I've always been attracted to weird hobbies and their online communities. It was through a fixed gear blog that I was exposed to Tom Sachs. I had an opportunity to buy the original Mars Yard shoes and didn't. I've gone off of Instagram and missed the opportunity to apply to be a #nikecraftweartester. I will perform the instruction piece anyways.
A bunny trail of obscure hobbies led me to finding obscure forums and blogs which led me to Tom Sachs. When I was growing up, hacky sack seemed like an activity the cool kids did. My brother and his friends played it. So I wanted to hacky sack. In 2005, I googled hacky sack and came across a niche group of people that took this sport. seriously. I learned that Hacky Sack was a brand, footbag was the sport. Footbag.org was the official website but modified.in was the active forum of the community (sadly, it's practically dead now). In 2006, I jumped into the deep end. I got the shoes. I modified the shoes for optimal performance. I got the hand-stitched bags. I made hand-stitched bags. I repaired the hand-stitched bags. I practiced.
I scrolled the forums. I became familiar with these strangers I'd never met. I eventually met some of them in real life. One was a charismatic Canadian who studied mechanical engineering. Apart from footbag, he started building and riding fixed geared bikes. I was curious and soon started pouring over fixed gear conversions, bike components and wares, fixed gear bike blogs. Prolly is Not Probably (now The Radavist) seemed to have the pulse on all the latest with fixed gear cyclists, including all of the momentous events happening in New York. I think it was on this site that I learned about Tom Sachs. I was initially drawn to the cameras and the subversive value given to the engineering and making of objects. The guts behind how things worked. Since I was thinking about studying engineering, this acted as a fine counter-balance to how I was also drawn to art, architecture and industrial design and some of the more slicker aesthetics.
In the fall of 2009, I was fortunate enough to move to New York City for college to study engineering. I found out that Tom Sachs was going to be in a show called STAGES and that he was going to be doing a talk in November. I went alone. I spoke to no one. I marveled in the back and took short video clips and bad photos. [Ok, upon reviewing my notebook from this time, I did somehow muster up the courage to introduce myself to Tom and say something lame about appreciating his art.] Anyways, it was divine. I felt out of place.
On my harddrive entitled "TOM SACHS THIS FRIDAY!!!.jpeg"
Blurry Tom Sachs and Casey Neistat, 2009. Miss you IRO Bikes
That bike was only built to be sold, it wasn't built to be ridden
In the spring of 2012, I had one of those magical days in New York by myself. Finals were over and I had the wind at my back. I went to Brooklyn and got a haircut. I went to the Armory for the opening day of the Space Program. I completed Indoctrination. I got to check out the LEM. I took whiskey shots with members of the studio and left out of the escape hatch.
When I got to the gift store, I saw pieces done in collaboration with Nike. There they were. The Mars Yard Shoes 1.0 in all of their Vectran glory. I contemplated blowing what seemed at the time to be an absorbent amount of money but I didn't. I was in college. It was too expensive.
I kind of regret it but maybe I don't. Now, the shoes are impossible to get and I've even contemplated trying to make my own. I've researched how to make and customize sneakers. 3D print a lass and the mold for the sole, hand-stitch the upper - ahh - but here is my problem. My weakness. I don't do it. I have a fear of failure that prevents me from pursuing ideas I see as being too high stakes - even when they are not. But here
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner-eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
- Litany Against Fear, Dune
I missed Mars Yard 2.0 and Space Camp on Governor's Island. I had left New York for Seattle. I went to the film screening of A Space Program and the talk that followed. I followed Tom on Instagram. For years. Then I stopped using it (not practical but surveillance capitalism gives me great pause - social media in the name of surveillance is the enemy). I missed out on being a wear tester. But I still want the experience. I want to find the sweet spots. I want to find the weak points. I want to wear something to death. And repair it. And repeat.
Thankfully, a generous amount of documentation has been shared online and I will note any assumptions made as I participate in this bootleg version of Tom Sachs' instruction piece. It may not be for the Mars Yard 2.5 model, but perhaps this model can be applied to a worthy alternate.
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