Global Sports Brand PUMA launches a teaser of what’s to come, an exciting collaboration with London street wear brand Trapstar. The teaser drop features the DISC Blaze - one of PUMA’s iconic footwear silhouettes.

Conceived in the UK’s capital city, Trapstar was founded by Mikey, Lee and Will Trapstar who began making custom t-shirts for friends. It wasn’t long before celebrities, including PUMA’s Global Creative Director and Ambassador Rihanna, wore these bold, graphic t-shirts.

The PUMAxTrapstar DISC Blaze (R2299) has an all-over leather upper on a cleaner, simplified DISC sneaker. Finished in black, even the DISC cage has been given a soft nubuck leather treatment.

The white speckled midsole sits alongside a translucent red outsole, while the sneaker’s red colour-pop on its DISC strap and the graphic Trapstar logo on the heel highlights Trapstar’s design ethos, and achieves the ultimate balance between street wear and fashion.

Find the PUMAxTrapstar DISC Blaze at Shelflife and Anatomy from tomorrow, 12 December 2015.

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Puma South Africa | Sneakers | Culture

The new Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II Original G' is currently making its rounds within the streets. A contemporary adaptation of the exemplary Chuck Taylor All Star silhouette which delivers the following.

Innovative features

·Nike Lunarlon sockliner for superior full foot cushioning and arch support

·Foam padded collar and non-slip gusseted tongue for 360-degree comfort

·A perforated micro suede liner, for breathability during extended periods of wear.

·A fully embroidered All Star patch

·On-trend high foxing

·Monochrome matte eyelets

The Chuck II will retail for R899 (lo) and R949 (hi) and will be available at Shesha (Sandton City), Cross Over (Sandton City), Xtrend (Braamfontein), Sportscene (Canal Walk and Sandton City) and Options (Rail Park Mall,Gaborone) 

With only 720 units available, be the first to get your hands on a pair.

Available colours

·White

·Red

·Black

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Converse | Footwear | Trends

Global Sports Brand PUMA releases a collaboration with Hanon Shop, the Scotland-based sneaker store, as the final chapter in the Adventurer Pack trilogy following drops with Sneakers ‘N’ Stuff and Solebox earlier this year.

The PUMA Adventurer Pack references a time in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, when resourceful European sneakerheads ventured to the United States to source rare, vintage or new footwear that was unavailable in their local markets. Selling these exclusive imports turned out to be a profound business model and in some cases laid the foundation for the opening of an actual store.

In the early ‘90s the two Toft brothers, founders of Hanon Shop, flew to California to visit relatives in Orange County, escaping a harsh winter in Aberdeen. That first trip is the inspiration for their PUMA X Hanon Adventurer Pack - the dark and cold of wintery Scotland clashing with the bright and sunny warmth of Southern California.

The XT2+ (R2999), inspired by Southern California, has a premium suede upper, subtle Hanon branding on the heel as well as a sock liner revealing the Toft brothers passions at the time – including music and travel.

The XS850 (R2999), inspired by Scotland, has smooth nubuck with bold suede overlays and a perforated vamp. There are subtle Hanon logos on the heel and the side and the classic Hanon print on the sock liner alongside matching laces.

The PUMA X Hanon Adventurer Pack can be found at PUMA SELECT stores in Cape Town, Bree Street and Johannesburg, Braamfontein.

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Global Sports Brand PUMA launch the R698 Kosma Pack. To highlight the true potential of the R698 design, the latest Trinomic pack fully emphanises the shoe’s iconic silhouette by blocking every panel in different material executions.

The R698 was born into a great tradition of revolutionary ‘90s PUMA performance footwear. Trinomic technology changed the scene with its use of a hexagonal system in the sole that compressed and rebounded load whilst the Trinomic honeycomb cells cushioned and supported athletes. Thanks to its distinctive design, the iconic shoe is now more often seen on the streets than on running tracks.

Each panel of the R698 in the Kosma Pack is constructed from a different material, from mesh to soft leather all topped off with a crackled premium nubuck. The new collection is being released in three bold colours representing the mood and golden hues of Fall – lead by the Inca Gold colourway followed by the High Risk Red and Black styles.

The Kosma Pack (R1499) can be found at SELECT stores in Bree Street, Cape Town and Braamfontein


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What do you love about the Represent698 campaign?

I like how it suits me because I’m quite chilled. Recently I’ve been trying to lay low and wear clothes that I can be active in, but still look good. I’m into functional lifestyle wear. I like it when I can still be comfortable and functional, and move around and get things done.

You and PUMA: How’s that working for you and how long have you been working with the sports lifestyle brand?

