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One Wheel & Fly Kicks with Jae Milez
147 Plays3 months ago
This week I am joined by Jae Milez, we talk about why they call him the One Wheel Demon. How he found his love for sneakers, getting featured for his love for BMX. His love for helping others and how he uses his journey to inspire others. He takes us down memory lane with his Quai 54 5's, also reliving receiving the Nigel RM 4's from Jordan Brand. Plus so much more! Where to find Jae:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/jaemilez/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JaeMilez
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
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Transcript
Introduction to J Miles: The One Wheel Demon
00:00:15
Speaker
What's good, everyone? Welcome back to my first kicks. This is episode 203. Yeah, we on that 203 vibes. We got J Miles in the in the in the place to be, the AKA, the one wheel demon.
00:00:29
Speaker
What's good, y'all? I appreciate the introduction. Yeah, we got Dave on the producer mic. You know, I gotta start. I gotta make sure I introduce everybody. I made that mistake. Get an introduction. They me. I made that mistake on the mirror episode, but we here. This is my first kicks, y'all. What's good, everybody? Shoot. Got my name right. out of a bit like For the first. Everybody call you J Mills? Yo! Yo, son. Yo, for everybody who who's watching this right now,
00:00:59
Speaker
Hassan right here just said the name right. If you call me any other than- Jay Miles. I can't respond to that. It's not my name. Yo, yeah shout out to Jordan,
A Photographic Connection: Meeting at ComplexCon
00:01:12
Speaker
man. Because like without without having Jordan on, you know, you, you I mean, that's the that's the homie. So we linked up at ComplexCon and, you know, that man is one of my favorite photographers right now. So late. I said Jordan, Jordan, bro. Much love. Yo, for real. But, yo.
00:01:29
Speaker
I mean, thanks for hitting me up and wanting to actually, you know, hop on the podcast,
Inspiration for One-Wheel Biking
00:01:32
Speaker
talk about your stuff. But it was real cool is that as I put that, like, weird connection together about, like, you know, I have Andy on, Andy fucks with Zach. Zach does Atomic Dogs. Yeah, Land of the Lost. You recently did that video where you was in the street, almost hit somebody. I was yeah.
00:01:52
Speaker
what What like what propels you to like come up with that stuff because I mean like if you're not familiar with Jay My man's a maniac on a bike. I mean one wheel demon for a reason like he'd be out in these streets and and Those videos where it's like fit like I don't know what what that effect is where it's like like the official fish islands and it's just following you and But that video where you was like, hey man, look up. Like I was like dying. I watched that video like eight times, bro. But what is that inspiration come from? Because I definitely want to know off the bat. So the inspiration, well, we're going to start from way, very, very beginning. um Biking on one wheel wasn't something I necessarily started. But I'd actually seen it. So one day you had a...
00:02:48
Speaker
I'm leaving ru that in. We're leaving in that in. We're leaving that That's going. That's saying in. You got to leave it in. Yo. Oh my Of course I get side hit with some nonsense. Well, biking on one wheel, man. What is it called? Biking on one wheel started for me. I won't lie. It started for me looking at you know the kids that was a part of the biking biking community.
00:03:15
Speaker
Willing before, you know, I even took notion of it or notion to it, I should say, and I wanted to be i wanted to be different and stand out. So after seeing one of the homies take his will off,
00:03:32
Speaker
and like try it, I was like, all right, I think I can do it. And I didn't do it. And is 2017 we're talking about. This is before everything just yeah went off. So fast forward two years later.
00:03:49
Speaker
I said to myself, I wanna take this wheel off again. So I'm on the block, I'm riding a big BMX bike. BMX looking like frame, but it's just like very bigger. It's 29 inch wheels on it.
00:04:05
Speaker
Take the wheel off, ride, boom, hit my face on the floor. Joy tapped the floor. I got right back up and went at it again and kept going and kept going. I couldn't talk for a week after that, but. That was crazy. Me not being able to talk for a week after that was worth it because we we are now in year six. Year six. Year six for sure, man. Shoot, a lot of things has happened since then. A lot of great positive,
00:04:36
Speaker
and most of all, just being able to become an inspiration to the world. Yeah, facts. I mean, we let's talk about, you know, the question. Let's hit the hit you with that hard pivot real quick. We talk about the question, and it's the question I ask everybody each week, and that question is, what's your first kiss?
Sneaker Obsession: From LeBron Fives to Market Dynamics
00:04:51
Speaker
What's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have? My first pair of sneakers I needed to have. Like, needed, needed, needed. Yeah. I'm gonna throw all y'all off with this one. I might have to hit y'all Googles for this. I was...
00:05:09
Speaker
seven, eight years old. And I was, family went through a little bit of a hardship. You know, we had to, I had to shift from wearing last shot 14s as a baby to wearing Payless sneakers. But y'all listen, bro. Like we had to, we had to figure it out. You want to eat at night, you feel me? You gotta do what we gotta do. So once that little hump went over, first pair of sneakers I got was LeBron Fives. Okay. LeBron Fives.
00:05:39
Speaker
yeah the witnesses the witness pair at that. Oh, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. All the witness pairs, I feel like that's like, that's where it's at. That's what started the love for LeBron's. That's what started the love for LeBron's and love the love for sneakers after that. And the second pair of sneakers I had, which I thought were fake, was the Jordan 11 IEs.
