If you walk around and ask how many people own a pair of rubber shoes in your neighborhood, the chances are that everyone would say that they do. So, where did rubber shoes come from, and what makes them so great? Not only will we look at how sneakers were made, but we will also look at how the sneaker industry became well of fortune for modern-day companies. Such companies include that outright dominant Nike and Adidas, as well as Pumas and Reeboks.

History of sneakers 

Period of origin: 19th century

Some people credit the inventors or rather the introductions of rubber soles, Liverpool Rubber Company, as sneakers' inventors. Their opening of a canvas top shoe with a rubber sole called the plimsoll was made in the 1830s. Yes! The 1830s.

The rubber shoes made by Liverpool Rubber Company were a famous beach ware during the time. They were named plimsolls during the 19th century due to the band that was used to connect the rubber sole to the canvas top since it resembles a plimsoll line. We can also say that the name was given to the rubber shoe because when water passed this rubber band, the wearer would get wet just like when water goes over a ship's plimsoll line. These speculations are according to popular writer Eleanor Farjeon in her book The Plimsoll sensation. For clarification, a plimsoll line is also known as the international load line or waterline of a ship. The bar is used to guide seamen by indicating the draft of a particular vessel. It is also used when loading a boat to tell the maximum amount of load a ship can withstand without affecting the vessel buoyancy.  

People later adopted canvas rubber shoes from beach outfit to athletic use. This was especially common among croquet and tennis players. Why did they adopt them? It lies in the shoe features; plimsolls were comfier, lighter, and quite flexible, a revolutionary part as they did not hinder athletes' movements like other shoes at the time. Plimsolls underwent further development into having soles with an engraved surface at the bottom to provide a better grip. The addition of a grip surface was so outstanding that the Liverpool Rubber Company received a bulk order from the British Army. Other additions and improvements were made to make them ideal for their use by troops.

With the evolving features of plimsolls, they gained a lot of interest among athletes. This is because they were in desperate need of a flexible shoe, yet giving them the required amount of grip. Despite the progressive developments, plimsolls still remained a favorite among those using them for leisure and simple outdoor activities. As a matter of fact, they were so popular that a pair made its way to the ill-fated Terra Nona expedition that was on course to the geographic South Pole. 

The first rubber-soled running shoes were designed and made in 1895 by Briton Joseph William Foster, founder of the company J.W. Foster and sons (athletic shoes) limited. The founder was born in the year 1881 and was trained as a cobbler from his earlier years. In 1895 as a local harrier member, he started to work on shoes in a room above the father’s sweet shop in Bolton. This is where he designed the first-ever rubber running shoes. They featured a spiked sole to provide traction for running. After his ideas caught wind and kicked off, he established a business J.W. Foster. This was in the year 1900. He built a factory and named it Olympic Works. Later on, in the year 1910, his sons became partners in the business, and he rebranded the company as J.W. Foster and Sons. Foster marketed and sold his revolutionary running shoes to athletes worldwide. He eventually got the British athletics team's attention and was able to acquire a tender to manufacture sports shoes for them. The contract was meant for the 1924 Olympics. Astonishingly the 100m and 400m races were both won by athletes who were fitting Foster’s running shoes that were nicknamed running pumps by athletes. The company continued to make athletic shoes and was so renowned that they were contracted to make army boots for the British army during the first and second world wars. In 1976, after some trifling times, Reebok took ownership of the company. 

As for North America, rubber-soled footwear became popular towards the end of the 19th century. According to the Boston journal of 1887, the name sneakers came from ball-boys in North America's tennis courts to refer to these rubber-soled shoes. This was due to how silent they were or if you like 'sneaky’ since they made little noise on the court compared to their competitors, the classic leather sole dress shoes. The U.S. Rubber Company, in 1892, had a nationwide campaign purposely to introduce rubber sole shoes to American citizens. This led to a continent-wide interest in the rubber shoe, kick-starting the sneaker industry in America. Spalding designed the first rubber shoes for basketball by the year 1907. But the big break for sneakers in the States was yet to come.

Rolling the wheels: the steady progression of the sneaker industry

After the First World War, the American population began using sports and athletics as a way of judging the moral fiber and patriotism among the youth. Such students who were aces in the class and out on the field and track were dubbed as All American. This resulted in a massive demand for rubbers as everyone grew eager to prove themselves on the field. 

