While standing in the cafeteria line today, one of the youngsters in the National Parks Service intern program was busting on my Adidas Stan Smith sneakers. He said that people don’t rock the Adidas Originals anymore. He alluded to the Jordan sneakers and the LeBron kicks being the premier sneaker these days. I don’t necessarily disagree with him on that. In terms of popularity, he’s right. I still decided to pull his chain a little bit. I told him that even though I rock with the Adidas Originals, if I had my choice, I’d definitely be sporting the premier British Knights sneaker. He was dumbfounded at what I was talking about. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: the BK Dymacel sneakers.
How I first came across this moment? I was introduced to the British Knights Dymacel sneakers in 1992, when I saw them as a prize for the contestants on Nickelodeon Arcade. I didn’t know much about them except that Derrick Coleman of the then-New Jersey Nets wore them. I liked how they looked though and I asked my father to buy me a pair for the better part of a year. Finally, for my birthday in 1993, I got a pair of BK Dymacel sneakers.
What it meant to me then? In the moment, I felt overjoyed to have the Dymacel sneakers. I wore them to school the next day and I felt like I was a rock star. Coupled with the L.A. Gear Lights I had, you really couldn’t tell me anything about my shoe game at the time.
What it means to me now? By the Summer of 1994, those Dymacel sneakers had run their course with me. To date, I haven’t had another pair of them. My allegiance to Reebok and Adidas took off in 1994. With a few exceptions, that’s mostly all I’ve worn as far as sneakers. Those BK Dymacel kicks I had back in ’93-94 will always be legendary because it’s probably the only time I got a shoe solely off of television hype.