00:06:04
Speaker
I'm like, yo, why do you look like this? These ain't Jordans. These ain't Jordans? Yo, what is these? And I'm like, all right, cool. So you know what? I i threw them on. I kept them on. And I ended up liking them. And then at five, six years later, I do some research. and Wham, those are actual sneakers that sneakerheads wore. No, yeah. I mean, shout out to Dante Ross. Dante Ross, you know, found ODB, found MF Doom. Like, I had him on the podcast and we talked about the the Jordan 11IE. When I was a kid, that shoe, like the the white and gray pair with the elephant, that gray elephant on it,
00:06:42
Speaker
That was doing numbers. With the blue, with the blue, with the the blue, with the icy bottom on it. And that was doing numbers. That shit was cold. That's a, that's a throwback. yeah Yeah, that's a throwback. That that was doing numbers. The breads was doing numbers back in high school too. Like, oh shoot that shoe was like, when I was a kid, I thought it was ugly as sin. I'll be honest with y'all. I'll be honest with y'all. I thought it was ugly as sin, but I was also not really into Jordan's then. Like, so I'm Mr. Hater over there in high school being like, yo, this is some whack shit, but I was like,
00:07:11
Speaker
So wait, wait, wait. So now let me let me ask you the question. so What sneakers did you went was you into in high school there? In high school? Let's hear this. I was definitely more into like the like foams. I couldn't cop any, but I was into foams. I had, I mean, I talked about it all here. I had the hyper flights, um big hyper flight person, more a Nike like basketball. Like I wasn't, I couldn't afford Jordan. So you got to take that that pivot to be like, all right,
00:07:38
Speaker
You know, what's on sale? Let me see if I can get two for one. Let's see what I can do with this. Why was it too far off, though, in price? No, that's why I said I couldn't get foams. Oh, I had to get the flight posits. Flight posits was $160, I think at the time. Those posits are the ones that got the... It's like the... They look like... They got the zipper on it? Nah, nah. These are the ones that they look like... They're all patent leather. And they got like... They got like...
00:08:06
Speaker
How do I explain it to you? It's like a boot. It looked like a boot. It looked like a elf boot. Yo, wait a minute, now I gotta look this up. I gotta look this up. Nah, hold up, hold up. You said what? It's fight pauses or hyper flights? It's hyper flights. I think it's hyper flights. Because the flight pauses, I got it in the house. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Fight pauses. Green goblins, my bad, right? Fight pauses. Oh, you talking about these? Oh, yeah, hyper flights, yeah.
00:08:34
Speaker
Oh, with the, oh, yeah. yeah A kid in a high school had these. Yo, I want those. The cheetah joints? Oh my God. Oh, tiger shite? Listen, listen, listen, listen. I'm going to help you out right now. yeah um Christmas is still going on, and it's starting early as well. My boy Hassan needs the Zoom Hyperflight Premium Tiger edition. So please, if you are a viewer,
00:08:57
Speaker
Don't, yo, if you love and support your homie, please get them. Don't slap, size 13. If you forget, it's on the box on the logo. yes Always a reminder. oh yo but i mean you grew up So you grew up in the Bronx, right? I grew up in Bronx in Dankman, mainly. OK, OK. What was like high school like? I actually don't know how old you are, but I'm 26. 26, right? Yeah. you So I don't know that like the era of that sneaker culture, because like the kids' version of it. Because like when during that time, I was more outside. I was at Soho. I'm walking around going to Supreme during that time. Me too.
00:09:36
Speaker
but like i was dead I was a little kid i outside like, what am I doing here? Like, okay, this is lit. So like what what was like the the the sneaker culture during that time? Cause that's the height of internet. Like you on Nike Talk. So boom, you got Nike Talk. yeah And this is around the time when those red octobers was $250. And I couldn't get up here.
00:10:04
Speaker
So, the the culture was basic, was a lot of buying and selling sneakers. I was, me and my homies was kings of buying and selling sneakers. From Cool Grey Nons, to 99 Fire Red Fives, to Olympic Sevens, to N7 KD5s. Like you ain't even, y'all ain't even seen those in a minute. To have y'all, nah. oh Yo, it was just,
00:10:34
Speaker
Sneaker culture was just like, it was it was a bunch of togetherness back in my time. Back coming up, waiting in front of Champs for somebody to pull up. Like, oh, you here for those sneakers? It was a lot of resellers there in front of Champs. And I went to school downtown, Martin Luther King High School.
00:10:51
Speaker
Shout out. Shout out to them. Notorious. Civically Orson Technology High School. Yo, listen. Oh, yeah. They split it into several different. How you know about that? You're from Queens. I went to school. I went to school. Notorious. I went to Washington, Irving, bro. Oh, ain't that on like 14th Street? There you go. All right. All right. So, you know, this like I said,
00:11:17
Speaker
Sneaker culture goes from buying and selling a bunch of, you know, you're getting, you're getting steals, you're getting sneakers like that for like $200. Now? Forget about it. Nah, I think it now it's come back down though. Nah, I mean, obviously it's come back down because we already know what Tom at all these big companies was on like three, four years ago when they said they cut out the resellers.
00:11:44
Speaker
and just maxed everything out on product. And now, if you ask me on a business scale, that's the smartest thing you can do. Of course, yeah. You can do. You want to cut that middle man out of it. There you go. But if you are a person for the culture, you're lost out a bit. And yeah, it's kind of sad.
00:12:03
Speaker
So since you've made these lines, I wanna know, have you seen something crazy on these lines? On these sneaker lines? Yeah. I don't do lines. No? No, have I have friends in a lot of places. Not now, I was talking about back in high school. No, I did not. No, I had friends in high places in high school. I was not playing that, I'm sorry. like The only line I could sit here and remember me do remember me doing it, it wasn't even a line. The All-Star KD6s. Okay.
