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The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Complex

252 episodes

2 weeks ago

On The Complex Sneakers Podcast. Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal discuss the most important sneaker news and topics every week, and give their expert opinions that can only be told authentically from Complex.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Society & Culture

All content for The Complex Sneakers Podcast is the property of Complex and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

On The Complex Sneakers Podcast. Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal discuss the most important sneaker news and topics every week, and give their expert opinions that can only be told authentically from Complex.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show more...

Society & Culture

Episodes (20/252)

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

The Truth Behind Reselling Sneakers In 2025

On the final episode of 2025 of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal are joined by sneaker reseller Sole Street, Andre Arias, to talk about the current state of sneaker resale, if resellers are down bad, and the glory days of reselling sneakers. They also talk about Jeff Staple throwing fake Pigeon Dunks on a traffic light, Jerry Lorenzo leaving Adidas, and the Air Jordan 14s coming back.

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2 weeks ago

1 hour 23 minutes 58 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Tracy McGrady Says Kobe Leaving Adidas Helped Him Get a Bigger Deal

On this week of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal are joined by NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady and he talks about his history with Adidas, how Kobe Bryant leaving the brand helped him negotiate a bigger deal, LeBron James wearing his sneakers in high school, where Adidas basketball went wrong, wearing Yeezys, and his infamous viral baggy suit, and more.

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3 weeks ago

1 hour 1 minute 1 second

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Rich Paul Talks NBA Sneaker Deals, Steph Curry's Free Agency, and New Balance Sneaker

This week on the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal are joined by legendary sports agent Rich Paul, who's a longtime friend and business partner to LeBron James, to talk about NBA sneaker deals, Steph Curry's sneaker free agency, and his upcoming sneaker release with New Balance. Paul talks about how he used to buy Air Jordans early for over retail, helping Nike and LeBron work on the LeBron 6, 7, and 8, and how he hand-delivered the Watch the Throne LeBron 9s to Jay-Z and Kanye West. He goes to on say that Ja Morant has the best sneaker in the NBA out of younger players and talks about how he signed to New Balance and the release details on his New Balance 2010.

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1 month ago

1 hour 19 minutes 58 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Ranking Our Top 25 Shoes Of This Century

This week on the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal talk about the 25 Best Sneakers of the 21st Century. They break down Kanye's Air Yeezys and Adidas Boosts, the Nike Mag, Pigeon Dunk, Tiffany Dunk, Galaxy Foamposite, and more. They say whether or not the sneakers should have made the list and if Yeezy 350s were way too low. They also discuss Travis Scott wearing an Adidas Y3 jacket and Steph Curry's sneaker free agency.

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1 month ago

1 hour 28 minutes 56 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Joe Freshgoods Keeps It Real About His New Balance Releases, Bootlegs, and Nas Wearing His Sneakers

This week on the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma and Matt Welty takeover the podcast duties with Upscale Vandal out sick. They’re joined by designer and New Balance collaborator Joe Freshgoods to talk about his long line of projects with the brand including his recent 2010 collaboration, the 992, and his 990v3 and 1000. He talks about how many units he makes, the reality of the industry, Nas wearing his sneakers inspired by the movie “Belly” and more.

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1 month ago

1 hour 12 minutes 53 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Our Personal Top 10 Sneaker of The Year Lists

On the latest episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal finally put the Sneaker of the Year talk to bed. The hosts give their personal top 10 sneaker of the year lists with some constants from the ComplexCon panel, some surprises, and plenty of debate. They also unbox the SoleFly x Air Jordan 3 and the Travis Scott x Fragment x Air Jordan 1 Low, talk about sneaker theft, and much more.

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1 month ago

1 hour 15 minutes 2 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

The Best Sneakers of 2025 | Complex Con(versations) Panel

At ComplexCon 2025, Joe La Puma was joined by Fat Joe, Vashtie, Matt Welty, Brendan Dunne, and Upscale Vandal to discuss and rank the best sneakers of the year as chosen by the Complex team. Nigel Sylvester’s Air Jordan 4s, Air Max 95s, Awake’s Air Jordan 5s, and more are all debated as the audience discusses whether they like the choices or not and gives feedback to the panel in real time.

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1 month ago

1 hour 1 minute 45 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

The Shoes That Didn't Make the Sneaker of the Year List

This week on The Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal discuss the sneakers that didn’t make the Sneaker of the Year list and why: Vans Souvenirs, Yu-Gi-Oh 95s, and more.

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2 months ago

55 minutes 31 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Salehe Bembury Changed the Game at New Balance, Crocs, and Yeezy

Salehe Bembury joins this week’s episode of The Complex Sneakers Podcast to talk about his new book, “I Make Shoes”, his new brand, SPUNGE, and his sneaker history with Yeezy, New Balance, and Crocs.

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2 months ago

1 hour 22 minutes 21 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Ghostface Killah Tells Hilarious Wu-Tang Sneaker Stories

This week on the Complex Sneakers Podcast co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal are joined by Wu-Tang Clan member and rap legend Ghostface Killah to talk about his love for Clarks Wallabees, Nike Air Maxes, his rap lyrics, influence on streetwear and fashion, and to hear hilarious stories about his changing footwear choices over the years.

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2 months ago

1 hour 13 minutes 45 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

How Coolkicks Got Busted With $500,000 of Stolen Sneakers

This week on the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty, and Upscale Vandal talk about the Coolkicks stolen sneaker scandal, Pharrell’s Jellyfish sneaker with Adidas, and why JLP doesn’t love all patent leather sneakers.

