Blood, Sweat and Spin Kicks: The Swoosh Sneakers That Define Aussie Hardcore
Live music venues across the sunburnt country continue to thunder with homegrown hardcore talent. Hammered into shape by antecedents like Massappeal, Toe to Toe and Mindsnare, the new kids on the block still carry the fierce DIY attitudes and political vehemence of their predecessors, while also finding space to discover their own lung-punching pitch and style. Inextricably tied to the culture rampaging across the country, the next generation of hardcore has never been louder. So keep your liquids up and lather sunscreen liberally, these are some of the sweltering sneakers that define Aussie hardcore.
From the US to Terra Australis, Air Jordan Joins the Fray
Throughout the late 1970s, the sound of hardcore’s guttural lyrics poured out like concrete in cities across the United States. Underground movements were thriving, anointing new cult heroes like Black Flag in Cali and Bad Brains in Washington. But hardcore wasn’t only kicking up the tempo in live venues. Taking cues from hip hop, a genre also in its embryonic stages in the 1970s, hardcore ditched the Dr. Martens for sneakers and distanced itself from the sartorial peacocking of punk that was typified by its visionary linchpin, It was function, not form, that reigned supreme, and sportswear took centre stage.
It was for this reason that hardcore fell in love with sneakers like the Air Jordan 1. Whether bands were aware of the North Carolina prodigy getting air in Chicago or not, the performance-oriented Air Jordan 1 was lauded for its stoic durability in the pit and beyond (the silhouette was getting thrashed even in the skateparks of Southern California). Ray Cappo, the vocalist for the band Youth of Today says, 'Here’s what’s funny. I got the Air Jordan 1 KO at Marshall’s cheap! Because I thought they looked cool, they were cheap, and they were canvas as I was veg.'
By the mid-80s, hardcore was booming and local scenes were sprouting across the globe. Even in the far flung reaches of Australia, artists were lacing the Air Jordan 1. One such artist was Massappeal, who are forever remembered in hardcore folklore Down Under as one of the preeminent acts from the Harbour City. Band co-founder Brett Curotta recalls, ‘I had a pair of Air Jordan 1s in 1986, but they actually had a red Swoosh, which I hated! So I got a shitty black marker and blacked-out the Swoosh'. Even though hardcore music transformed throughout the following decades, some philosophical underpinnings remained, like the fierce DIY attitude – marker pens and all.
Hardcore culture from the US had originally filtered through to Australia via zines and tapes back in the 1980s, but by the late 90s and early 2000s, the Great Southern Land was hosting its very own hardcore festivals. Resist Records, an independent store and record label based in Newtown, Sydney, hosted one of the first: Hardcore 2000. Located at the Iron Duke Hotel in Zetland, the 200-capacity venue was a space to promote and amplify homegrown talent.
‘I wanted to showcase some of the country’s best hardcore bands,’ says founder Graham Nixon. ‘Hardcore Superbowl was another annual punk festival running a few years before Hardcore 2000. My idea was to replicate what they were doing, but have a lineup of mainly hardcore bands who were unlikely to play at the Superbowl.’
At both Hardcore 2000 and Hardcore Superbowl, mainstays like the Air Max 90, Air Max 95 and Air Max 97 regularly stomped through sets in Sydney, but it was the rowdy introduction of a seven-bubbled beast that truly cemented itself as a hardcore headliner in the new millennium.
Batten the Hatches: Tuned Air and Beyond
In the 2000s, hardcore began to collide with a sneaker juggernaut running roughshod over Sydney and Melbourne: Arriving with brawn and bravado in 1998, the sneaker was created by rookie designer Sean McDowell, who got inspiration for the model from the palm trees and sunsets in Florida. But for a lot of sneakerheads Down Under, the TPU feature resembled agitated, varicose veins and the sunset-like gradient sparked images of Sydney’s spray-painted entrails. The silhouette quickly became the baddest shoe on the block – ‘I always wanted the TN because of their tough **** status,’ says hardcore photographer Chris Roese.
It’s no surprise that the TN’s belligerent reputation still courses through its TPU veins, and its red-line mythology remains popular throughout the current breed of hardcore bands, including Sydney behemoths SPEED. Comprising of Dennis Vichidvongsa, Josh Clayton, Kane Vardo, and brothers Aaron and Jem Siow, SPEED surged in popularity during Sydney’s interminable lockdowns, and they’re now relishing the chance to play in front of their fans – blood, sweat and Air Max all inclusive.
Clayton says, 'Australia is very influenced by street fashion – , , . I remember seeing the 'Infrared' colourway and thinking, "Fuck, I need those"'. He continues, ‘Hardcore has always been synonymous with sportswear. It’s just very easy to wear, which makes sense for the live performances.'
This unconditional love of Air Max is shared by fellow hardcore Sydney-sider, Trent, from the band Relentless. ‘I personally have always been so drawn to Air Max sneakers, especially the Air Max 1s. Fashionably, they are my favourite Air Max silhouette. They pair perfectly with some baggy jeans or Dickies and support me enough to move around on the stage and in the pit!’.
Back in the Pit with Air Max
These live performances have become a focal point for hardcore acts, especially after diehard fans were left stranded behind computer screens during the pandemic. It’s something that punk acolytes share with sneakerheads all over the world: the resolute sense of community.
‘When you’re bonding over something so niche, you can really relate to each other a lot better,’ says Aaron from SPEED. ‘A lot of people I know through hardcore are people I never would have encountered in my life were it not for the fact we had this common interest. I think if you see someone wearing a pair of really rare sneakers, it’s a similar experience.’
With the of Air Max and Aussie hardcore well and truly upon us, it’s hard to imagine the air getting sucked from hardcore's lungs, or shoes, anytime soon.
Get your feet into the fray at – the home of all things Air Max.