The ever-growing market for rubber shoes worldwide prompted many cobblers to get into the rubber shoemaking industry. One such example is that of the German cobbler Adolf Dassler, commonly known as “Adi." Adi began by making running shoes in his mother's kitchen, which was located in their home that lay in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria. After Adolf had returned home from World War 1, he went on to establish the seemingly timeless shoe giant company Adidas. The company earned its seat at the table during the 1936 Olympics. Ironically, Puma, which also happens to be a dominant company in the sneaker industry, was created by Dassler's older brother. By the year 1938, Adidas was making sales of roughly 200,000 pairs of shoes annually.

The market for sports shoes so an increase in growth in the years between the two great wars. This was driven by the use of Olympic athletes who wore the boots during competitions, therefore helping to advertise them. Secondly, an increase in sports and other outdoor activities resulted in a bigger market for rubber shoes as the population searched for the perfect shoes to partake in such activities. The first rubber tennis shoes consisted of up to eight ventilations that were invented during the interwar period. This occurred in 1936 by the French brand Spring Court.

The post-war sneaker boom

Plimsolls became quite common in the mid-20th (the 1950s to 1970s) century, specifically among children, for example, in the United Kingdom, where they used them during physical education. Endorsements by stars such as Jim Thorpe, an American football player and Olympic gold medallist, also created this sneaker boom. Another example of such a deal is with the Converse All Star shoes that endorsed by national basketball association star Chuck Taylor. This led to children lining up in front of stores in order to grab for themselves shoes that were worn by their favorite stars.

The 1950s had a new use for sneakers as a fashion shoe. Why? This was contributed by the ease of school dress code regulations that allowed children to school with home clothes in America. This led to many teens and kids buying sneakers to match their outfit. The sales of rubber shoes went through the roof, setting the grounds for some fierce market wars. This was because some other companies were not too pleased with the newly gained momentum for rubber shoes.

In the 90s, endorsements of sportsmen and sports teams by sneaker companies rose up tenfold. This led to sports shoes both in the sports sector and in the fashion industry. How? Endorsements such as the Air Jordans led to change in sneaker designs. The shoes started getting modeled around player personality and teams. They were going from boring plain white shoes to a colorful and vibrant blend. Designers started claiming that sneakers had gained personality and character, like the Air Jordan that was said to be a rebellious shoe. The rebellious image put on the Jordans was due to the controversy that was associated with the intro of the shoe. This style of marketing is actually what has birthed market power players like Nike into the powerful companies that they are today.

Such dubs on sneakers made them extremely desirable among young generations that all wanted to be part of a movement or in need of identity, commonly referred to as having swag. A generation whose goal was to purely collect and store the fanciest, rarest, and coveted was born. Sneakers, therefore, became a work of art, a collectible. The kind of people that collect shoes for the sake of collecting them and are crazy about sneakers are labeled 'sneakerheads' for their obsessions with rubber shoes.  

Sneakers are an elaborate part of our history and did not just pop up out of the blue and into our stores, ready to be worn. Rather sneakers are a culmination of the development of human beings that has over the course of almost 200 years to the shoes that we all know and love today.

The modern-day sneaker: an outlook

In the older days, sneakers were simply made of rubber and canvas with white color. Today there have been improvements and additions to the components that make up the sneaker. These days several types of leathers, plastics, rubber, synthetics, foams, and other types of petrochemical products are used to make sneakers.

In the modern era, there are many companies offering sneakers from all across the world. If we go by continent, namely Nike from North America, Adidas from Europe, we have Bathu, an African company based in South Africa. How much are bathu sneakers? In Asia, we have Asics, and in South America, we have a subsidiary company of sketchers. In Australasia, we have Canterbury of New Zealand.

The top player of modern-day sneakers: Nike

The company Nike is out rightly killing the game of sneakers right now. From the classic Air Jordans and Air forces to modern-day fits like Nike Air Presto, they keep on making record-breaking sales. How many sneakers does Nike sell in a year?

A brief history of Nike: what made them take over the sneaker game

How did we come to the point of the modern-day standard of style company? Nike had the most humble of beginnings where before it became a sneaker titan before it was all about brand deals and cut edge advertising. Originally Nike was named Blue Ribbon Sports. The sports business was started by Phil Knight, who was a student at the University of Oregon, with the help of his coach Bill Bowerman. The first shoe that they ever made was for Olympian Otis Davis. Otis went on to win not one but two gold medals in the 1960 Olympics while fitting Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman’s shoes. Nike's renowned swoosh logo came about in 1971 and has been the center of almost all of Nike's products as the brand image ever since. Their catchy trademark slogan ‘just do it’ was coined up during their ad campaigns in 1988. This simplistic phrase proved to be quite effective as it resonated with millions and swayed to the point that the slogan has been kept to date, where it still keeps its influential stronghold. The work of art that Nike put in designing shoes and their innovative reliability to produce quality footwear has changed the way sneakers are designed and made. Nike has been so influential that it has changed the way some games such as basketball are played today.

