Designer Stole Mom’s Shoes as a Kid, Now Has Collab with Nike

Tobey McIntosh, founder of Crenshaw Skate Club, has recently unveiled the skate shoes he collaborated with Nike to create. Like all of Crenshaw’s retail, fans of the brand are raving about it online. In contrast to some designers, the young entrepreneur didn’t grow up with access to the industry. In fact, when Tobey needed a pair of shoes to skate in as a teenager, he would borrow his mom’s shoes. 

While one of the store employees from the retailers gifted the future businessman a pair of basketball shoes, Tobey, the sports shoe purest, would never be seen wearing basketball shoes at the skatepark. “My mom and I were the same size, but she was into her shoes and liked them super neat, so it was going to have to be a secretive mission,” says Tobey. The designer laughs, reminiscing. “I stole them out of the closet.” Tobey would sneakily put the sneakers back in place after a day of skating. Of course, it wasn’t the old sneaker his mom didn’t wear that he stole; the brand new pair of brown and orange Nike Dunk Highs caught the skater’s attention. When his mom finally discovered the damage done, he was in big trouble. Tobey laughed, “They were bad. There was no going back.”

When Tobey was eleven-years-old, people would have found him perusing the aisles of the Supreme Store on Fairfax Avenue in LA. But now, the skater turned businessman has expanded his brand to the big leagues. His collaboration with Nike was a turning point in the brand’s growth, and the two companies collaborated on a shoe specifically for skating. “When they’re skated, it looks crazy,” Tobey told Complex. “They mature very well. This is made to be worn and skated in.”

Previously, Tobey had collaborated with Nike on a pair of Air Jordan 36 Lows. Much to the chagrin of Crenshaw fans, the shoe was never retailed. This time, the Nike SB Dunk Low was available to buy. But the purchase period didn’t last long; the shoe sold out within a few days. And did Tobey ever pay his mom back for her damaged Nike Dunk Highs? “I gave her a pair early, and I’ll give her another pair to wear,” Tobey insisted. “Hopefully, that makes up for the stolen Dunks.” With the success of his collab with Nike, we’re betting he’ll be re-filling her closet with new Nikes.