New colorways for the AND1 Empire Mid (Japan Collection) out now

[Shoe News – 3.12.13] – New colorways for the AND1 Empire Mid (Japan Collection) out now

Inks and Images: FLASH aka g_sk1lls

Two new colorways of the AND1 Empire Mid have recently hit the shelves in local AKT!V outlets & department stores.  Previously slated to arrive mid- to late December last year, these New York Knicks/Miami Heat–inspired kicks round up the 2012 footwear line-up for the 3^rd and 4^th quarter.

Empire Mid Japan Collection plus the original White/White/Silver colorway.

Price point is at Php 4,995/pair:

• Empire Mid (Japan Collection)
• BLACK/BLACK/VARSITY RED
• ROYAL/NY ORANGE/WHITE

Please also do check out this previously uploaded AND1 Ph blog article about the latest 2012 Q3/Q4 footwear releases. 

• More shoe models for 2012 Q3/Q4 now locally available!

Big thanks to Relzbach Ventures/AKT!V partners as always (especially to the Gola Greenbelt crew) for the regular update on these new arrivals.  Stay tuned for new 2013 Q1 & Q2 footwear.  Follow us on Twitter (@and1ph) and please LIKE us on Facebook (facebook.com/and1ph).  Check out the new models for yourselves, And Juans!

New York or Miami?

Rocking And1’s, 14-year old standing at almost 7-feet joins Chile’s under-15 national team

[Foreign Flava – 3.22.12] – Rocking And1’s, 14-year old standing at almost 7-feet joins Chile’s under-15 national team

Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls 

Images: Deportes.terra.cl , and B.A.E. for the And1 Rebound Mid

The Chilean under-15 national team definitely had a huge boost with young Javier Barra joining the squad this month.  Standing at 2.08 meters tall (roughly 6’ 10”), this 14 year old is projected by his countrymen as the next (literally) big thing in Chile basketball.  Click HERE for the source material.

Recruited by Manuel Cordova, coach of Chile national teams, Javier has a distinct advantage in the post, both in offense and defense, and according to scouting reports, is improving steadily his skill and techniques in playing the game.

According to an interview by a Chile website (Mobile BiobioChilem, translated to English), Barra said “I am with all the desire to continue training and get into the selection. This is a very new experience for me, I see that basketball is all a way for me. In fact this sport forward hopefully take me to get a scholarship that allows me to study at a time. I never thought I was going to happen so, reaching the national preselection, I'm very excited, because I used to play for entertainment and now is something else. I have good shot and my height is easy for me to win the rebounds. Besides, I like to defend."

It is interesting to note that this youngster is wearing an And1 Chile jersey in the images provided, and is using the And1 Rebound Mid.  I am not surprised about the choice of footwear, given it is a very sturdy and solid shoe, plus it definitely matches this kid’s game..wearing the Rebound Mids while hauling down the rebounds.

We’ll be featuring international And1 news occasionally (shoutouts to AND1 Chile), and for your regular local updates, we are also on Twitter (follow @and1ph) and LIKE us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/and1ph).  And that’s the 411, And Juan!

The And1 Empire Mid Shoe Review by Bryan Hinkle (Counterkicks)

[Sneaker Review – 3.6.12] – The And1 Empire Mid Shoe Review by Bryan Hinkle (Counterkicks)

Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls 

Images: Counterkicks.com

Bryan Hinkle (regular performance review contributor for Counterkicks.com) has just posted his full-length review of the And1 Empire Mids.  He writes “I wore the Empire Mid on court before I even got home that night and I have never, EVER had a shoe get as many I-want-those-when-do-they-come out comments…” and dubbed it  “Seatbelts for feet”.  

He posted some pictures of the pair that he weartested (Yellow/White, swag!), some of which I have mirrored below.

Read the shoe review by clicking HERE (redirect to Counterkicks performance review).

Follow Counterkicks on Twitter (@Counterkicks) and for your regular local updates, we are also on Twitter (follow @and1ph) and LIKE us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/and1ph).  And that’s the 411, And Juan!

New AND1 footwear for 2012 Q1/Q2 have finally arrived!

