Welcome back, hope you're good, it's been awhile since my last post which featured the Puma Thunder Spectra and I'm here with another big cat post to cover it's RS-0 launch also I just wanted to give you all a little overview of what I've been working on the last few months added with a little rundown of what happens on a press trip to anyone who's ever wondered, it's not always fun and games but Berlin this past week was enjoyable.
Right so its no secret I've been doing bits and pieces for size?, you might of seen me takeover the odd story, there's lots of changes and cool stuff coming and It's an interesting and fun time to be working with a massively important store for collectors in the UK. One part of the role has me working alongside Carnaby Streets previous manager Alex Vas to present passion driven content that really showcases the brand at its best.
This also means we're travelling frequently, one week we could be visiting a store to talk with the staff finding out what they like to see on the shelves, the next we could be working with local photographers to create imagery and sometimes a brand will get in contact about a new story or shoe drop that they'd like us to cover, these events usually happen overseas because either the product has a connection to the city or a partner/store they're working with is local or its close to the HQ.
Going back to the event at hand we were given very little details before the trip, sometimes that's worrying as I like to plan everything out but usually it's for secrecy reasons, anyway I know some good people working in the PR team who always look out for me so I knew I was in safe hands. Transport from the airport is normally a nightmare for but they sorted all that in advance so that was bless.
The evening before my flight I set my alarm for 4.30AM to be awake out the door at the airport for 6AM. The flight was chill and I spent it sat with Franklin (King of Trainers) and Nathanial (Crep Junkie). I've only managed to catch them fleetingly at shoe launches for snippets of conversation so it was great to have a long overdue catchup.
We arrived in Berlin to beautiful weather and grabbed a cab with musicians and Puma brand ambassadors Krept & Konan to the Nhow hotel. The place was massive, (supposedly Puma had hired over 100 rooms for guests). I've never stayed in anything like it, think quirky boutique but on a huge scale. For example, you had Star Wars playing in the elevators and the decor of my room consisted of varying shades of pink, thankfully the mini-bar was fully stocked.
I had a few hours to kill as the main event kicked off at 7PM so I linked up with Nathan (size? Social) and Alex to go hit a few spots. Thankfully Nathan is a pro when it comes to navigating Berlin. The first place I wanted to visit was the famous Pauls Boutique a vintage store I'd been planning to hit for a few years after hearing some amazing stories of hidden grails. If you've never been the only way to describe it is a cross between an archive and a jumble sale but gems are there, you just need to dig for them. Shoes are rammed into boxes and cubby holes and we spent a good hour pulling everything out and digging through boxes trying to find something funky and well... I ended up leaving with 5 pairs, more about those at a later date SNM.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a wonderful Thai spot and I mashed my way through a bowl of Beef Pho while working out a loose content plan for the evening, I.E what to focus on and what did Puma need in terms of coverage, again we were going in blind but it's always good to prepare regardless, making moves back to the hotel we freshened up, grabbed our gear and made our way to the venue.
The venue was an old warehouse, nice and spacious with little showcase houses and displays dotted around, two bars a DJ and a games room sealed the deal and kept it jammed right up until close. In the middle of the main room was a hanging display of spotlit footwear with images projected on walls around. The houses each held either a collab or special project. The one that seemed to bring the most excitement was the Sonic edition which features a shaggy suede upper and embroidered details based on the speedy hedgehog and the famous Green Hills, these will move fast (ugh pun) trust me.
Sonic x Puma RS-0
Roland x Puma RS-0
Puma RS-0 "Optic" - Remind me to bring a flash next time
Konan & Krept
It was a GOOD event and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, surprisingly the Berlin crowd is far more laid back than London and such balmy weather allowed me to chill outside and catch up with old friends and put faces to people I've spoken with online. Special shouts go to the PAQ lads, Greg K, Tom, Dan, Rhy, Shez, Will, Adam and Thomas, pleasure seeing you all however brief.
Now there was an after-party, yes I did attend and yes I did attend the after-after party rocking back to the hotel at a grand old time of 5AM. I've come to realise I have a serious problem when it comes to talking about shoes once I've had a few drinks (I very rarely drink anyway). Once you get me going, it ain't stopping fam, so props to those who sat mock enthused while I droned on about sole units.
Pain was felt the next morning trust me, I packed my bags and got a 40 minute cab back to Tegal airport. I had a few extra bags on me due to my Paul’s Boutique excursion but the check-in staff were pleasant and didn’t charge me extra. The flight was around 2 hours which I spent most of it asleep followed by a taxi home where I began writing this recount.
Now I’d like to use this part to go a little deeper into the shoes as that’s the reason for the trip. What isn’t communicated so openly is that this is a major move for Puma, it’s not just a single shoe coming to market its the reboot of R-SYSTEM (an old cushioning tech that covered a few models including the famous computer shoe) franchise taking from the past and updating and refining for the 2018 customer. You’ll see collaborations and special projects throughout the year and it will all sit under the RS umbrella.
The first drop from the reboot is the RS-0, It’s received a lot of love online recently so I was intrigued to check them in the flesh. I’ve got a pair sat next to me now and first of all the build quality and materials are very, very good. Puma hasn’t always had the best track record with this (BWGH anyone?) so it’s nice to see they’re listening to us, no glue stains here.
The shoe is built from a mixture of materials a thick nubuck surrounds the toebox followed by mesh and then a super soft full grain leather takes over the main section of the shoe including the lacing system which is a nice touch. The midsole extends into the upper and connects to an embroidered foam stripe. The internals of the shoe feature a neoprene boogie and the insole is cushioned. I wore my thunders during the event but many who had the RS-0 on-foot told me they were very comfortable. Round the back of the shoe is a Rubber cage this also holds my least favourite part of the shoe, a rope lace looking pull tab, I don’t think it’s needed but it’s only a small detail so I’ll let it slide.
Finally, the colourway connects all the models of the first range, a mixture of white, grey, black and a striking turquoise very close to “Dusty Cactus”.
I’d like to thank Puma especially the UK team for its hospitality during my stay, the RS-0 is available now at most good retailers, thanks for reading, any questions just drop me a message on IG.