The ‘breakthrough’ point for Nike: the air Jordan campaign

Nike broke off their ceiling using strategic endorsements with people who have gone on to become legends in their games. Such stars include but are not summed up by Cristiano Ronaldo, Rodger Federer, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan. In my opinion, the highly controversial endorsement deal with Michael Jordan is what made the company what it is today. If not, we can all agree that it played more than just a pivotal role to make Nike, Nike.

So how was the endorsement deal with the basketball legend so crucial?

Nike grabbed the chance to model a shoe around the star in 1984. This was after Michael Jordan had won not only the national basketball title in his first season for the Chicago Bulls but also a bar of Olympic gold. Humorously, prior to this, Michael Jordan only used to wear shoes from Nike competitor Adidas. His view on Nike products was turned around after he had a meeting with the Nike executive board that year. Michael subsequently went on to sign an endorsement contract with Nike that was five years in length and valued at a mind-blowing 2.5 million American dollars. This was seen as quite a huge and extravagant move in the eyes of many for Air Jordan. Why? Well, at the time, MJ was still a rookie despite already overcoming expectations, as he had still just finished one season in the national basketball association league. 

 Adding on to controversy, the sneakers designed for Jordan were banned from the NBA as they did not meet regulations. What kind of regulations? At the time, according to the association's rules, the only color of shoes acceptable in the NBA for pro ballers was white. Yes, only white sneakers were allowed! This proved to be quite dull and wouldn’t be suitable for marketing the sneakers. The Air Jordan 1s made for Michael, on the other hand, displayed a multitude of colors. Therefore in every single game that Jordan used his new Nike shoes, the company paid the national basketball association a fine of 5000 American dollars. If you put into account how many basketball games there are in a year, this was quite an arrogant and self-damaging move by Nike. What if I told you that this played right into the sneaker company's hands? How? The move by Nike to pay such a fine every game just so a rookie whose career may turn out to be a big flop sparked a heated conversation. This was not only talked about in basketball communities but all across the business world. Why would Nike insist on making such a seemingly bad investment that kept on inflicting losses every single game that the sneakers were used to play with?

The one thing that all the people failed to see was that all this unwanted attention was actually a marketing opportunity. This had already been spotted by Nike's executive board. Thus, they did not mind incurring fines. How was this a marketing ploy? Well, for Michael to keep on wearing the sports shoes despite Nike being fined, every single match made the shoes be associated with an image of rebellion that resonated with Nike's target market and even more people. The rebellious shoe outlook was loved due to the political climate in North America at the time being that of change and resistance. Nike managed to flipside all this mambo jumbo about their deal with Jordan into a T.V. advert. They capitalized around the rebellious image on the T.V. advert. It featured Jordan wearing the shoes and in gear bouncing a ball and the narrator explaining how the shoes had been banned. The highlight of the advert was the finishing words, “unfortunately the NBA can’t stop you from wearing them, Air Jordans.” Closing up with the shoes’ logo. The bad boy shoe definitely resonated with the younger generations as everybody wanted to be different, a bad boy.

In 1985, Nike finally started producing and released the Air Jordan shoes onto the market. When the Air Jordans were released, they were the priciest basketball shoes on the market selling for nineteen euros a pair. Another huge gamble by Nike, but it paid off by adding more character to the sneaker, thus making it more coveted. The first version of the Jordan brand of sneakers, the Air Jordan 1, proved to be an instant success. In its first year of release, it made an unexpected 130 million dollars’ worth of sales as everybody stalked up to have the shoes in their closet. Since its successful first year, several editions and other follow up models of the sneakers have been released by Nike under the brand Air Jordan, with each new edition surpassing the previous one in sales. If we subtract the countless number of old school or retro versions of Jordans and different color patterns, then we can say that there have been around 35 versions of Jordans released, one for each year since it was produced. The Jordan brand has actually been so successful that many consider it as a company of its own although still under Nike. It has actually been so profitable that they have gone to make tennis shoes, golf shoes, and other kinds of sneakers under the Jordan brand.  