It’s a new thing – It’s a bit of a new thing. Last year PUMA sent me stuff to perform in and do some shows in. At that point it wasn’t a set thing, then the other day I had a meeting with Rudi and he got me involved with the future of all of this. I was like, ‘cool, I can see this happening.’ It’s a good fit. PUMA’s got good people on board as well.

In terms of brand association – What attracts you to teaming up with PUMA?

It’s very chilled. I like it when a brand can see you for yourself – Like they already know who you are, rather than trying to make you into who they would like you to be.

How do you Represent in your everyday life?

Teenage years – Nobody was going to nail that – I never got it right. I was never going to be comfortable with myself then, even in my early 20s. I’m now 25 and I’m like, ‘I don’t have time to waste here being uncomfortable with myself.’ My 20s have been about just being me authentically. Just nailing being myself without having to sweat the small stuff – Just trying to focus on things that are important and things that add to my life, rather than things that I’d waste energy on.

How has the year been treating you?

I had this thing with 2015 when it was approaching and I was like, ‘I’m going to make 2015 my b***h’ and then I woke up yesterday and realised what month we’re in. Yesterday it was January. So now I’ve got to throw it out – Now I’m sprinting. I was just warming up. Now I’m ready. I’ll be showing flames in New York – Working on a flameful album.

So yeah, 2015: First half was the lead up and this second half is where I’ll be putting everything into practice.

When will you be releasing the album?

It will probably be during our summer – Early next year. I’ll put stuff up on Soundcloud and gig with those songs – Get it tight.

Complete the sentence… Friday nights are for:

I’ve changed a lot. Friday nights used to be for the turn up, but now, to be quite honest, Friday nights are for… Discovering new music, writing, reflecting on what I’ve made. It’s maybe also the time to work on things you haven’t been feeling super confident about and actually pushing yourself and not being scared. Friday nights have changed a lot… A lot.

Saturday is the solid day, to do solid things. You can get away with four different activities on a Saturday – Four different, very entertaining things.

What super power would you pick given the choice?

I would be invisible. Think of all the cool stuff you could do. Think of the Reserve Bank – Where everything you touch becomes invisible too. I’d have an invisible cloak too. I feel like if I only I was invisible, then all the money I’d be carrying out of the Reserve Bank would be very obvious. Think about your invisible casino life too. Think about the men’s locker room at the Virgin Active. Think about it! Beautiful, beautiful pranks too – You’d be famous for your pranks because they’d be so good – Hauntingly good. It would also just be nice, you know. Sometimes you just want to be invisible. Like when you live on Kloof Street and you just want to go buy bread and milk, but you see everyone you know in that moment – But you’re not wearing make up. It would be nice to be invisible. You don’t always want to be seen on the streets.

I wouldn’t want to fly – I think that would be absolutely horrendous. I don’t envy birds. We’ve got planes. I’d rather be invisible and in first class.

Tell us a bit more about what direction you see your music going?

I’m still a baby at this and I don’t think I have a sound just yet. The next six months of this year, from July for about a year will be about me tailoring my sound and finding the direction I’d like to go in musically. It’s just all about exploring and things developing naturally.

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What do you love about the Represent698 campaign?

I like the vibe – I think the idea of seeing life through the eyes of someone else is pretty cool. I’m mos obviously, like, a massive PUMA fan and I love the R698 Trinomics. I’ve been with PUMA for very long and because I’m very active, but still need style on stage and stuff, I love that they’ve combined really cool prints and colours with a sports technology sole. That kind of combination is so rad.

For instance, I have a knee problem, so I wear a knee brace on stage and it’s so nice that the Trinomic technology in these sneakers help with that. Since I’ve been playing gigs with Trinomics on, I’ve had less knee problems. Before that jumping and landing was always so hard on my knees. Now with this, it’s changed it so much.

Some shock absorption is always a good thing…

Ja, Ja…

You mentioned you’ve been with PUMA for a very long time – How long have you had your relationship with the brand?

Geez… Like seven years I think… Seven or eight years, ja. I’ve been with them from the start of my career. They actually started sponsoring me before I was even famous or whatever. So, ja, I’ve been with them for very long and I really, really love them. Many others have tried to poach me, but I always tell them to stuff off. I’m very loyal and very heavy when it comes to loyalty, especially when it comes to brands that have supported me for so long.

In terms of brand association – What attracts you to teaming up with PUMA?

With the current state of the music industry in South Africa and the world it’s become so important to have brands that really believe in you and that can help you do cool shit. You might not be selling the same amount of albums you were before because piracy has kind of taken over – So, it’s really cool to have a brand like PUMA that believes in me and is always keen to do stuff with me and support me.

