He Cuts Up Jordans for Art, and Athletes Hang It on Their Walls | Al Baker

Mike Guillory sits down with Al Baker of Deadstock Anatomies for a Coffee Time Kicks episode about one of the most creative crossovers happening in sneakers right now... taking shoes apart and framing the pieces like a natural history museum exhibit. Al's wife is into entomology, the study of insects, and watching her pin specimens for display sparked the idea that turned into a full-time art career. He's done pieces for A'ja Wilson, Steph Curry, Allegiant Stadium, and a Red October he sold for around six grand. To me this shows how much depth there really is in sneakers when you look past the hype. In this conversation: 0:00 — Welcome and Coffee Time Kicks 1:00 — Why the Tom Sachs Mars Yard is Al's everyday shoe 3:05 — How entomology became sneaker art 5:24 — Reeboks, Tracy McGrady, and growing up a sneakerhead before the internet named it 9:50 — The first time he ever cut up a pair 10:30 — Taking apart the Air Yeezy 2 Red October 14:20 — When he knew it could go full time 19:11 — How pricing actually works (it starts at $1,200) 25:17 — Hypebeasts vs. people who actually love the shoe 28:22 — Meeting A'ja Wilson and seeing his piece in her office 31:30 — Paring down the collection to the grails only 32:48 — The wearable '94 Chicago hunt 34:21 — What's coming next, including a deconstructed Mars Yard Find Al's work: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deadstockanatomies Website: https://dsanatomies.com Subscribe to Sneaker History on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.appl