00:12:31
Speaker
So that was galaxy. No. Gumbo's. OK. Gumbo's. That was 2000. thing 15? 15? 15, right? 14. KD4s. I'm I'm going galaxy. I'm going galaxy, because I'm thinking this is how I think the colorways, right? So galaxy came out 2013 along with the pack. Then after that, it was. Was the N72, extraterrestrial. Yeah, extraterrestrial was after that. Then it was a gumbo. then So that was 2016, 2015, 2016. Whatever year that was, right?
00:13:05
Speaker
This is so much to happen since.
00:13:10
Speaker
I'm waiting on the lawn, and I'm actually the first one in lawn, so pas and leave surprisingly. I'm the first one in lawn, and got in, got the shoe, and got out. You wanna know what the worst thing I did? I'm such a c Kevin Durant fan too, shout out to KD. You really inspired the next generation of ballers and athletes, just know that.
00:13:36
Speaker
I sold them. Immediately like that? Or you you at least got a fit off or two? I got like two fits off and sold them. okay I don't know why I did it. I really don't. And I'm trying to think what if I sold them or traded them?
00:13:49
Speaker
No, I sold them. Yeah, I sold them and never got them back and that was the worst decision I made because the sole glute was going on yeah on the bottom. The laces was reflective. The only thing was I was a size seven, so I didn't get the size the adult size treatment with the box or other stuff. I was too.
00:14:07
Speaker
Yeah, you got the kid box. Yeah, kids so I was just happy with that. wait That whole entire year that those sixes came out, I had almost every single pair, from the meteorologies, to the Christmas, to the all. On pearls. No, I missed out on those. I never had all pearls in my life. I still have, man. ah And the fours have come, they're re-releasing, I think, right? All the fours are actually kind of re-released now. I think they were re-released on pearls too.
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Yeah, yeah, they did. And um I was like, yeah, I didn't even have the breath for that, so I didn't cop. but It's so crazy, like, how we, like, the sneaker generation from from our time, your adult time, my teenage time, was feeding over those sneakers. Yeah. And now today, they're sitting bricks in outlets. Yeah, I mean, that's just like, I think that's more of like a testament of how we were during that time. Because I mean, if you think about it,
00:15:06
Speaker
If you talk to anybody that was like, yo, where'd you get those? It was always just kind of like, oh, you know, I got it. But it was never like ah it was never like, a yo, this is I need these because, ah you know, my aunt's going through this. Like it was never that it was kind of just like ah we just cut off the conversation. We cut off the story. Yeah, that's kind of what that's kind of what Nike is actually bringing back. Jordan Brand is both bringing that back. Yeah. Stories. And it's actually cool. Like I like You love to hear these kinds of stories with sneakers, you know what I'm saying? Because it brings people
00:15:41
Speaker
who aren't into sneakers, into the world. right yeah It just brings, like I said, it's just a bundle of togetherness. And that's that's i mean that's what's important, because like we get to, this hobby that we love, we get to share it with other people who don't who really like are kind of like, double dabbling into it, and be like, yo, I really like this sneaker. And then look, you can look talk to anybody and be like, yeah, they find a shoe, and they'd be like, I really want that. They find out you know it's a hype shoe, and then they miss out on it. But it's like, that's your opportunity to be like,
00:16:10
Speaker
Yo, but let me tell you about this one time, and this is how we end up to my first kicks. Like, yeah you know? Like, yo, it's like, we really are back with the storyteller. I'm a lie. That's what we're here for, bro. Like, that that's what got me into it, right? And I mean, look, you can even talk about one of the pairs that you got over with with you right now. You want to show the fam? twenty From 2011?
00:16:39
Speaker
Are they ready for that?
00:16:44
Speaker
That's showing for the whole
The Air Jordan 5 Story: Cracks and Memories
00:16:45
Speaker
box. You don't see these boxes no more. You don't see those boxes no more. And even before this, we had the face on us, on the box. Face is coming back. Face is coming back. But today, what we have with us is a pair of Air Jordan 5 Qua-54s from 2011. But not just any release, though. They are the European release. OG down.
00:17:09
Speaker
to the receipt that you can't even see no more. To the receipt. They need to bring that, yo, if you're selling the sneakers, bring that back, bro. Like, put the OG receipt into the box again. OG receipt. Right, this sneaker right here, I can't even wear anymore. And when I got these, shout out to my boy, my boy Willie.
00:17:33
Speaker
um He had these on on ah on the sale block, and I was like, I need these. Did you go to high school with him? No, we lived in the same neighborhood. Oh, okay. I'm sorry, I'm really just looking at these. He's like, yo, it's a lot of memories with this. yeah I never rode in these, thank God. but what was it What was your favorite memory from this shoe? My favorite memory with this shoe?
00:17:59
Speaker
Dang, there's so many. When they cracked. the yeah So these actually cracked out of Jordan brand. and I'm walking and I feel... Like, why is this loose? Why is it loose? You see how the air bubble would either make a sound or like make a... You start squeaking, but then... Yeah. I heard it squeaking on the court. I'm like, yo, what the... I look, I say, yeah, I gotta make it home. Whatever I do, I gotta make it home because I wasn't going straight home that night neither. Forget about it. So...
00:18:36
Speaker
These actually held up throughout the night. I made it home. And ever since, these been in the box. They've been in the box since July. That's a good retirement, in my opinion. You went to a Jordan brandon um yeah jordan Brand event in them.
