Shoes That Made Us Young Savants

Did someone just turn on Blink-182? Because Vans and Brain Dead have partnered to revitalize the OG Half Cab and Lampin shoe templates.

The collection marks an era when skaters chopped tongues, customized soles, and scribbled marks of distinction on barren side panels. New Vans were blank canvases. Under heaps of unfolded laundry and mismatched socks, we became young savants — one fine-point sharpie at a time.

The drawings were intuitive extensions of the owner— marks that alluded to group alliances and defiled street corners. The performance-inclined skater knifed high-top padding to increase mobility. Steve Caballero, the first to bonk super hard as he was doing a full 360 — hence, the Caballero — partnered with Vans back in 1992 to create the Half Cab, a shoe cut down to enhance mobility.

The Half Cab was the first universally backed skate shoe — it fit street and vert, transcending all realms of the sport. The shoe looked good, especially when it was worn, thrashed and discolored.

In homage to this ethos, Vans partnered with Brain Dead to recreate the essence of DIY, vibrance, and performance.

Checkout the 30-year resurrection of the Lampin and Half Cab here.

Live and die by the classic checkerboard scheme? The Vault will drop July 5th, watch it here .