[Shoe News – 2.5.12] – New AND1 footwear for 2012 Q1/Q2 have finally arrived!

Inks and Images: FLASH aka g_sk1lls

Last Friday (February 3), AKT!V outlets such as the one in Glorietta 4 already received their stocks of new 2012 footwear for the 1^st and 2^nd quarter of the year.  Two shoe models for Men’s (adults) are now available locally, the Ultra Lyte Low and the Total Assist Mid; plus two different colorways of the Intensity Mid for kids and a new colorway for the Assault Mid, also for kids.

The Ultra Lyte Low (black/yellow) appears to be part of the off-court collection by And1, best used for shoot-arounds and training instead of actual game play.  The material is unlike the mesh covering of the current off-court model – the Downtime Low (patent leather), but they seem to share the same sole.  It has a small “L2G” tag on the topmost section of its shoelace hole, giving indication that the shoe offers Low 2 Ground And1 technology for its users.  It retails for Php 4995.

The Total Assist Mid (white/black/varsity red) is a performance shoe that somehow reminds me of the Storm Mid construction (click HERE for a previous article on that model) combined with the Release Mid (also previously featured, click HERE).  The colorway doesn’t really strike me that much, so I’ll most likely wait for new versions of this shoe for the meantime.  You can buy a pair for Php 3495.

For the young ballers, And1 Intensity Mids for kids are being sold for Php 3925 per pair and comes in two colors – black/black/grey and white/blue.  They are lightweight but appear to offer moderate ankle support.  The black/black/grey version can double up as malling shoes best paired with jeans, while the white/blue version looks really good if the kid uses it with a nice pair of walking shorts / basketball shorts.

Last but not the least, a new colorway of the Assault Mid (a previously released model for kids) rounds up the first batch of And1 shoe drops for February.  Retailing for Php 2795 (just like the other CWs of the Assault Mid for kids), the black/blue version is quite attractive to the eyes and really stands out with that silver highlights on the Player logo.  While it’s already a previously released model, this colorway looks really good in my opinion, and I would recommend this pair to parents out there looking for a solid shoe for their young boys to hoop in.

Big thanks to Relzbach Ventures/AKT!V partners for the update on these new arrivals including the price point, and also shoutouts to And1/Akt!v G4 store (especially to my man Joe Hook Up) for the heads up on the actual in-store arrival of the new models.  There could be a couple more models due to arrive this month, so standby if they do show up in shelves soon.  Follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news (@and1ph) on shoe sightings, and please LIKE us on Facebook (facebook.com/and1ph) so that our posts appears on your newsfeeds.  Check out the new models for yourselves, And Juans!

More images of upcoming 2012 And1 footwear are showing up online

[Shoe News – 1.24.12] – More images of upcoming 2012 And1 footwear are showing up online

Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls 
Images: And1 Spain (official website), And1 Australia (via Twitter), And1 Brasil (via Facebook), Taobao.com (Chinese auction site), Rakuten.jp, and other various sources

I’ve done some random searches for 2012 And1 footwear for the last two weeks (you know, just to see if there are new stuff to be released soon) and I’ve been quite impressed with the image results that I’ve come across.

So to save you all the trouble of finding these images by yourselves, I’ve collected and posted them in the And1 Ph official Facebook fanpage and have re-hosted some pictures below.  Since different shoe models come in various colorways, I’m just posting one colorway per silhouette and will just leave it to you to visit (and LIKE) our FB fanpage for the rest of the images.

Speaking of sneak previews, I’ve posted an article about And1 Fukuoka’s (Japan) official website and online post with sneak previews [click HERE to read it].  A few days ago, And1 Australia also posted their own sneak preview via Twitter (@and1australia).  And their respective Facebook pages, And1 Brasil and And1 Taiwan have shared a couple of images of new kicks as well.

As I’ve mentioned, check out more images of 2012 sneak-er previews via our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/and1ph.  For now, enjoy the images I’ve shared below.  ONE!

