As Air Max Day approaches on March 26 Nike have rolled out a mini-series featuring their athletes association with one of the world's most famous sneakers. Next up, Dynamo Moscow forward Aleksandr Kokorin and Russian rapper L'One talk up their sneaker game and how the culture has influenced them.
Music and sport culture have always gone hand-in-hand, with artists famously describing the intersection with the following truism: We want to be them and they want to be us. Though worlds apart by profession, athletes and artists share an incomparable commitment to their passions. Russian footballer Aleksander Kokorin and rapper L'One share those aforementioned passions as well as a common love for Air Max.
While both men have achieved star status in their respective fields they stand at the forefront of Russian sneaker culture, with the next generation of sneakerheads eyeing every pair they wear. As with all sneakerheads the rare the model is always better. “The first time I saw Air Max, I instantly fell in love with them” Kokorin says. “The most important thing for me is that nobody will have the same sneakers before me. It’s like a competition. I want to be the first."
“It’s funny. I always have the same problem when I travel abroad” L’One says. “I know that I will buy a few new pairs, but that I will also take a couple of shoes with me. So every time returning to Moscow with a lot of sneakers is a journey by itself.”
