From pop culture to pandemics to politics, it goes without saying that a lot has happened in the five years since Chicago, Illinois native Joe Freshgoods dropped his sold-out debut New Balance collaboration, the “No Emotions Are Emotions” 992, in February 2020 during NBA All-Star Weekend. The launch was a nostalgic and foreshadowing event. The lines of people waiting outside in sub-zero Chi-town weather brought back memories of camping out for sneakers before apps, and bots became the ones fighting in line. It also wound up being one of the last sneaker events of its kind for a long time, as the world was forced inside just weeks later due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“I destroyed All-Star Weekend and then the pandemic hit,” remembered Freshgoods, whose real name is Joseph Robinson, about the moment that introduced him as a major player in footwear. “I was like, Oh, sh-t. What’s next?”
That “next” would be five years of one of the most pivotal runs in sneaker collaboration history, which is being celebrated by Freshgoods and New Balance’s latest creation, the “Aged Well” 992, released in late February.
The “No Emotions Are Emotions” and “Aged Well” are bookends to a fruitful relationship that originally started as a one-time deal but turned into a partnership. Freshgoods has created 10 projects, resulting in 20 different shoes.
Designer Joe Freshgoods’ five-year relationship with New Balance has yielded 10 projects, resulting in 20 different sneakers.
New Balance
“Joe has earned our trust by consistently demonstrating his craft across product, storytelling, and activation,” said Mike Meloski, New Balance’s strategic business unit manager for collaborations and energy, when asked about how Freshgoods has been allowed to release so many shoes despite not being a household name. “Each project builds on the next, helping to set a high bar for our collaboration projects.”
Case in point, the “No Emotions” sneaker demanded neck-breaking head turns with its heart-themed colorway built from an upper made of contrasting red and pink suede overlays, burgundy mesh underlays and tan Horween leather detailing finished off with a black and white outsole. Its muted “Aged Well” companion garners subtle head nods using soft pinks, oranges, and beiges, which Freshgoods and New Balance describe as “what his boldly colored original might look like if it had faded in sunlight over time.”
The “Aged Well” 992 pays homage to Joe Freshgoods and New Balance’s first collaboration in 2020.
Joe Freshgoods
While collectors grew accustomed to buying Freshgoods’ shoes online as in-person retail continues to bounce back from 2020, with “Aged Well,” Freshgoods restored the feeling by hosting a three-city pop-up tour paying homage to his hometown as well as New Balance’s corporate and cultural headquarters, Boston and Washington D.C. respectively. Dropping on Valentine’s Day weekend just like his first shoe, he intentionally skipped this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, where every sneaker brand, including New Balance, was fighting for real estate and attention.
“I started off doing pop up shops, that was like a big thing for me,” said Freshgoods, who built his core audience by hitting stores and events in different cities to sell t-shirts and hats he designed himself. “Fast forward to now. I’ve got a very busy schedule, I’m a very active father. So it’s just hard for me to just do pop-up shops like I used to. I missed it. I think now, with so much online it’s important for brands to get back outside.”
Each event also featured city-branded, long-sleeved t-shirts for sale, exclusive to each location.
“Growing up in D.C., the city always wore New Balance, that was like our uniform, even Jordans were secondary,” said D.C. native and rap artist Uptown XO, who attended the release at local retail store Somewhere. “The day was beautiful, man. The lines were two blocks long. Seeing all the love for Joe showing love to us was amazing.”
Before working with Freshgoods, New Balance was selective in choosing collaboration partners, linking with brands and stores like Stussy, JJJJound, J. Crew, KITH, Concepts and Aime Leon Dore. But when it came to non-celebrities with niche followings, collaborations like veteran party rocker DJ Mars’ two-pack of 574s and Washington D.C.-based designer Malik Jarrett of clothing line EAT’s 990 v3, v4 and v5 were few and far between.
The “Aged Well” 992 features colors whose fading symbolizes a shoe that has gradually weathered under the sun.
Joe Freshgoods
So, trust had to be built as the two entities learned and grew with each other as the sneaker collaboration landscape, especially inside the company, changed rapidly. What used to be a rare occurrence, sneaker collaborations have become a norm with some media outlets dedicating full-time coverage to the industry. Typically reserved for nationally-known clothing brands, popular sneaker boutiques, celebrities and athletes, Freshgoods broke the mold by thriving in an emerging space, being none of these.
