Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Ron Totman, or ‘justanothershoecollector’ on social media, and I’m from Salt Lake City, Utah! I’m originally from Ventura, California, where I grew up near the beach and saw a lot of the SoCal skating and surfing scene as a kid, which influenced my shoe collecting and skateboarding habits. I’m nowhere near a ‘great’ skateboarder, but it’s always been one of my favorite things to do.
Favorite skate shoes brand? Model?
C1rca has always been my favorite brand; reliable, durable, and apt to endure any type of skateboarding or everyday activity that you may do. My favorite model from C1rca is the CX205, as well as the 205 Cracked – Those things are invincible, and once they’re broken in a bit, they are by far the most comfortable shoe I’ve ever owned. I absolutely love the ankle velcro straps on the 205’s (And any other older model shoe), and I feel like the straight-lined ‘Thomas’ style font used on the 205’s is iconic.
When did you start collecting skate shoes? Why?
I didn’t truly start collecting skate shoes until around my senior year of high school. I had been skating through middle school, and had been seeing all the cool, techy styles of shoes that dudes were wearing, and to be honest, I was roped in by the aesthetics first as opposed to the shoe’s actual applicability in skating. Haha. I kind of repressed it through high school, like, “Nah, I don’t want to collect skate shoes. That’s weird, right? Right?” But eventually, I ended up with a pair of my friend’s 205’s that I had been eyeing for as long as I could remember, and I succumbed and kicked off my collecting hobby. And after spending way more money than I should, here I am!
How many sneakers do you have in your collection?
Oh man, more than I like to admit. Haha. If you exclude beaters and every day shoes, I probably have 100+ in my actual collection. Around 50 are with the OG boxes; the rest don’t have them.
Top 5 of the favorite shoes in your collection?
Absolute favorite shoe in my collection is the one that started the collecting habit in the first place.
1 – C1rca 205 Cracked (Black/Red) (Probably my favorite shoe of all time).
2 -C1rca JT204 (Black/Gum) signed by Jamie Thomas.
3 – Adio Bams (Black/Gum).
4 – éS PJ Ladd Boston Khaki Accel Plus.
5 – éS Arto (Grey/White).
A characteristic that a shoe should have for you to choose
1 – Cup-soles. Some vulcanized shoes are great, but for skating and collecting, I’m totally a cup-sole guy.
2 – Velcro ankle straps. I don’t really know why, but for some reason, if a shoe has the ankle strap, (ex. Circa 205, éS Accel Plus, Emerica Kirchart 4, Fallen Rivals, etc) I just have to have it. Probably just an aesthetic thing. Or just a bias from liking the Circa 205 so much. Haha!
3 – Solid toecaps for durability.
4 -Puffier padded tongues.
What is your favorite era of skate shoes?
Probably 2000-2007. Those seven years saw a little bit of everything, and so much experimentation was going on with skate shoes. All the new technology and innovation being used was wonderful, and there were so many killer signature shoes appearing in the market. We saw the far end of both spectrums, from the techy, iconic, bulky as hell Osiris D3 (2001) all the way to the simpler, less bulky shoes (which were still bulky) such as the Emerica Reynolds Slim (2007). Most of the market destroyers and timeless models in skateboarding appeared in that span of time. That was the prime of the ‘bulky skate shoe’ era, and all of the shoes that I love and have always wanted came into play in that time frame. The late 90’s had some legendary entrances too, and inspired a lot of what happened in the coming years, so every time frame has its place.
But 2000-2007 was my favorite.
Were there any skate shoes you loved and never could have?
I would absolutely kill for a pair of éS Muskas. So classic. I’ve also always wanted a pair of Emerica Kirchart 4’s, Reynolds 1’s, and Jamie Thomas’s signature shoe on Emerica from like, 1997.
There’s a bunch of others i’d love to have, but thats what collecting is for!
Top 5 of current skate shoes.
1 – Vans Gilbert Crockett Pro
2- éS Accel Slim
3- Circa AL50
4 – Emerica Reynolds Low
5 – Lakai Manchester
Top 5 skate shoes old skool.
1 – Circa CX205
2 – éS Accel Plus
3 – Fallen Rival
4 – éS Koston 1
5 – Duffs Barletta III
Anything you want to say?
There’s always room for another pair. Even if there isn’t.
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