And1 Reign Mid - Image courtesy of And1 Spain (http://www.and1.es/)
Black/Purple/Purple

And1 Release Mid - Image courtesy of And1 Spain (http://www.and1.es/)
New colorway - White/Navy/Silver

 And1 Rocket 2.0 - Image courtesy of And1 Spain (http://www.and1.es/)

New colorway - White/White/Varsity Red

And1 Ultra Lyte Low - Image courtesy of And1 Spain (http://www.and1.es/)

Dark Grey/Cement/Nasty Green

And1 Elev8 Mid

 And1 Reign Mid

 And1 Cre8 TOR Mid - Image courtesy of And1 Spain (http://www.and1.es/)

Black/Varsity Red/White

And1 kicks immortalized in (toy) plastic – Part 2 of 2

[Shoe Session – 12.28.11] - And1 kicks immortalized in (toy) plastic – Part 2 of 2

Inks: FLASH aka g_sk1lls 
Images: Spawn.com (McFarlane toys – Basketball action figures), various sources

Mabuhay, And Juans!  We’re a few days removed from Christmas weekend and slowly easing into 2012 in a few more ticks but for now, I’m continuing the December 26 blog article (click HERE to peep it) that I’ve posted about And1 shoes being made into plastic form by McFarlane Toys. 

Continuing the McFarlane Sports Picks line which produces action figures of notable NBA players since 2002, And1 was still represented thru some brand endorsers such as Big Ben Wallace, Jason Williams, Kevin Garnett, and (for a very brief period) Vince Carter.

In MSP’s Series 7, Big Ben sported the highly recognizable And1 Chosen Mids with his “Fear the ‘Fro” look.  As a side note, And1 also sold bicep bands that Big Ben popularized during his championship run with the Detroit Pistons (2004, versus the LA Lakers in 5 games).

Also part of the same wave of MSP action figures was White Chocolate aka Jason Williams.  While he played for the Memphis Grizzlies, J-Will has been representing the And1 brand hard, and while the shoe on his action figure isn’t exactly an And1 silhouette (the figure was basically just a repaint of the Mike Bibby – SAC Kings action figure), he deserves a spot in this blog post.  After all, who doesn’t love (White) Chocolate?  *winks*

Worth mentioning also in series 7 was The Kid from ‘Sota aka KG in a tomahawk dunk pose (rocking the brand with the 3 stripes?) and Vinsanity aka VC15 in his winning form in the 2000 NBA All Star Game dunk contest.  To be politically correct, VC should have been wearing a white/red And1 Taichi Mid shoe instead of a pair with the swoosh, but he has since signed with them at time of production hence no And1 love for this figure.

Stephon Marbury (after being traded to the NY Knicks) had a re-issued figure for MSP Series 8, still in the Quest Mids but in NYK duds.  I’ve already posted some images of the Quest Mids in Part 1 of this blog feature, so the image below is just the action figure of Starbury in Away NYK colors.

Fast forward to Series 12, where Big Ben Wallace (signed by the Chicago Bulls as a free agent) in a re-issued and re-colored version of his Series 7 action figure.  Wearing an Away CHI jersey, Big Ben still appears to be wearing the same And1 Chosen Mid pair but now with red highlights.

While not exactly an And1 endorser, Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies) gets mentioned in this blog for his appearance in the MSP Series 15 line-up.  Since basically he’s a repaint of the Stephon Marbury action figure, the Conley action figure sports Quest Mids (dominant white, MEM color highlights).

Finally, the Latrell Sprewell action figure was re-issued in his black Minnesota Timberwolves jersey as a McFarlane Club Exclusive.  Interesting to note, the Spree action figure is no longer wearing the Spree Mids (now in Dadas) unlike the NYK version in Series 3.

So there you have it, And Juans.  Hopefully a new And1 pair gets to be featured in another action figure’s feet somewhere down the line via McFarlane Sports Picks.

Requests for future blog features, comments, and reactions are most welcome.  Feel free to email us at and1pinas@gmail.com and please also check out our Facebook fanpage (www.facebook.com/and1ph).  We’re also on Twitter (follow @and1ph) for news, features, and the latest updates about the And1 brand in the Philippines.  And that’s the 411, And Juan!