00:18:51
Speaker
they were like we've made it we made it yeah and then they were like we're good good i had these though since two that like i said 2021 i'd say and i got a i got a couple of fits off with these you know what i'm saying and then after a while they just became The sneakers, I would just step outside to just like you know look good in real quick and go back home. yeah Am I doing too much? right not ah break and Break a few necks. Yeah, break a few necks. Go outside like, oh, I ain't seen these in a while. And yeah, what I would say when I first got these, though, your plug could not get these at all.
00:19:26
Speaker
And that's what I kept saying. And night I could say now that they can get them now because like the resale value has gone down. So yeah, if you are looking for a pair of these, you could definitely get them. Just not me though. But if you are a sole donor and would love to donate some Quaid 54 Jordan Fives in the size seven
Preserving Sneakers and Creative Repurposing
00:19:46
Speaker
and a half. I think the bottom is a metallic five. where yeah Oh, yo, look.
00:19:55
Speaker
Look, no, i did you're not see the I didn't see this. I did not notice this. ah no no I did not notice that. No, it's cracking. Yeah. Yo, I thought it was on the bag. Nah, man, this whole thing's gone. Oh, this whole thing is gone. But if you could put post post them up on the. ah Yeah, right yeah, yeah. Not turning them. Yeah, let's go say. right Yeah, that's crazy. Oh, if you're not going to wear them no more, turn them into a flower pot.
00:20:26
Speaker
You know what? That sounds like a great idea. Ideation, baby. Yeah. Let's go. Say less. Nah, that's fine. What is this Jordan event you went to? It was, um, so they had ah they had hosted a umm ah basketball tournament. New York versus New York. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it ended up in Dykeman. Right. Yeah. That's a Dykeman. Shout outs to Kenny. Shout outs to to the mayor out there. Oh, yeah. Shout out to the whole lot familiar out there. Um.
00:20:55
Speaker
we They invited me out to watch the game and stuff like that. Something I would normally do and when I'm at home and stuff like that. Long story short, homie from the block hits the game winner. Oh, snap. Yeah, and we went crazy. And that's how I really found out those was done. Because we're jumping around. You're jumping around, yeah. You're like, yo, let's go. And stepping, I'm like, oh, no, that's over. I got to go home.
00:21:21
Speaker
I gotta go home, I cannot be in those. Oh. I mean, that's fire. I mean, look, that's a full circle moment in my opinion, you know? Like, you on a court, like, you experienced the shoe, like, it's got- From what it was, that was done for. I didn't even know that the sole was really cracking. But I'm saying, like, you can still get a, you can get a sole donor on that. Yeah, I definitely can. You can get a sole donor on that. Not even stress it out. Revive that bad boy. It's all, it's real leather too. Like, you're good.
00:21:48
Speaker
Yo, look yo can we talk can we tell the kids something? no They don't understand the oh they don't understand like clear bottom versus yeah icy bottom. We from a different everywhere, clear bottom is way better than icy bottom. Listen, if you got if you clear bottoms fire, I'm a gun bottom guy. like ah like Give me like a black black Air Force gun bottom, fire. Come on.
00:22:15
Speaker
No? Yeah, it is. I don't know, bro. What? Gum Bottom is it, man. I like clear. I like clear. But it's only certain shoes, though. Gum Bottom. Yo, guys, he's from Queens for real. Oh, hey, nobody from Harlem talking like that. Oh my god. Nobody uptown talking like that. Jim Jones talking like that. He's not from Harlem. We're not going to do this right now. He's not from Harlem. He's not.
00:22:42
Speaker
but he rep for a very long time. That man is from 170th and Weeks Avenue. Yes, all right, all right. yeah yeah ah That's the bra. Yo, this is really, yo, this is really a fun conversation we have right now.
00:22:58
Speaker
Yo! Oh, man. I mean, look, I do want to talk about, like, you know, when you first started riding and, like, the shoes that you were rocking, like, because I know now you're wearing in a lot of, you know, a lot of heat, to be honest. And then i say I'm looking at older the pictures because i ah before we jumped on, I talked about the your Red Bull interview and that, page that the picture that they took for that, you were wearing Vans, you know what I'm saying? So, like, what was the transition for you to be like, yo, all right, now I'm gonna start rocking heat, like,
00:23:26
Speaker
Cause I feel like, you know, it's a, it's a skate, skate shoe. It makes more sense. Like you, you get the mobility of like, and he's guys, he's on one wheel, but he's like, well, man, you basically, you turned it into like set of legs. Like you were jumping, jumping upstairs. You you know, like, so yeah. I kind of turned, I've always been a sneaker head since a kid into sneakers. And one thing that my, my mom always told me,
00:23:52
Speaker
was never mess your sneakers up. always like You never bring the nice sneakers to the park. You always bring the park sneakers to the park. So I always brought the park sneakers to the park. The park being the streets, the errata. I had to sit there and change that simply because I'm out doing much more now. I'm seeing a lot more faces. So I said, you know what? I'm nice on this bike.
00:24:21
Speaker
I could sit there and keep my sneakers clean. And if I don't want to keep them clean in that aspect of we just going to trash them, I'm going to just trash them. So I just grew up, grew out the notion of preserve the sneakers, just wear them, wear them, wear them. giftla because biking is a part of me. right Biking is me, and that is another that's ah another story of me in addition to sneakers. So, just mixed the two. And I said, I'ma just come outside, fly us on a bike. That was it. Were you getting noticed instantly from that? I mean, necessarily at first.
