he was the top player during his time and he wasn’t even playing in tennis shoes! He wore cross-trainers. As a sneakerhead, it made me believe in that movement. It was a genius move.

33. Charles Barkley

Who And Why: The Round Mound of Rebound, not a role model
Years Of Influence: 1984-present

Like John McEnroe, Barkley conveyed that same heart, passion, and don’t-give-a-fuck mentality. They just wanted to excel at their respective sport by any means necessary. And at the time, Barkley was sort of the voice behind Nike’s Force division. A shoe-in for the Top 50.

32. Alife

Who And Why: Arbiters of downtown cool
Years Of Influence: 2002-present

The Alife crew still stands as a pioneer in the boutique world. They opened their first store on Orchard Street and it was one of the first to carry Staple back in the day. The product they were releasing was very innovative and they were a huge inspiration for the operation of Reed Space and Staple today. They are also one of the few indies that were able to successfully put out their own footwear label.

31. Yoichiro Kitadate

Who And Why: NBA fan, Jordanhead, Boon creator
Years Of Influence: 1995-present

Imagine if Stuart Scott of ESPN had a clothing line and a dope retail store. That’s what Yo is! He’s pretty much the basketball expert in Japan who also owned an innovative store in Tokyo called T6M along with his clothing line, Diffeducation. Just one of those guys that was able to pull all of these elements together and spread the seeds of sneaker culture and sneaker history. Back in the '90s, his column in Woofin Magazine was the Bible.

30. Paul Mittleman

Who And Why: Downtown kid, creative director for Stüssy and adidas Originals
Years Of Influence: 1992-present

Paul was the Creative Director of Stüssy for many, many years. He’s now at Adidas in Germany and was really influential in the early days of street culture and sneaker culture, especially when Stüssy had a huge link with a lot of brands like Nike, Timberland, and Vans.

29. Hommyo Hidefumi

Who And Why: Atmos and Chapter founder, owner
Years Of Influence: 2000-present

In addition to the venerable boutique Atmos, Hommyo has a group of stores called Chapter, which, compared to Atmos, is more mainstream. And so, he was one of the great influencers because of how he was able to get his hands on great product. The way sneaker companies tier their distribution now, certain stores only get certain things, but because Hommyo had his hands in many different tiers, he was able to get anything he wanted! He took the rules of what companies had put together and turned it around on them.

28. Jay-Z

Who And Why: Businessman, business, man
Years Of Influence: 1996-present

His style and musical influence changed the course of how a lot of people got into sneakers. There was a time during his musical career when whatever he said was law. He was also one of the few and first rappers to get his own collection of shoes. In this case, with Reebok and the S. Carter line.

27. Simon Wood

Who And Why: Founder and editor of Sneaker Freaker
Years Of Influence: 2002-present

Woody is the founder of a still-thriving sneaker print publication that comes out on a consistent basis. And in a world dominated by digital social media, I think it’s important that we still have individuals that document (and print) this kind of stuff. Thirty years from now, we’re not going to scroll through thousands of online pages to show our grandkids what we thought was dope. We’re going to whip out a physical book and say, “Look through this, this is why I got into sneakers.”

26. Futura and Stash

Who And Why: Graf legends, brand collaborators
Years Of Influence: 2003-present

I combined Stash and Futura because their work goes hand in hand. They were instrumental at a time when sneaker companies really first embraced artists. They were the first two that were prominently displayed on the exterior of shoes, probably making history without even knowing it at the time. Stash’s Air Force 1 was actually voted as the best Air Force 1 of all time. Pretty amazing.

25. Adi and Rudi Dassler

Who And Why: Brothers, rivals, founders of adidas and Puma respectively
Years Of Influence: 1924-present

Adolf and Rudolf started adidas and the lore is that they got into a big family battle, with Rudolf storming out and deciding to create his own brand, which turned out to be Puma. The two brands created out of this bloodline, without a doubt, are forever powerhouses in the sneaker industry.