Nike now: the market controlling company we know today

The Nike shoe manufacturer is now turning 60 this very year, but at sixty years, the Nike brand is at the strongest that it has ever been. What has driven their continued success over the years? It is simple, really, the company, amid good marketing strategies, has also endlessly pushed themselves to try and achieve perfection when it comes to the industry of sports and leisure footwear. Not only have they tried to perfect shoes across different sports fields but have also won our hearts by producing shoes that are vibrant and fashionable for our leisurewear. Several shows and movies, such as back to the future and the last dance, have also helped in cementing Nike as part of our popular culture. Nike has made the science-fiction concept of sneakers that tie their own laces into reality. This is a clear showcase of the dedication, patience, and perseverance that has been demonstrated by Nike that has gone on to make the impossible possible. This is in line with their motto 'just do it.' It is what makes Nike appeal to all generations, being limitless not only in words but also with the things they do.

A short look at their most recent additions includes Nike Air/Air Zoom (Running Shoes), Nike 6.0/ NYX/ SB (Skateboarding shoes), Nike Air Jordans (Basketball Sneakers), Nike Mercurial (football studs) when it comes to sportswear. As for street fashion, Nike has released Nike Air Force One, Nike Cortez, Nike Mag, Nike Air Max. The company is also in ownership of market legendary sneaker brand Converse also has ownership of the famous sneakers brand, which is a staple for young teenagers.

The Brand that is Nike and its Innovations

Nike is one of the most successful businesses boasting a variety of shoe offerings across sports fields and fashion trends and time after time, bringing out advancements in shoe technology. The Nike brand is currently valued at 34.8 billion dollars, and their stream of income assures them a total of about $25Bn in revenue every year. The shares are currently selling at 128.28 dollars a day.

The company has had a number of innovations that have advanced sneakers as we know them. Some of the prominent innovations made by Nike are the development of air cushioning and the external heel counter. Additionally, we owe the shock absorption and the fit frame technology to Nike. Nike boasts shoes that offer comfort while still being durable and looking extremely stylish, thus keeping your feet well dressed. As we have seen the iconic designs of the Jordans and also with that of Cristiano Ronaldo brand of Mercurials, Nike boasts a catalog of shoe ideas that had never been done before. One can argue that only Nike can be able to produce footwear that looks good, feels dope, and lasts long at the same time. This is because their sneakers make use of the Flywire and Lunarlite Foam technology. They help your feet glide when in the streets while still giving you top tier performance on the pitch.

Endorsements and cut-throat advertising in Nike

Along with their hard work when it comes to making shoes, Nike has also invested in the smart business. This has been achieved through good endorsements of teams, leagues, and players, together with entertaining and engaging adverts. The swoosh logo and their slogan Just Do It is at the center of their marketing strategy. This is the era of Nike, where a large chunk of professional players and athletes, together with millions of people demanding to have more and more Nike products.

Nike has endorsed and sponsored top athletes who wear their shoes almost everywhere as part of the deal. This has assisted their reach to the public as anyone watching or attending or even reading an article with photos about a sporting event will see a Nike shoe, therefore, helping in advertising the product. In Basketball, we have Michael Jordan, who is regarded as the greatest of all time when it comes to basketball to the lustrous Kobe Bryant and modern day legend Lebron James. As a matter of fact, when it comes to basketball, an impressive 77 percent of national basketball association pro ballers all rock Nike sneakers while on the court.

Additionally, in football, legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Carlos Puyol, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Andre Pirlo, just to name a few that had a massive influence on the game today, have done so wearing Nike’s. Tennis giants and household names Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova also have contracts and endorsement deals with Nike. Let us not forget the 82-time Professional Golf Association winner Tiger Woods. 

It is clear to see that no sport or athletics event has been left out by Nike in the endorsement docket. The value of their brand continues to increase as they capitalize on the talents and fame of both young and old athletes that portray the winning attitude and mentality of Nike rapidly.

The dominance of Nike in numbers

Many praises have been sung on the course of this article about the shoe giant Nike. So what exactly are they pushing statistically with all their expenditure on production, advertisements, and endorsement deals? You will be in for a rude shock as the number of profits the company churns out is ranging in a margin outside your wildest imagination. Nike is undoubtedly the largest company when it comes to rubber shoe wear in the modern-day age. So how many shoes does Nike sell in a year exactly?