00:24:59
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, anything I do on that bike is going to get me noticed. Well, yeah. You're going to see a person riding down a block on one wheel. You're going to turn your head. It's no way you're not. I'm turning my head. Yo, did y'all just see that cave rock?
00:25:14
Speaker
He's wildin'. But what really I feel like, it started to take notice when I started becoming much more of a figure in the community. And I had to represent myself and the people that are inspired by me very well. So I couldn't go outside lookin' like a poo putt. You know, like, couldn't go outside wearing some dogged out sneakers. And I just felt like, you know, just a stand fly.
00:25:48
Speaker
in things that I would stay flying off the bike. Nah, yeah. I mean, that's fire, I mean. But I feel like bikers and dancers get to pull that off and sneaker. where You ever notice that? like Dances, i had a that I had some heat on, and they'll beat them up because they've been dancing in them all day, but you can't never check them because they're a dancer. So you can't be like, oh, those sneakers are dirty. You wildin'. So I think y'all will all get, I think y'all get that benefit of the doubt. And I think it's dope because it's attached to what you do rather than what you're wearing.
00:26:18
Speaker
And then for me, yeah I just sat here in um and got the black cement threes and I've had them for two months since before they dropped. Shout out to Jordan Brand, love y'all. Shout out Jordan Brand.
00:26:35
Speaker
um
00:26:39
Speaker
and surprisingly they're still intact and I've been riding in them. I mean that's a good shooter. I feel like that's a and it's got that it's got that patent leather on it too so like yeah. When people were sitting here talking about the early stages when remember when they was putting those pictures out of the bc3s and they were saying the quality control looks nah we bypassed the elephant Bypass all that, the quality is is just amazing. It's durable. I'm doing toe tricks on the back. I'm like, yo, I've still got my stars. Still got my stars. Sneakers ain't even crease. I'm like, yeah, we just good to go. I'm all right. Yeah. the the way that like I mean, the way that I feel like bikes tear up sneakers is totally different too. I mean, I try to get into beer bags. I was like, let me get the pegs, let me do my whole thing. Because I mean, when I messaged you, I was like, real quick, Dave Mirra fan, Matt Hoffman, like all the OGs like bag back in like X Games days when they started just doing tricks on Vert and stuff. And I was obsessed. I had the PlayStation 2 game, the Dave Mirra PlayStation 2 game, bro. I think I um had to buy it like three times over because I would just mess that shit up. like um So like i mean everything, extreme sports, like I've always been a huge fan of it, but like that,
00:28:02
Speaker
that does like mess up your sneakers. So I was always afraid to like actually fully commit like, cause I didn't have a lot of sneakers. I didn't like, I would have like Air Force ones, but I'm not going to skate in Air Force ones. and feel like not at all And you know, when we're kids, we can't sit here and mess our shoes up. That mom and pops worked hard to get, you know, some of us, some of us wasn't lucky to have have jobs at at teenagers. you know like i wasn't I had to go out and search for a job because summer youth wasn't calling me back. It wasn't calling me back. I had to go sit here and go figure out which supermarket wanted to allow me to bag up yeah that their customers, groceries and stuff like that.
00:28:46
Speaker
So it was, you don't want to mess those shoes up. You know, you want to preserve those. And as you get older, you start, you're able to acquire more, attain more. So you just say, all right, you still riding bikes. You still, you're making a profession out this. yeah You got to go up a notch. You got to mess them up. You mess them up. You don't, you don't. And that's kind of crazy because that's how I actually got these. Oh yeah. Yeah. so
00:29:15
Speaker
The Awake X Jordan airship. I love those, man. Shout out to the family over at a Awake. Love y'all. And this shoe right here was the second rendition to the sort of red the red python. It's the blue python. And they pulled out an amazing story for this one as well. But how I got these was I had a friend, have ah not had, I have a friend. Shout out to Mary. She actually got these shoes. She went to the premiere that they had. They had ah some some event. Yeah, they had a little little event at at the store, right? I think somewhere. They had they had the shoe. It gave them out to the attendees. She shows me them. I said, let me see these. Let me do a video on them.
00:30:06
Speaker
She was skeptical effort. yeah I don't want you messing up my sneakers. I said, I got you. So bringing it back to where you sat here and said, you don't want to be messing up your sneakers. I paid attention to that. I didn't mess them up not one time. That's how o That's how we actually got these. I posted the video up, Awake, and um the creative director, Angelo. Shout outs to him. angello he He liked the video and hand gifted me these. Hand gifted me them. And one thing about gifts, I can't give them up. We don't do those. Come from a different stock as well. We don't we don't give gifts up. So we cherished these. I don't know where these, I don't wanna bike at all.
00:30:53
Speaker
i'll go um You and you're in the campaign to um, I'm in I'm not an a company and ah and awake campaign Yeah, I mean I'm in I'm in another campaign I'm in the uh the classic logo pack campaign. And that was something that my friend Mary shot as well. She went crazy with it. If y'all do have the time, oh not time. We'll make the time. We'll see some shots from there.
00:31:25
Speaker
It'll be posted on the story for the pod. i that But I mean, such great opportunities, you know, like that that is fire. Like, did you ever think that that would ever happen? To be honest with you, I didn't think that it would happen simply because I was just so.