24. Marcus Tayui

Who And Why: The man behind co.jp and SB, Quickstrike innovator
Years Of Influence: 1998-present

Those at Nike know that if Mr. Tayui never worked at The Swoosh, things would be very different there. You could argue that HF might not be involved in Nike. Hence HTM might not exist. Early Nike COJP editions might not exist. Which in turn could have meant that Tier Zero wouldn’t have existed. On top of that, Marcus pretty much started Nike SB. And to be responsible for that, pretty much cements you in sneaker history forever. He was also responsible for the Pigeon Dunk happening. He’s the guy that said “Jeff, you wanna design a Dunk dedicated to NYC?” Guess what my answer was.

23. Bill Bowerman

Who And Why: Coach, tinkerer, Nike's co-founder and first designer
Years Of Influence: 1964-1999

Unlike Phil Knight, the other co-founder, Bill was less interested in turning Nike into a billion-dollar corporation. Bill was the guy with the waffle-maker making the shoe. His whole thing was to take as much off the shoe as possible without sacrificing comfort and stability. He was pretty much the madman scientist and very instrumental in literally shaping the history of sneakers. Why is he so low on this list? I think without Phil Knight, Nike would not be where it is today.

22. Andre Agassi

Who And Why: Tennis icon, acid-wash wearer, mullet king
Years Of Influence: 1986-2006

Andre is an athlete that deserves credit for what he did to the game of tennis and sport in general. He was just so radical. When he played in Wimbledon, for example, he refused to wear all white. Andre actually came out in denim shorts that Nike designed for him and his shoes were pink & lime green. With everything Andre did, good or bad, it elevated Nike. All that “bad” press for Andre was actually amazing for Nike.

21. Kihachiro Onitsuka

Who And Why: Founder of Onitsuka Tiger, godfather of Nike
Years Of Influence: 1949-2007

For a long time in Japan, Asics was the number-one shoe company. They’re most known in Japan for outfitting kids in public schools with gym gear. I really am a fan of what they do on a contemporary basis as well. They have a really keen, tasteful eye in everything that they produce. Furthermore, in the lore of sneaker history, one could argue that if it weren’t for Asics, Nike would not exist. Phil Knight was a sales rep for Asics. His frustrations with supplying the demand for Asics, fueled him to start his brand—Blue Ribbon Sports, which later became Nike.

20. Jon Warren

Who And Why: Skater, head designer at Vans
Years Of Influence: 2002-present

From cementing their feet into skate culture to doing collaborations with Opening Ceremony, Vans is one of those strange brands that has the ability to morph into any culture they come to. It’s just become a great canvas—a blank slate that Vans allows others to draw on. Mr. Warren has balanced this dual identity of Vans superbly.

19. eBay Resellers

Who And Why: Game changers
Years Of Influence: 1995-present

There was a time in sneaker history when it looked like this: Tradeshows, Salespeople, Buyers, Retailers, Rinse, Repeat. The resellers phenomenon turned shoes from commodities, to collectables. Collectively, they’ve created a stock market for sneakers. And I’ll tell you, that little mentality of knowing eBay exists changes the way footwear designers design shoes. It’s no longer about what the Foot Locker buyer will like. It’s about the extra detail that will make everyone go crazy and pay insane amounts of money to get their hands on an exclusive pair.

18. Damany Weir

Who And Why: Entrepreneur, Flight Club founder
Years Of Influence: 1998-present

Damany was one of the top eBay resellers, putting a stranglehold on the entire global market of sneaker releases and making a ton of money from it. He eventually turned that into a business called Flight Club and sneaker companies really had no idea what to do about it. His store is an anomaly, carrying kicks that not even Nike Town had, but he didn’t even have accounts with sneaker companies. Damany definitely flipped the market upside-down.

17. Biz Markie

Who And Why: Nobody beats the Biz
Years Of Influence: 1986-present

Like Jay, Biz was able to mix his sneaker fandom with music to really influence his fanbase. It’s said he has over 20,000 pairs of kicks! And a lot of sneaker enthusiasts really respect him for his unique, experimental style. As crazy as his outfits might have seemed at the time, everyone respected The Biz.

