Formerly known as 
Nicholas Llanton/Hypebeast
What got you into sneakers?
My love of sneakers started with sports. Growing up in Philadelphia, I loved the 76ers and the Eagles. I credit my dad: he always had sports on the TV and I was drawn to the sneaker culture that surrounded sports.
Can you remember what specific silhouettes you were into growing up?
I remember being really into Vince Carter’s Nike Shox VC IIIs, [adidas] McGrady’s, Michael Vick’s shoes and LeBrons in the later 2000s. I was a skateboarder as well, so I remember rocking DC Shoes, Osiris and Etnies as well.
When did collecting start to get more serious for you?
Growing up my parents would really only let me buy one pair of kicks for the entire school year. It wasn’t until I got to college and started working at a sneaker store that I had enough money to start collecting more.
“Philly is definitely an underrated city in terms of fashion because we tend to always be in the shadow of New York. I like that though, because we’ve always had this underdog mentality.”
Can you describe what sneaker culture was like in Philly?
Philly is definitely an underrated city in terms of fashion because we tend to always be in the shadow of New York. I like that though, because we’ve always had this underdog mentality. The culture is certainly strong there. We have key stores like Lapstone and Hammer and atmos [formerly UBIQ]. Allen Iverson was big when I was coming up in the early 2000s, so you’d catch a lot of people rocking Reebok Questions and Answers back then.
What sparked your love for ACG in the first place?
I wish I was an OG ACG head. I admit to people that I came in kind of late to the game around 2017. I started buying a lot of pieces because the colors on the clothing and the shoes drew me in. Fashion has always been a big part of my life and I’ve always loved to rock flashy sneakers and flashy tees — pieces that pop. Seeing the brightness of the pieces and the creativity behind their design helped me fall in love with the ACG line from a fashion sense first and a functional standpoint later.1 of 4
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What are your favorite ACG pieces?
The jackets are always my favorite because they’re so packable and lightweight and they come in crazy colors. They make my style pop and I love how I can literally wear them in all conditions, rain or shine.
“That’s the amazing part about ACG: you’re just able to wear the sneakers anywhere whether you’re hiking on a mountain or in the city.
You picked the Nike ACG Mountain Fly Low for your Sole Mates feature. What do you love about this silhouette?
I feel like I could take this sneaker anywhere. It has so many stories attached to it. For example, I brought the orange one on my hike to Mount Rainier in Seattle and I also wore that today in New York City. That’s the amazing part about ACG: you’re just able to wear the sneakers anywhere whether you’re hiking on a mountain or in the city. The shoe resonates with me so much because it’s with me almost every day. I love the comfort and responsiveness.
Do you have any favorite colorways?
I love the HAVEN collaboration because it’s subtle, mostly black and goes with pretty much everything. I love this orange pair that I brought with me, and Nike also recently made a white and black “Oreo” rendition that I enjoy.
If you had the opportunity to create your own colorway of this model what would it look like?
I’m not sure if you saw, but Team USA was recently gifted an exclusive colorway. It was pretty much all-gray and embellished with a Team USA logo on the tongue. I’d love to recreate a version close to that pair because I loved its monochromatic and minimal look.
How did ACG Daily get started?
It first came to mind in September of 2019. I’m a huge sneakerhead and I noticed that when you look for sneakers on social media there were a bunch of pages, but there wasn’t really anything on Instagram that was dedicated to studying ACG — nor was there an active community. Since I fell in love with ACG a few years ago, I decided to start the account as a scrapbook of my favorite ACG pieces — whether it was someone else’s pictures or my own — and I just started posting two to three times a day until we blew up. We just hit 126K followers last week.1 of 6
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Wow, congrats!
Thanks, man. It’s crazy how it started off as a personal scrapbook and now people from all over the world are buying into the account’s message by sharing their love for ACG and the outdoors.
Is there a certain criteria that you look for in terms of content when you’re posting on the account?
In the beginning it used to always be about high quality images, but recently it’s shifted more towards the people that rally behind ACG. There’s more opportunity for people to just share their passion and love even if the pictures are taken on their iPhone. The ACG Daily community is going out to so many different and cool places all around the world in ACG products, so I love highlighting their journeys.
How has your professional relationship with Nike evolved since you started the account?
I had the pleasure of visiting Nike World Headquarters over the Summer to tour the campus and meet the ACG design team. They showed me some dope things that they have in the pipeline.
I’ve gained so many friends and connections both inside and outside the brand too. We started hosting community hikes this past summer, which has given me the opportunity to meet some of my followers from across the country. It’s been a great experience thus far— it’s crazy to see how our love for products can create that community, especially coming off of COVID when we’ve been locked up for so long.
Nicholas Llanton/Hypebeast
Why are sneakers and their stories important to you?
I think sneakers ultimately reflect what you love, whether it’s sports, the outdoors or fashion. Growing up, I always loved watching athletes, going hiking and being outside, and whenever I put on a pair of sneakers, it brings me back to those moments. Shoes like the Mountain Flys or even basketball sneakers and just knowing that I’ve worn them in Oregon, on a road trip that I had with my wife or waited in line for them, there’s so many stories. The whole experience around sneakers is fun, no matter how frustrating it can be sometimes.
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