00:31:45
Speaker
I was just like, all right, I just wanna to get the content out. If he likes it, he likes it. If I get the shoe, I get the shoe. right i wasn't It wasn't even for that. I just wanted to like i wanted to showcase my talent. I wanted to step into the fashion world with the bike. and That's what I did. That's hard, yeah that's hard. Angelo gave me in the team another shot and we pulled and we pulled out some masterpiece. yeah That shoot right there, we did one, two, three. it was It was beautiful, beautiful story told. I was like, I am trying to segue into this, because I definitely want to talk about mental health and your your your love
Biking for Mental Health: Events for Men's Well-being
00:32:23
Speaker
for it. you know you got
00:32:24
Speaker
Is it go biking? day What is it? What's the the day where everybody pulls up and, you know, so the day that riding. So there's a lot of biking events, but the main but the but the ones that I am a part of.
00:32:40
Speaker
is the go ride with Nigel Sylvester. Shout out Ebro, everybody's rod out. It has nothing to do with Ebro at all. Nothing to do with you, bro. we Although at once, we want something we wanted to do with you, but.
00:32:57
Speaker
We gonna get there. We gonna get there. And Ebro is basically everybody's run out. And that's where everyone from all across the world will come to New York City for a weekend of bike events, bike-curated events. And last year, we had... um curated three events throughout the weekend with Sunday being the main rod. Saturday we had a night rod and the Friday I had hosted, I had put together a mental health bike event yeah with West NYC. Shout out West over there.
00:33:34
Speaker
um The Mental Health Foundation, man, I work here and shout out to the homies over there. And shout out to Three Stripes for being an assist on that as well, because that right there was something very, very important. They say that with grace simply because as men, we're not we're we're told to bottle our fillings and go on in this world as nothing ever happened. And I could sit here and say, just looking at you, we've all been through a lot in this world, just like everybody else has. yeah And I tell all the men this, all the doses, all we got is each other. That's all we have. you know And that's what that by that's what that bike ride was about that night, just togetherness,
00:34:25
Speaker
awareness awareness and love. That's all you can ask for. Nah, I love that. You know, we take mental health very seriously on this podcast. So it's just like being able to talk about it you know openly. I feel like as men, you know, we're kind of just being told, always told you to be like, yo.
00:34:44
Speaker
You got it. Man up. You know, like, you know, just like like you good. Like, then you know, if you're going to dive deeper into it real quick, where are we from? New York. You don't want it. We are told to not talk about our feelings simply because.
00:35:00
Speaker
A, either they don't matter, or B, you know you're gonna get your feelings turned against you in the wrong way. yeah And that's just where we come from. That's not everywhere, that isn't, but I can definitely say from our beautiful city, that's where that's where that comes from. yeah so i want to change that narrative for the young men growing up in this world that's the generation after me and the generation before me man that's beautiful man like it's it's something that like i feel more people need to be part of because
00:35:39
Speaker
if we don't really put our mental health in front of these like big stages and talk about it openly, a lot of people will just kind of close up and just be like, yeah, I'll just keep moving with my life. Like, you know, and coming from New York, like, you know, we and it took me a long time to realize this, but like we definitely experienced trauma and not like we just kind of like be like, yeah, we get like yeah think it's normal. That is crazy. What?
00:36:03
Speaker
yeah like It's like normal to see you know hopeless like helpless people on the street every single day while you're going to work when you make money, but then you're working to survive to live in your house that you can barely pay and barely eat in, and you're just like, yeah, everything's fine. like you know like And then you shoulder on family burdens and all this stuff, generational trauma. like you And then as you become an adult, you know like like I said, you're told from a kid,
00:36:32
Speaker
you know If you don't come from a good ah good home, you don't have anybody to go to. You go to the street, and that's just thats any that's ah almost anywhere. You don't got a good family, you're gonna run to the street. And if you don't have that good guidance where there's an OG in the hood that'll teach you, you're gonna run straight into the street. So I say that to say, just for the youngins growing up,
00:36:59
Speaker
You feeling bad about your day? Don't be afraid to hit somebody up. Don't be afraid to hit one of us up. We don't gotta know you. Just understand, we we are all men in this world, and we all gotta take care of each other in order to succeed. That's facts, man.
00:37:15
Speaker
like I mean, you talk about being an inspiration, and we talked about Nigel. You got you got got a little something we wanna talk about, but before we touch it we touched into that, the you know the big the brick by brick, you was at the you was at the event, so you know we gotta talk about it. It was brick outside, you had a brick there, Nigel gave out shirts, I texted you being like, if you got a 13, slide that. Yo, you put me on a spot like that?
00:37:43
Speaker
but But you got to experience that, and you know we talk about community and stuff like that. like what was What's Nigel's like and ah like been able to, you know you said he's a big bro, so like how how has he been able to inspire you? Well, it started when I was in high school.
Inspired by Nigel Sylvester: Collaboration and Stunts
00:38:01
Speaker
I watched, not watched, I should say. There was a photo circulating on Instagram of him jumping over the train tracks on 145th Street. Yes, sir.
00:38:15
Speaker
I'm gonna take my hat off for that. I'm gonna say it to you directly, bro. I don't know what's wrong with you still to this day. He's crazy, but I officially met him in 2020 when we shot for Lyft and LeBron James. yeah And ever since that that day,
00:38:38
Speaker
we just stood in contact. yeah And I made sure to stay in contact with him simply because like he's someone I can learn from, someone I can grow with, someone who has no problem teaching the game to others. yeah you know And, man, listen, like how do I say it? You see how you got you got Kobe chasing Jordan? yeah That's how it kinda is in my eyes. I wanna, I'm replicating what he doing.