How do you Represent in your everyday life and what does it mean to you to actually Represent who you are?

I think I’m just myself. I think my character on stage is just a more embellished version of who I am. It’s important to be yourself and never try to change or pay too much attention to what people say. You’ve got to stay true to your own thoughts and beliefs.

When I started out, everyone said that I was crazy and that it would never work and that there was no chance. I just said, ‘%^&* it – I like it and if no one else likes it, then at least I like it’. I think that’s the important thing in everything you do. I obviously can attest to that in the musical sense, but like, if you’re selling out to make pop music it might work, but 95% of the time it doesn’t work.

I’d rather try and fail with something I believe in than try and fail with something that I don’t believe in. I don’t want to end up thinking stuff like, ‘&^*% maybe I should have just stuck to the way I thought I should have done it.’ I’m very heavy about that… Sticking to what I believe in, no matter what other people say. It’s an important thing in life.

The problem with adjusting who you are to fit a trend, is that trends always change…

…And you see that all the time: People that just try and jump up on trends the whole time. It’s such a faltering and iffy kind of way of looking at life. Trends are so iffy. The one day it’s here and the next it’s gone and if you’re jumping on that it will never be a long lasting thing.

That’s why people I love and admire are guys like David Kramer and Koos Kombuis. They’ve been making music forever and they’ve stuck to their guns. That’s why to this day, they can play shows and sell them out. They’ve stuck to their guns and stuck to their style – People sense and get attracted to that automatically. That’s what makes it so cool.

You worked with Paul Ward on the video for Never Gonna Grow Up and again for the Represent698 shoot – You must be digging his work.

Me and Paul? Ag, he’s just a bit irritating and he follows me everywhere the whole time. I was like, ‘$%^& let me just be nice to him, shame.’ Nah, me and Paul have done, like, three videos together already. He did P.A.R.T.Y. and a %$#* load of photos obviously… Press photos and show photos. He was in Holland with me for Stuck in Limbo and he was doing behind the scenes stuff on Never Gonna Grow Up. He’s my favourite photographer – I always go back to him. He’s got a good eye and he just captures things really nicely. Everything he does, even like quick things, quick cuts and quick edits, always ends up on point with my style. You need someone who captures and kind of fits with your style. Paul just captures who I am and I think that’s why I like working with him so much.

What does the rest of the year have in store for you?

I’m dropping a book now, like an autobiography – With all my lyrics and stories of the road and all that kind of stuff. I’m really excited about that. It’s with Penguin Books, which is really an honour. In South Africa they don’t really put a Penguin label on just about anything. To actually have that penguin on my book is, like, cool for me. I’m really stoked about that.

I’ll also do another single towards the end of the year. I’m kind of basing this year more on testing the waters with singles and stuff. As I said before, with album sales as they are it just doesn’t make monetary sense to drop a whole album at the moment. Ag, and then also some touring in the UK, Europe and locally.

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What do you love about the Represent698 campaign?

It’s always dope to be a part of a campaign that brings people together. It brings people with different style together, like Nonku Phiri, Jack Parow and me – As a new addition. So, that’s pretty cool. It’s always dope just to do something new and I just recently became a fan of the R698 silhouette. It’s the perfect time to get involved.

Absolutely – It’s an awesome sneaker. The versatility of the sneaker is also what makes it attractive.

Yeah, yeah…

In terms of you and PUMA – How long have you had the relationship with the brand?

It’s a new situation. Rolo Rozay and I go way back and I met Rudi Cronje through him. Ever since then we’ve been doing more stuff together and building and building – It’s been good that things have built up to this point. It’s been great. It’s been a great year.

What attracts you to actually teaming up with a brand like PUMA?

There are lot of different brands and we all rock different brands – There’s always dope stuff, but when you wear something it is also about the spirit you get, apart from just wearing the actual product. The spirit and the movement are what make it. So, if the spirit and the nature of the relationship is something that leads to new ventures and experiences that’s when you really want to get involved with the brand. You don’t want to get involved just to wear sneakers. It’s not about sneakers and t-shirts. Anyone with money can buy sneakers and t-shirts. It’s really about creating a nice relationship and a nice energy between the team. Once there is a synergy it’s the perfect time to work together.

Excellent. How do you Represent in your every day life?

I’d say by taking action – You’ve got to be active. You’ve got to take your own journey into your own hands. You’ve got to be on the move. There’s no time to have a bad attitude or to be relaxed. It’s already too late. It’s just about working hard every day.

Agreed – It also comes down to just approaching life with a sense of urgency, in terms of making sure your actions work towards materializing the things that matter to you. You can’t just sit back and wait for things to happen to you.