16. John Jay

Who And Why: Wieden & Kennedy brain
Years Of Influence: 1982-present

John is sort of a behind-the-scenes guy, and a lot of people may not know about him, but he’s pretty much responsible for Nike’s advertising and marketing, and for kids falling in love with Nike back in the 80s and 90s. Their most memorable taglines, “Become Legendary”, “Just Do It”, “There Is No Finish Line”, came out of the brain farm of John & Co. If Nike is a religion, John Jay wrote the scripture.

15. Chuck Taylor

Who And Why: Ballplayer, salesman, designer, patron saint of Converse
Years Of Influence: 1921-1968

I think Chuck Taylor is the first shoe ever to have an athlete’s name on it. And to this day, the Chuck Taylor All-Star is the most successful basketball shoe in all of history. No. 1, bar none. Wow. The shoe becomes a staple.

14. Bobbito Garcia

Who And Why: Basketball player, DJ, author, filmmaker, keeper of the culture
Years Of Influence: 1980-present

Bobbito’s just an incredible multifaceted talent. And when all is said and done, this culture will need a historian; a librarian. He’s been there since day one, expounding on sneakers when nobody gave a shit yet. I’d say he’s the Obi-wan Kenobi of sneaker history.

13. Bo Jackson

Who And Why: Two-sport athlete, the face and spirit of Nike cross-training
Years Of Influence: 1986-present

At least for me, the whole “Bo Knows” campaign really cemented Nike as an athletics performance company. The commercials were just so awesome, and Bo impacted me more than any other athlete at the time. And because he was a dual-sports player, he became the perfect Crosstraining spokesperson for Nike, which further cemented my belief in Nike as the epitome of an all-around sneaker brand.

12. James Jebbia

Who And Why: Supreme NYC
Years Of Influence: 1994-present

The influence that Supreme has on sneakers to this day is one of the most exciting things to look forward to if you love shoes as much as I do. There are people that hate on what he has created. But you cannot deny the fact that most sneaker companies would give their right and left arms to work with James. That says a lot about where he is in this culture.

11. Spike Lee

Who And Why: Director, actor, Mars Blackmon
Years Of Influence: 1985-present

What makes sneaker culture sustainable and vibrant is when different elements are mixed together—combining fashion and music, for example. Spike did it with film. He was able to convey on-screen how sneakerheads feel in their soul. Like, people actually get pissed when someone steps on your sneaker? Spike explained it for the world to see.

10. Run DMC

Who And Why: Hip-hop pioneers, endorsement pioneers, kings from Queens
Years Of Influence: 1981-present

They took music and hip-hop culture, and fused it together with sneaker culture. Most notably, talking about what most sneaker enthusiasts had in mind but could not showcase on a global level. Run DMC was able to do that, and it really shined a bright light on such a unique underground scene at the time. History makers. MY ADIDAS!!!!

9. Mark Parker

Who And Why: Runner, designer, Nike CEO
Years Of Influence: 1979-present

Everything that Nike does from the top down is considered from a design perspective, not from a sales, product, or marketing perspective. Literally, everything is well thought out, from shoes to socks to fuckin’ yoga mats. And you have to really respect Mark for not allowing a $20 billion company to sway from that notion. Nike and Apple. That’s it. They exist on another level.

8. Nigo

Who And Why: Designer, BAPE founder, filtyh rich
Years Of Influence: 1993-present

Prior to A Bathing Ape, huge corporations owned the sneaker world. Nigo came along (admittedly ripped off a silhouette), and was able to make a dent in that players’ club of huge giants. All of a sudden, exec’s asked “How the fuck is this Bape guy making so much noise?!” It definitely takes a lot to get the attention of these titans and that’s what he did. Nike tried to shut him down, but their trademarks and copyrights were not airtight enough on their Air Force 1s to do so. The game was hence changed. Nigo opened the door for a lot of independent footwear brands.

