Flashback: Fresh Out The Box was the Definitive Sneaker Culture Showcase

2003 was a particularly significant year for sneaker culture, the reasons of which are innumerable. Among highlights – the earliest days of Sneaker Freaker magazine, the first Sneaker Pimps world tour, and Nike shoes coming in skinny boxes – was the Fresh Out The Box event.

Billed as one of the very first public displays of ‘sneaker culture’, it went down at the now long-gone Freight 410 venue in Manhattan on August 28, 2003. Organised by Adam ‘Air Rev’ Leaventon and Duk-Ki Yu, along with a motley crew of passionate collectors like Russ Bengtson and Alex Wang (better known as 'retrokid45'), they pulled out some incredibly rare vintage and limited edition shoes, many of which remain certified Grails today.

‘Definitive Sneaker Culture Showcase’ aside, there were also graffiti exhibits featuring artists like Stash, a book signing by Bobbito Garcia, Nike Spring/Summer 2004 product previews, and even an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty! As they say, you had to be there!

If, for whatever reason, you couldn’t make it all those years ago, thankfully video footage of the event has recently re-emerged on Instagram. And it’s very necessary that you check out (or reminisce) what that early-2000s golden era was like.

Event pics via Defy New York.