Yeah… Yeah… I mean, it’s already too late – You know what I mean? If you don’t do it, somebody else is going to do it before you. You’ve got to keep pushing.

Like you say, it’s already too late, so get on it and get cracking. So, what would you say was the inspiration behind Family Values?

The name pretty much says it all, but the real thing was a musical inspiration, where I wanted to create something musically that actually tied into what was and is happening in my life. I didn’t want to just make a collection of tracks that people were just going to play one after another as hits. I wanted to make a story that tied into my life – Where I’ve been and where I’m going. Family Values is a sort of biography of the stuff that I’ve been through and the stuff that I’ve yet to go through.

Do you have a favourite track?

No, not really because it’s all one piece to me. It’s all one unit. Those songs took me, like, four years. Some songs are new, but most of them were written during that four-year period. They’ve been with me for so long, that it’s hard to say.

It’s like picking your favourite child…

Yeah, yeah… You can’t. Well, I mean, you can – Depending on which one treats you well.

But then I suppose it is more about making a logical choice than the actual emotion that went into making the track.

Yeah, yeah…

Can you tell us a bit more about the collab you did with Jack Parow, Never Gonna Grow Up?

We just did an amazing track. It dropped towards the end of July. He had a space in the track and offered me the opportunity – I took it. It came together real nice.

You reckon the music video is going to cause some hype?

It’s cool. I don’t know how much I’ll say about it at this point, but it’s dope. I had fun working on it.

What else do you have planned for the rest of the year and what are you most looking forward to?

I’m doing a few movies and I got my role back on the soapie, Isibaya, as a producer.

That’s awesome – So you dabble a bit with television, over and above the music business?

Yeah, yeah… I mean, television, it’s there. You know? It’s a good vehicle to push your work. I always get involved, especially with the movies – They’re also just as powerful because the Mzansi movies that we do they get a lot of air-time and they’re well distributed. So, it’s a bit quicker and more direct than music. Music still has to spread through people that are in those circles, but with TV, it goes about doing so more directly.

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Authenticity. That’s the theme that has emerged from Represent698, a PUMA project that captures moments in the lives of Jack Parow, Riky Rick, Das Kapital, PH Fat, Nonku Phiri, Nicci St Bruce and Rolo Rozay, while wearing PUMA’s Trinomic R698, a sneaker rich in heritage.

Represent698, a dynamic mix of interviews, video, imagery and social media activity, is an opportunity for creative minds to explore what it is to Represent, and for artist, rapper and producer Riky Rick it’s all about authenticity: “Anyone can make the greatest hits in the country, but not everybody can know themselves and put themselves into their music. That’s the most difficult part. I’m here to Represent millions of kids, I’m somebody who has gone through what they are going through.”

Authenticity’s twin brother honesty is also the key for madcap musical artist Jack Parow: “It’s important to be yourself and never pay too much attention to what people say. You’ve got to stay true to your own thoughts and beliefs.”

Singer Nonku Phiri agrees: “I tend to stick to my gut and do what makes me happy. I can only work from an honest place.”

Mike from rap crew PH Fat explains why teaming up with PUMA works for him: “They’ve got street and sport culture covered; they’re the most artistically enabling brand.”

The PUMA collab is also exciting for rapper Nicci St Bruce: “I like it when a brand can see you for yourself, rather than trying to make you into who they would like you to be.”

While DJ and producer Das Kapital welcomed the opportunity Represent698 provides to work with forward-thinking, legitimate people: “It’s fun that something as simple as a sneaker style can bring together so many unique people.”

But why all the fuss about a sneaker? Take it from a guy who knows his stuff, Rolo Rozay of PUMA SELECT: “The R698 is a sought after go-to shoe because the silhouette isn’t too out there and it’s versatile - you can play around with the look.”

Originally designed as a performance runner in the ‘90s, the R698 sped off the track to become synonymous with urban street style and cement its place in sneaker history. Styles to be found at PUMA stores nationwide, as well as selected sneaker retailers this season are the R698 Basic Tech Sport Women’s available in glacier-white for R1 299 and the R698 Mesh–Neoprene available in black for R1 399. There’s also the luxe R698 Allover Suede available in Italian plum, high-risk red, peacoat and black for R1 399 and the R698 Fast Graphic Women’s available in black-and-white, with coral details for R1 299.

As part of the collaboration PUMA will be releasing limited Boss Zonke Football Club shirts by Riky Rick as well as limited Parow Pythons Rugby Club jerseys by Jack Parow.

To find out more follow Riky and the rest of the Represent698 crew on Twitter and Instagram, as well as the PUMA Facebook page. Or follow @PUMASouthAfrica and #Represent698 to join the conversation.

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