7. Eddie Cruz and James Bond

Who And Why: UNDFTD, Union, L.A. style pushers
Years Of Influence: 2002-present

While other people were opening up single boutiques, the UNDFTD Crew was opening multiple stores and really killin' it. That’s why they're so high up on this list. To me, Eddie is a little guppy in an ocean of conglomerates that shoe brands can’t neglect or stomp all over. I love that David and Goliath mentality and look forward to the day when there will be 100 Undefeated stores. Remember the days when Athlete’s Foot, Foot Locker and Champs were the only stores you could go to physically get kicks? No longer.

6. Kanye West

Who And Why: Rapper, producer, designer, an actual real-life influencer
Years Of Influence: 2000-present

In today’s sneaker world, there’s not much more excitement to be had than when a pair of Yeezys drop. You could also say that the excitement over Jordans is drafting off of him, too, because he’s always seen rocking 1s or 4s. His whole style and persona has had so much influence over sneakerheads and fashion enthusiasts alike. Last I counted, not too many people are doing shoes with the Swoosh and Louis Vuitton.

5. Phil Knight

Who And Why: Runner, Nike founder
Years Of Influence: 1964-present

Phil Knight—Nike Chairman. I mean, what more can I say?

4. Hiroshi Fujiwara

Who And Why: Streetwear godfather, stylist, the "H" in "HTM"
Years Of Influence: 1988-present

Hiroshi is pretty much the godfather of all things “street”. He brought DJ and hip-hop culture to Japan and then became an influential, iconic stylist. He’s got his fingers in pretty much everything: Supreme, Nike, Levi’s, Oakley, Kangol, Burton, Visvim, Stussy, Fragment, W-Taps, Neighborhood, Soph and the list goes on. One of these days, I’m going to create a lineage of where streetwear began, and Hiroshi will probably be at the very top of that tree

3. Kevin Ma

Who And Why: Hypebeast founder, blog pioneer
Years Of Influence: 2005-present

I just heard a thousand moans. Hear me out.

If you’re a sneakerhead, imagine a world without Hypebeast and everything that they represent. What would that mean to the culture today? It would TOTALLY change it, not just from a fan standpoint, but also from a brand standpoint. Ask people from the sneaker companies about Hypebeast and they’ll probably say that half of their current employees would be without jobs if it weren’t for this blog. It’s to the point where brands go apeshit if they’re featured on the front page of Hypebeast. (And conversely feel like a failure if they are passed up by Kevin and crew.) They’ve become so successful in fact, their company name has now being used as an adjective to describe people. Don’t forget this. Kevin started out as a fan. Just like you. Just like me. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

2. Tinker Hatfield

Who And Why: The greatest sneaker designer of all time
Years Of Influence: 1985-present

Tinker is the Leonardo da Vinci of sneaker history. Just thinking about everything he’s designed and put pen to paper on, it’s amazing. Air Trainer 1. AJ 3–15! The AJ 20. The man invented CROSSTRAINING, Huarache, ACG, and the Air Max 1, AM90, Talaria, Lebron 1, P-Rod, and more. You gotta understand the legacy each invention has had in its own right. And because he’s able to get on a stage and talk about his work, this enables him to spread his influence even more. Apple has Jony Ive. Nike has Tinker.

1. Michael Jordan

Who And Why: The greatest basketball player of all time
Years Of Influence: 1984-present

Michael Jordan is just that dude. If Tinker Hatfield is Leonardo da Vinci, Jordan is Zeus: The deity that was able to distort gravity and physics. When you look at a superhero, you look at what that superhero is wearing. Superman had his cape. Batman, his utility belt. With Jordan, it was his shoes. Jordan gave you the dream and any part of that you could capture, you did. It had to be the shoes.

Also, consider the rest of this list. If you were able to pull aside the other 49 people and ask them to choose one person they’d like to work with, I think the consensus would be MJ. He is the G.O.A.T.