The 2015 Sneaker Culture Awards

2015 was a crazy year in sneakers where the space got more crowded than ever. Personalities, creators and collaborators all came out of the woodwork to try and take a piece of the pie. We recognized the people below as faces that stood out in the crowd and made an impact on the genre, moving the needle in 2015. Here are The 2015 Sneaker Culture Awards.

Written by The Don Drew

It’s not very often do you see a “regular” sneaker enthusiast have a game-changing idea and then put that idea into motion and execute it to win on the biggest of stages. Josh Luber didn’t start Campless in 2015, but he sure did hit the jackpot, locking a deal with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to create a stock market type platform for sneakers, providing data on aftermarket prices of sought-after footwear and more. There’s an app, there’s a website, and there’s a whole lot more to come.

Villa stayed true to who they are by being totally investing in their community while growing their store base and ecommerce. They were recognized as one of “Philly’s Coolest Companies 2015," became one of the select few retailers to carry the exclusive Nike Doernbecher Collection, and collaborated with rappers Wale and Fabolous on product lines. Led by Digital Lead Damian Rodriguez, no “chain” retailer told better stories and connected with their customers more effectively on social media. In every possible way, Villa hit the mark in 2015.

John Geiger has always had a vision and a desire, but 2015 was the year that he made it a reality. Partnering with The Shoe Surgeon, he created the successful Misplaced Checks, custom Air Force 1s with multiple Swooshes, and sold out in minutes several different times. He collaborated with shops, created his own clothing collection, and is working on his own shoe. You may not like everything he does, it may not be your style, but he carved his own lane this year.

They went from no.1 to not mentioned at all, but in 2015 Nice Kicks made an enormous and seemingly improbable comeback to arguably be the leader once again. The video content, the consistency, and the ability to regularly connect with readers and get back in touch with exactly what the audience wants, thanks in part to getting Nick DePaula as the site's creative director and having Editor-in-Chief George Kiel III focus on exclusive video content.

The remodeled, reinvented, redesigned Kith Brooklyn store might be the coolest sneaker shop on the planet. With the first-ever cereal bar in a sneaker store launched with tennis great Andre Agassi on hand, Kith owner Ronnie Fieg created an unmatched experience for his brand’s flagship location, finalized by hanging cast Air Jordan IIs from the ceiling. Every detail in the space had to meet Fieg's standards, including the customer service. In years past Fieg has been featured for his collabs, this year he furthered his legacy with his brand.

Nightwing2303 is the best footwear reviewer on YouTube, and his consistency and longevity elevated him to new levels in 2015. Not only did he grow the WearTesters brand and website, but he got his own shoe from Brandblack that will release to the public at some point in the coming months. Despite the sneaker genre becoming more crowded than ever on YouTube, Nightwing continued to do what he’s done for years without compromising his ideals or his integrity.

Nobody on the social networks had more reliable and more consistent info about sneaker releases and product releases from Nike and Jordan brand. At times Dino (@baltsneakershow) was challenged and questioned, but he's rarely incorrect. (Early sneaker info is tricky.) He’s already dropped gems for 2016, but in 2015 nobody was as reliable and accurate.

No one is doing better sneaker collaborations right now than Concepts, and it's mainly due to the stories behind the products and how they're executed. Whether that means opening a cocaine cartel-themed pop-up shop at Art Basel for a pair of ASICS or putting a ship in its New York City space to resemble the Boston Tea Party, Concepts executes everything to a T. Behind the scenes, store manager and buyer Deon Point is popping bottles on Instagram, designer Rhett Richardson is creatively one step ahead of the game, and owner Tarek Hassan is driving foreign sports cars around Boston, which only adds to the lore and appeal of the store.

The first player to really challenge Flight Club in the consignment space, Stadium Goods launched its online store and opened its first brick-and-mortar location in 2015. Led by industry genius Yu-Ming Wu, Stadium Goods is focusing on the experience for both the buyer and seller by assessing the goods for authenticity and scheduling consignment appointments online. In a brilliant twist, they locked into an agreement with online juggernaut eBay to give their sellers even more exposure by leveraging the largest resale platform in the world.

No brand had a bigger year, in terms of cachet, than adidas. It’s impossible to argue and that adidas Global Director Entertainment and Influencer Marketing Jon Wexler was at the center of it. His marketing strategies were flawless starting with his gamble on Kanye West. With the Kanye deal, it wasn’t just about unit sales or dollars as some narrow minded numbers nerds might want you to think, but adidas and Wex won with brand awareness and the “cool factor." You might think I'm crazy saying this, [Ed. note: Yes, he is crazy for thinking this] but it wasn’t the Boost technology, Kanye, or Pusha T that made adidas cool again — at least to the American consumer — it was Wex and his vision.

The first family of reality television became the most influential gaggle of girls in sneakers in 2015. A Yeezy drop isn’t official until Kim posts the first look on her Instagram account – that became real life in 2015. But outside of the obvious Kim/Kanye tie in, they all made sneaker news. From Kylie Jenner in Supreme x Air Jordans to Khloe Kardashian dating adidas' $200M man, James Harden, or Kris Jenner wearing the Yeezy Boost, and so on, the Kardashians muscled their way into your sneaker world and they aren’t going away.

DJ Khaled does everything big, and his personality dominated the sneaker genre this year. The “Don’t ever play yourself” and “Congratulations, you played yourself” lines from his episode of Sneaker Shopping with Joe La Puma became an instant meme and .GIF all across the Internet. His Snapchat account is constantly reposted everywhere, due to its motivational and hilarious content. Like him or hate him, laugh with him or at him, Khaled definitely was the personality in sneakers in 2015.