00:39:14
Speaker
ah huh guys he's for he he does twenty He rides a bike on 20-inch BMX. And I'm a part of a different of a community that for that's known for riding, just wheeling around, whether it's on a pedal bike, dirt bike, wall wheeler, you know what I'm saying? So being able to bring the entire biking community together as two strong forces in this
00:39:45
Speaker
is It's just truly a blessing, you know, because he was somebody I looked up to, and to be able to be alongside him. Pure shit, bro. Pure shit. yeah fewer Pure energy, and it was like, wow. Yo, it was just... Wow. like I didn't even... Man, yo, like, I say this ah bought a lot of off about a lot of my friends who are, you know, doing things.
00:40:18
Speaker
It wasn't for their inspiration. I don't know where I would be because sometimes I look at my friends for inspiration when I don't got no inspiration. And it was definitely Tom's. I looked at Nigel for inspiration. I was like, yeah. Go there. Yeah. Go there. So let's talk about the you got the which which colorway you got there because I didn't even look at them. So first off. Oh.
00:40:47
Speaker
Shout out to to Jordan Brand, shout out to Nigel, shout out to everybody involved with this project. And most of all, shout out to them boys in Beaverton, bro. As a sneaker head, you, yo. You want that, you want that. You want this. You don't want a regular tag. You don't want this. You want this, bro. What your name on it? Soon, soon. It's getting it soon, bro. The story's cooking. Like, when I first, when these first hopped in the mail, I said, nah, no way. There's no way.
00:41:26
Speaker
It didn't have a normal tag, so I was like, wait, what? Come on.
00:41:41
Speaker
Shout out to grandma. Shout out to OG. Shout out to once again, Nigel. Shout out to the whole team behind this. Yo, this release was insane. Read that for me. See?
00:41:56
Speaker
Where am I, oh, okay, here we go. Air Jordan 4, RMSP. They obviously, you know, colorway and all that, but on the bottom it says promo.
00:42:08
Speaker
That's crazy. um I mean, usually we see like, you know, sample stamped on the inside. Nah, we got promo here. Promo's on these genres, right? And like I said, to be a sneakerhead, a part of the sneaker community for so many years,
00:42:26
Speaker
As a sneakerhead, my dream is accomplished. yeah As a sneakerhead, my dream is accomplished. I'll try to get there. i don't I don't need, I don't care for another pair of shoes. The fact that them boys from Beaverton, shout out to Nike, they sent these right to the address? I was like, yo, it's lit. Oh, I'm happy now. I ain't got to worry about nothing else. And then the story behind these was even crazier. So I get them in the mail.
00:42:56
Speaker
And as y'all know, they come with these laces. right yeah And they come with white laces. So, I'm on the phone with my brother, shout out to Ant. And he's saying, he's like, yo, you know what you should do? Because I'm telling him, I got these white laces and I'm about to put them in. This is this is before, like a couple days before the ride that goes on.
00:43:24
Speaker
He's like, yo, put them in, don't say nothing, don't post about them, don't just leave them, show up. I'ma ask both of y'all. Y'all remember the picture of of the white laces with the white shot? That's my feet. That's your feet? That is crazy. That's my feet. Those is my feet.
00:43:47
Speaker
So I don't know what it was with me that day. I should have circulated like crazy. There you go. Everybody on the squad had the green laces in. I said, I'm me. I'm just going to be me regardless. I'm going to be different. Throw the white laces in. They came with it. I'm going to throw them in. Yo, that went viral. And I didn't think that it was a sneaker moment. But for me, personally, that was such a cool moment in time because
00:44:17
Speaker
Now you got everybody from complex, sneaker news, bleacher report kicks coming up to me asking me, yo, where'd you get these?
00:44:27
Speaker
I didn't even know what to say at that point. i Like I said, I was just taken aback. I was just happy to be there, being able to help Nigel out, pull off such a great event, and finish the story for for these. yeah Now, he's building and another story for Brick by Brick. I say it that way, Brick by Brick. And hold on, i'm showing let me I'm still trying to find the the picture of Okay, hold on, wait, wait, we got, I think we got it right here. I think we got it, I think we got it. Here you go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was me. Yeah, man. So, mm-hmm. And like I said, that moment just took off and it made,
00:45:15
Speaker
I didn't realize it until after, but it made the moment much bigger. yeah Just by me putting the white laces on and standing um standing out from everybody amongst the team you know and making the team look good. So that's what that moment was simply all about. It paid it paid off. It paid off because, man.
00:45:38
Speaker
Now, you start, see you yeah, yeah, everybody's still asking for these. Everybody's still asking for these. I'm a fan of the great the charcoal. you said You're a fan of the charcoal? Yeah, that's mine. Really? well I love the charcoal. Really? Yeah. I do love the green, but I i love the charcoal once more.
00:45:53
Speaker
Nah, so boom, green is my mom's favorite color. but there you go yeah And green is also my own my cousin's favorite color. So that's why that's another reason why these both stood out to this stood out to me, just the green. Now you got that family connection in there. Yeah, I was like, nah. Once that moment happened,
00:46:16
Speaker
You don't understand, everybody was like, where can I get them from? Yo, can you? I don't know anything about anything you're asking. Just get a bike and next year you'll probably get a sneaker. That's gonna be the same thing every last one of y'all. That's what you be posting. Everybody, y'all. Everybody get a bike. Yeah, y'all gotta get a bike. Get a bike. And you know, get outside and y'all might get some shoes. Who knows?
