What’s up, everybody? It’s your boy Legendary Lade back with another week of “Kickin’ Facts.” Today (April 17), I have an old-school silhouette, the Reebok Shaqnosis, reimagined through the lens of the clothing brand Brain Dead. The Shaqnosis is one of two original silhouettes from NBA legend and Reebok partner Shaquille O’Neal. Brain Dead is a creative collective of artists and designers from around the world with a taste for the unusual and the spirit of subculture. With this newly reimagined fuzzy pair, the ethos of Brain Dead catapults the 1996 Shaqnosis silhouette into modern times of collaboration, creativity, and freedom.

The first step for Brain Dead was to cover the tan leather upper of the Shaqnosis in its signature fuzzy felt-like texture. Green bursts of fuzzy pockets are throughout the upper in the silhouette’s trademark swirling side panels and black laces. The forest green offsets the tan base perfectly with the Reebok logo successfully intertwined in the moss above its black midsole and on the perforated tongue of the sneaker. Other notable details include the Brain Dead logo, an amalgamation of the human head and a man next to it, at the heel and on the tongue base. Finishing touches include perforated lining on the insoles tying all its details together.

The promotional rollout for the shoes includes The Big Aristotle, Shaq himself, in a black and white campaign video narrating an eerie tale of hypnosis and basketball as only he could. The result is a mixture of surreal and functional to create a shoe that transcends everyday normality.

What are your thoughts on the latest collab from Brain Dead and Reebok? Would you cop these?

The Brain Dead x Reebok Shaqnosis was released on Dec. 1, 2022 for $140. It is available now in men’s sizing at wearebraindead.com