NEW BALANCE x JJJJOUND 992JJ

Are y’all sick of seeing these yet? Too bad! Next to hit my blog is the recently released 992JJ, which was a collaboration project between NB and JJJJound. Don’t breeze through this as if it was just another review because it’s not. I’m using this as an opportunity to touch on the new generation vs older generation of NB collectors.

Let’s start with the obvious and best part about this shoe; the green suede. The deep and lush green could be relateable to color tones found in a dark meadow. A black on black N was a good choice in my book for the side saddle.

I’m sure you noticed right off the bat, but incase you didn’t…YES I did swap out the factory cream laces with black. I’m not a cream or white lace person + I thought this shoe needed more black to compliment the N I mentioned above.

As you may have read from my Instagram comments, this colorway would’ve made a great general release and I’m confident in saying it would’ve sold just as well without the JJJJound branding. There is nothing about this shoe that screams, “COLLAB” other than some branding on the heel + insole and a tasteful box all of which could’ve been removed and wouldn’t have taken away from this silhouette.

In addition of showing you the JJJJound 992 in detail, which I’m sure you’ve seen all over your feed as of late; I’ve decided to do a comparison. Don’t jump to conclusions…I’m not comparing this 992 to this 998, but rather the era each pair represents.

We will start with the 998BB ‘Hunter Green’: Originally released in 2012 alongside two of the greatest general released 998’s to leave NB’s factory: 998OG and 998GR. 2012 was also a year for timeless collaborations such as:

West NYC ‘Alpine Guide’ MT580
Concepts ‘SEAL’ 999
Kith ‘Steel Blue’ 999
Sneaker Freaker ‘Tassie Devil’ 998
Hanon ‘Chosen Few’ 1500
Size? x Staple ‘Pigeon’ 577
WHIZ x Mita Sneakers CM1700

2012 was the year prior to me joining @teamnb. At this time there were stories of how members helped each other with the Tassie Devil release and everyone who wanted them ate! This was a selfless time and the use of bots was limited to non-existent within the NB realm. There weren’t ‘influencers’ in the US during these times, and the UK was using their community of collectors and enthusiasts to drive the market.

We are from a period that was less congested, more appreciated, and closer knit; before instagram, chasing social status, and being the '1st' to post a new release. Years of free promo for a brand we are all passionate about led us to friendships. Though we’ve yet to be appreciated by the brand we still promote as a result of this passion.

Fast forward 8 years to 2020 where NB is now being marketed by rap artists, tennis players, models, designers, basketball stars, and youngsters poppin’ wheelies on bicycles. The brand as a whole is doing phenomenal and their marketing is bulletproof, but unfortunately everyone cannot prosper from this growth. The new generation of ‘collectors’ are more focused on buying/flipping collabs and now even GR’s to make a profit. Corporate is blinded by follower count rather than shedding light on the the boots-on-the-ground who have rocked with this brand for many years. I need to swallow the pill that we are now in a new generation of collectors that value the dollar more than the community and helping one another.