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2 months ago

1 hour 1 minute 24 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Is Jordan Brand Rinsing the Air Jordan 11?

On this week’s episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Matt Welty and Upscale Vandal discuss Air Jordan retros sitting on shelves, whether or not Jordan Brand is doing too much with the Air Jordan 11 for its 30th anniversary, and Welty seeing Michael Jordan at a NASCAR race in New Hampshire.

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3 months ago

58 minutes 58 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Tom Sachs Talks the Mars Yard 3.0 And Announces His Next Sneaker

Tom Sachs is on the Complex Sneakers Podcast this week to talk about his Nike Mars Yard 3.0, to unveil the brand new and upcoming Nike General Purpose Participation Shoe, address the allegations made against him at Nike in 2023, and his history in footwear and art. We even found out that Tom Sachs used to be an Air Jordan 9 guy. Elsewhere, the guys talk about the return of the "Toyko" Air Jordan 5, the return of grail-level shoes in general, and more.

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3 months ago

1 hour 14 minutes 8 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Ranking The Best Sneaker Collaborators Right Now (2025)

The Complex Sneakers Podcast is back for its first episode since Upscale Vandal joined Joe La Puma and Matt Welty as a new host. The three guys catch up, Vandal explains why he joined the podcast and they go over the Sneaker Collaborator Power Rankings, as decided by the Complex Sneakers team. The team debates Travis Scott, Nigel Sylvester, Jae Tips, ASAP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, and more.

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3 months ago

1 hour 41 minutes 28 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Is the Air Jordan 4 "White Cement" Worth It or Not?

On this week's episode of the Complex Sneakers Podcast, Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty discuss the upcoming Air Jordan 4 "White Cement," that re-released for the first time since 2016. The crew looks at the shoe's quality, leather, history, and more. And discusses whether or not they deserve a price tag of $225. They also discuss Lil Yachty's Air Force 1 release in NYC, Dick's Sporting Goods buying Foot Locker, and how good the Air Max 95 is this year.

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7 months ago

1 hour 6 minutes 23 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Reacting to the Spicy Sneaker Talk Online

It happens to the best of us—we let a sneaker argument online get us in our feelings. This week, we relive a recent online drama involving our own Matt Welty and the Cincinnati sneaker store Unheardof over their “Piggy Runner” Adidas collaboration. The other cohosts, Joe La Puma and Brendan Dunne, give a progress update on the great sneaker purge of 2025. Also in this episode: “Rodeo” SB Dunks, more NIke Kobe retros, the “White Cement” Jordan 4, and Dunne going belt shopping at a random man’s apartment. Note that this week's episode was shot in a temporary studio—we'll be back to normal in a few weeks.

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7 months ago

1 hour 2 minutes 25 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Nike Is Really Selling Dirty Triple White Air Force 1s

The ‘Dirty Triple White’ Nike Air Force 1 is the most viral sneaker this year. It’s a shoe from Nike’s Dot Swoosh division that’s made to look like it’s been worn-in right out of the box. The shoe is supposed to get cleaner as you wear it, revealing a crispy white Air Force 1 underneath. Why are people so mad about it? On this episode, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty discuss the sacred status of the white-on-white Air Force 1s, the less-talked-about black pair, and the real thing you should be mad about when it comes to Uptowns. Also on this episode, a preview of New Balance’s Grey Day celebration, a recap of the best sneakers of the year so far, and the upcoming Undefeated x Air Jordan 4.

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8 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes 43 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

The Worst Air Jordans of All Time

We love Air Jordans—and we’ve spent a lot of time discussing the best ones—but let’s be honest, there have been some truly awful Jordan releases in the past 40 years. In this episode, co hosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty pick out their least favorite Air Jordans of all time. Who is responsible for the J2K “Filbert” Jordan 7? Why do the “Plaid” Air Jordan 5s exist? And are the Dub Zeroes really that bad? Also in this episode, discussions about the latest Nike SNKRS update, the tariffs’ effects on Adidas sneaker prices, and even more Air Max 95 talk.

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8 months ago

1 hour 5 minutes 51 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Is Nike's $900 Hyperboot Recovery Shoe Just a Gimmick?

Nike and Hyperice are dropping a wild pair of $900 boots that they say will help you warm up and recover from physical activity. How do the Nike Hyperboots actually work? And how wearable are they as shoes? We test a pair out in this episode. Also, co-hosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty talk about the upcoming Nike SB Air Max 95, too-early picks for sneaker of the year, and that new shoe smell that we’re still all obsessed with.

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8 months ago

1 hour 2 minutes 45 seconds

The Complex Sneakers Podcast

Ranking Every Nike Signature Sneaker From Best to Worst

There’s no debating that Michael Jordan has the best signature sneaker line ever in the Air Jordans, but who comes next? How close is Penny Hardaway to the top tier of signature shoes with designs like the Foamposite? And where do Bo Jackson and Ken Griffey’s shoes stack up? Does Carmelo Anthony deserve a spot in the tier list? Co-hosts Joe La Puma, Brendan Dunne, and Matt Welty put together a tier-list ranking of all-time Nike signature lines in this episode. Also, an update on the Air Max 95 “Neon” rollout, news about Bodega’s struggles, and a narrowly avoided April Fools’ prank.

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9 months ago

1 hour 1 minute 4 seconds