What if I told you that by the time you finish reading this sentence, then Nike will have probably sold over 100 shoes? Yes, 100 shoes! This is assuming that you took 5 seconds to read my previous sentence. You may have taken longer. So why do I say this well? Statistically speaking, Nike sells a record-setting of selling 25 pairs of shoes with every passing second. These sales are truly overwhelming, right? 

Let us have a look at Nike sales over the past three years. In the fiscal year that was 2018, the company reported revenue worth 36.397 billion U.S. dollars. In 2019 they were able to see an increase in reporting sales that totaled 39.117 billion U.S. dollars. In 2020 Nike had a strong first quarter due to the last dance skyrocketing Jordan sales but was midway also affected like any other company in the world by the global pandemic. Despite this, Nike still managed to report revenue of 37.403 billion. This is quite the achievement considering the drawbacks they have had, especially with advertising through sports as events have been reduced to a minimum. What if I told you that Nike had only 1182 stores in the whole world but still manages to turn in such incomprehensible amounts of shoe sales each and every year? According to the numbers, Nike is selling more than 780 million pairs of shoes a year. The statistics are mind-blowing. What is more surprising is that the company is yet to reach its limit and therefore will only keep growing more and more till everybody owns more than just a pair. Brace yourself. Nike is here to stay.

The modern-day sneaker shop: online sneaker shopping an intro

What has assisted companies like Nike to make sales, especially during the pandemic where shops were forced to lockdown, are online markets. Online auctions have become quite a common place for people looking for sneakers, especially collectors. This is because the shoes are brought up to your doorstep and do not require you to do much moving to get them. Recently an online auction sold a pair of sneakers for an outstanding price of 615,000 dollars! Younger generations also prefer online shopping as it is easier for them to browse inventories and no more about shoes without having to break a sweat. Articles like this also help people know more about sneakers before they purchase them. Several independent online sneaker shops exist. An example of just a few of these shops are goat, Sneakerznstuff, Kickz, just to name a few. Some brands such as Sketchers, Nike, and Adidas are also having shops of their own.

Be warned not all online shops sell authentic sneakers as the black market or counterfeit market has also been able to upload themselves onto the network. How do I know if an online shop is legit? Are sneakers from goat authentic? To know if an online shop is legit, there are a few things that you have to look at. 

The first thing you should look at is the site's contact details. Any legitimate online sneaker store will have contact details posted on its site. If the contact lacks a physical address, email, and phone number, then you should definitely be cautious about making any purchases from it. All genuine online stores that have authentic products will be happy to assist with any questions you have if you are buying and should be happy to take back any products that leave a customer dissatisfied.

Additionally, there is a site to check if the details of registration much that of the online shop. This is because whenever one registers a website, they are required to put the details of the person or organization that runs the domain, and this is confirmed. You can enter the details of the shop onto https://www.whois.com/whois/. If the contact details of the shop in question much that of the lookup, then it is safe to purchase from the online shop. If not, be wary and report if you can. Although this still isn't a definite assurance to purchase from that shop.

 Another factor to check out is customer feedback. This can be done by taking a look at the website to see if there are any reviews about the products or services the company has rendered. Look at all the comments and especially negative ones. Any real company will have negative reviews as they are not entirely perfect. If you are still not sure, you can search the name of the website with the word scam or fake added to it. This method isn't as good as fake companies have learned tricks on reviews and also create fake blogs on their legitimacy. Any comment about a site being fake should make you want to steer clear from making a purchase there.

Website encryption measures. Any legitimate ecommerce website will have website safety measures to prevent hackers from hacking in and stealing billing info and identities of buyers or even changing shoe prices. This security feature is quite easy to spot as there will be a padlock icon to indicate that the site is encrypted and is using an encrypted communication channel to secure user information. Also, sites with an HTTPS address are secure sites. The s in HTTPS is used to indicate that the channel is secure. Therefore id advises one to only buy from shops with 'HTTPS' on their checkout to avoid being scammed. 

Google has also developed a tool for the purpose of ensuring that you are using safe websites. This can be done by going to your web settings and turning on safe search. The feature can also be used to check if the website that you are going to are safe or unsafe. At times even a legitimate site may have been hacked; therefore, to see whether the site you are using is safe, you can check with the following link, https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/safebrowsing/diagnostic/?

The final important aspect that you need to consider is the sites’ look and feel. This actually involves some simple steps that you can follow once you open a website to see whether it is legit or not. The first aspect one needs to look into is how professional the web page looks. Does it have good images? Realistic pricing? Good details on products? How is the layout? Are the adverts on the site related to the products being sold in any way? How good is the grammar being used on the site? If, in comparison with any of the sites you trust, there surfaces a significant amount of difference in a professional look and feel, then avoid buying anything from the sight.