00:46:45
Speaker
I need a bike. Somebody send me a bike. yeah Yo. Yo, somebody send him a bike. Somebody send me a bike. Specialized somebody. Whoa, whoa, whoa. He need a bike and he need the hyperposites? No, the flight. Hyperflights. Hyperflights. Yeah, he need the hyperflights and he need a bike for this summer. Get him right. I'll take some Nigel Force. Get him right. Get him right, please. Please, shit. Yo, all right, so my last question deals with a little visualization. You know, let's go back to to Young J. J. Miles. Young, say that, you gotta say it correctly. If you're pulling up, you gotta say it correctly. yeah So Young J. Miles, he's about to open that box of the, I don't know why I forgot the, what was the pair that you said was your first kicks?
00:47:34
Speaker
The LeBron Five's, yes. I almost, I got it. Witness, witness, there you go. I saved myself. The witness colorway, man. So now you're older you behind your younger self as he's about to open that box of the LeBron Five witnesses. What would you tell your younger self as he opens that box? Wow.
00:47:56
Speaker
There's a lot more things that come from this. That's exactly what I would say. That's all you could say. There's a lot more that's gonna come from this. Just do what you do. Just stay on that right path you're going. Like I asked earlier, I think the bigger question is, did you ever think a bike was gonna be the start of something that was gonna be bigger? At what point were you like,
00:48:27
Speaker
Damn, I can't believe I'm doing this. So, it wasn't, I don't know if you're crossing it, it's crazy. So, it wasn't until, I'll give you two moments. The first moment was when my mom, God bless her soul, she she's walking,
00:48:57
Speaker
on 42nd Street, and this is after I just did a um a whole new balance ad, and it appears on the billboard and for Labor Day. Labor Day weekend, it's on there for like, I guess, from, no, it was on there from September for the rest of the year. oh yeah Yeah, I had a billboard, me and homies had billboard placements for the rest of the year on 42nd, for real, for real. And my mom is walking past, and earlier that day I had told her, you might just run into that, just, you know,
00:49:26
Speaker
I told her where to go and stuff like that. I thought you were gonna be like, you just act cool. yeah I told her you might run into it cause I don't know what what's it gonna be. I don't know how's it gonna play out. You might just run into it, seeing it. yeah And sure for shit, excuse my language, she really ran into it.
00:49:42
Speaker
Seen a ad, sat in front of 41st and Broadway for like two hours, like screaming at the top of her lungs simply because she just seen me on a billboard and you got the construction worker selling her. Yeah, a lot of parents don't get to see their kids on a billboard. And that was actually the only moment she seen of me before I took off on the bikes. She ended up passing away two months after that.
00:50:13
Speaker
many condolences bro And the second moment I could sit there and say, all right, I'm really here now and I'm doing this.
00:50:28
Speaker
thousand and The entire 2024. That is where we get serious, simply because
00:50:36
Speaker
2023, it was an off year. i stood i stood out I stood home for 95% that year. yeah And that was because my cousin, I ended up losing him to a bunch of other things. And 2024 was the year I had to redeem myself. And we redeemed ourselves in the most highest way possible.
00:51:04
Speaker
You know, we shut down New York for the go-rod. Shut down New York for the mental health ride. I ended up getting getting a few shoots done as well. Shot with MLB last year. Shot with a Awake.
00:51:24
Speaker
Yeah, that that that was just the year I was like, all right, I'm back. I'm not back, but this is it. I'm here. I'm here now. Ain't going nowhere. Definitely not, man. Ain't going nowhere, y'all. Yo, thanks so much for pulling up, but. but Thank you for having me. Well, what let's just dab it up real quick. um I still got lots to learn from these dang podcast mics. But let everybody know where to find you.
00:51:48
Speaker
You can find me on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. All Jay Miles. Everything Jay Miles. Great follow. You wanna see some of the craziest, I don't know, again, I don't know what style is it? Fish Eye? The Jay Miles style? Where you just like... just smile style That's what I'm calling it with Milestyle. That's what we're going with. I want to see a lot of Milestyle. You go to JMiles on YouTube, yeah Instagram, TikTok. And he's probably going to look up, see him on a billboard. You're going to look up, see him riding past you. And you're going to be like, that that's him. That's him. No, one wheel.
00:52:27
Speaker
And you know where the five B-I-M who is hostile on social media just follow the podcast in my first kicks pod. If you got on my first kick story right in, right in, cause I would love to read a story probably like towards the end of the podcast to a guest like Jay Miles and we could talk about it. um And then, you know, if you're listening to this, I mean, you're missing out on the visuals, man. The visuals is crazy right now. We've got Kwai, Kwai? Kway 54. Kway 54 is my thing. I always say, look,
00:52:57
Speaker
and Ever since I was on the forums, I was calling him Kwai, all right? got play fifty sample You got samples on the on the table here in live action. So head to the YouTube.
00:53:10
Speaker
My First Kicks on YouTube, My First Kicks podcast, just look that up or you can even look up My First Kicks on anything and it'll take you there. You got anything else to say?
00:53:22
Speaker
i want to start saying ever you guest on this podcast after episode two ah three bringing the pid heat or two I want to see it just for just for my kid kid like just to have a kiddish moment just to see the homie sit here looking at some sneakers that's rare and you ain't think you would see those in front of you.
00:53:42
Speaker
You hear that call to arms, yo. I'm gonna make a clip of this specifically, and we're gonna pump this out. And we just go, if you coming up and you trying to hop on this podcast, J Miles has ah has a challenge for y'all. I need to see some meat. And when I do come back, I might just have some more heat. Stay tuned. You know we say each week, wear your kicks. Peace.