Sneaker care at home

So what is the proper way to treat your sneakers? Or wondering how often should you buy sneakers? How often replace running sneakers should be done? Well, here are some tips and tricks from us on making sure the pair you are rocking looks and feels good.

Replacing running sneakers

You aren’t too sure if your pair of running kicks are good for your feet. You have started to blister, or your shoes are looking kind of dull, or maybe even you feel like it has been too many shoe seasons since you bought a pair. So, how often should you be buying new running sneakers? 

First of all, you should get rid of the concept of having a shoe for too long. When it comes to running pumps, it is not a matter of how long but a matter of how far. Exactly, how far. How far what? How far have you walked, ran, or jogged with your running sneakers? According to professionals in footwear, if you have run with your sneakers for a range of 300 to 400 miles, then you need to consider getting a new pair of sports shoes to run with. This translates to running around 11 to 12 marathons or an estimated 1200 laps on a standard Olympic sized track. Pretty long, right?

Another essential factor is where you have been running with your running shoe and also what other activities you have been using them for. Essentially, if you have been running on tracks with uneven surfaces or playing basketball or soccer with them, expect them to last a shorter time. If your sneakers now make a tapping sound when you run with them, then go get yourself a new pair of running shoes. If you feel like the rubber sole has become hard or get pain on your ankle, feet, knee, and hip joint or on the plantar side of your feet when you run, get new shoes. If the threads on the upper of your shoe are coming off, buy new sneakers. If the soles of your sneakers are coming off, get new shoes. If your shoe feels tight or is small, even if it used to be the right size, buy new shoes. It is actually about shoe condition and not the latest season at the Nike shop. If your shoe looks kind of dull, then you need to consider cleaning them. You are probably wondering how sneakers clean, worry not. Here are a few steps for you to clean your sneakers with.

How to make your dull, dirty kicks looking as good as new

Running has made your shoe pick up a lot of dirt, and now they are looking clapped. Well, here is how to return them to tip-top shape with a few simple tricks from us. The first way to make your sneakers look clean starts with a kitchen item—baking soda.

Cleaning white sneakers with baking soda

This is only for those who have white sneakers. White sneakers dirt up easily since they are white. For this, not only will you be needing a kitchen Item but a bathroom one, a toothbrush. The first step is to take your baking soda and add water and washing detergent equally in a small bucket or even a bowl. Then using your toothbrush scrub your white sneaker, leaving no area untouched while making sure to scrub off stains. Then leave overnight or at least until the shoe is once again dry. You can then go ahead and wash off the detergent mixture using your toothbrush and clean water. Hang out your sneakers to dry, and they'll once again be as good as new.

Using your washing machine to wash your sneakers

This is according to users on Reddit, who claim that using your washing machine to clean your sports shoes is a much better idea than it actually sounds. Make sure that you take your shoelaces and insole if it is detachable off, then go on and put your running shoes in a mesh sweater bag. After this is done, insert the mesh bag into the washing machine, use cold water and your usual laundry detergent, start the washing process. Please take note it is ill-advised to insert your shoes into a dryer. Let them hangout naturally. Your insole can be scrubbed separately and so too with your laces. 

One final method is the old and true method of taking a bucket of soap and water and scrubbing away at your shoe. Do not overdo it, as your shoe will look even worse since detergents make colors fade away. This requires patience as the stain will not come out so easily. Once done, scrubbing dip the shoes in water until they are no longer soapy, then you can hang them out to dry.

The heel of the matter: the conclusion

We have seen that the sneaker is not an invention owed to one man. We can say it is a culmination of different inventions that were brought together to make what we have today. The first rubber shoe popped up in the 1830s in Britain as a product from Liverpool Rubber Company. It was a favorite among beachgoers. The multibillion-dollar company Nike has come to control the sneaker game not out of sheer luck but through strategic marketing and hard work. Together with the state of the art innovation creating new standards for shoes across several disciplines. With several new additions to the sneaker components being thanks to the creators at Nike.

Online sites are a new frontier in the art of purchasing shoes. With the tips above, you should be able to know whether it is safe or not to make a purchase from these shops and whether their products are authentic. Buying new shoes or rather replacing your running sneakers is determined by use and not time, but if one wishes to buy based on the time, it is to your liking. Thank you, and happy sneakering.