When Freshgoods arrived at the company in 2019 after an ill-fated collab with Adidas, he was in a class of his own. But soon after his initial drop, NB’s talent roster beefed up, adding the likes of sneaker savant Salahe Bembury, rappers Action Bronson, Amine and more. Joe credits New Balance for picking collaborators who are different from each other while also nudging them if they see a potential style overlap happening. But he has ensured that he occupies his own lane by leaning on his strongest skill — storytelling.
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“I look at a silhouette, and instantly [ask] ‘what’s my story?’ and then the story helps dictate the colorway,” said Freshgoods, explaining the creative process behind his many designs. Since he joined New Balance, Freshgoods has made it his mission to tell as many stories as possible, especially Black ones. Highlights include his personal favorites, the “Outside Clothes” 990v3 that paid homage to the summer days of his childhood and his “1998” pack that featured three styles of the 990v4 inspired by Hype Williams’ visual masterpiece Belly.
“I haven’t really seen consistently rich Black storytelling accepted in this arena,” said Freshgoods, who hangs his hat on being a catalyst for how things have changed, seeing as how he is now one of the most prolific sneaker collaborators in the business, despite not having a hit song or a wicked jump shot. “I wouldn’t tweet this, but I would say if I’m talking to somebody while I’m drunk, that nah, wasn’t nobody doing these visual Black stories until I did it. I didn’t see it because I didn’t have a reference.”
“Joe and, by proxy, the team are some very good storytellers,” said Miata Ramos, creative director for Joe Freshgoods Inc., who met Freshgoods when she was a college intern for his former retail and creative space, Fat Tiger. She has guided the visual campaigns that have accompanied each shoe, taking Freshgoods’ sticky note ideas and bringing them to life. “I don’t think that we’ve ever come up with something that we can’t vouch for firsthand. Joe does a really good job of sharing his experiences in all of the work that he does. You can’t deny the authenticity of it.”
The squad plans to flex their storytelling muscles even harder this June by releasing an “Aged Well” documentary that will chronicle parts of his half-decade journey with New Balance. The trailer offers glimpses of behind-the-scenes moments from the last five years with Freshgoods’ emotions ranging from the shock of seeing people lined up for his shoes to the exhaustion of travel and meetings. Freshgoods also wants the film to educate and inspire future and fellow collaborators following his footsteps to blaze their own paths. One key moment explored is when he discovered the cost of doing business with his new partner.
“I had an invoice over my shoulder that was like, $140,000,” said Freshgoods, revealing that instead of receiving a standard designer fee and free shoes, his “No Emotions” deal stipulated that he buy his shoes wholesale and sell them at the pop-up store. “I didn’t know if people were gonna line up for this sh-t. But they ended up selling [out]. I made $500,000 now I gotta pay them back, and I got money left over? Oh, this is a sweet deal. So that whole formula made me think a bit more independent, as opposed to getting these upfront deals.”
“The thing that Joe does a really incredible job of is he’s always very transparent in sharing what’s happening in real time,” said Bimma Williams, an independent collab marketing educator who is known for his well-informed footwear takes on social media and once posed the question, “Is Joe Freshgoods the only reason New Balance is popping?”
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“When you see the undeniable success of Joe Freshgoods,” Williams continued,”it opens the doors for the Jae Tips’, the Bricks and Wood’s and some of these other folks. It’s really made a space where other folks can get that opportunity. Same as like when Michael Jordan did his Nike deal. That was unprecedented. It showed everybody there’s a new way to do business.”
Business has definitely been good. Freshgoods told Andscape that since he started working with New Balance, his staff has grown from two to 20, he’s bought property including a “big a– warehouse” and has had another kid.
“The last five years, so much of my life has changed for the positive,” he said.
Yet, he finds himself asking the same question from 2020, but in a slightly different context.
“I think it is very healthy, if you’re working with somebody in any capacity, to ask them, ‘what’s next?’ ” said Freshgoods. While he’s hesitant to expound on the “new role at the company” he alluded to in an Instagram post from January, he promises it’s not a “fake title with a black and white photo, bio, and that’s it.”
“I asked New Balance ‘what’s next?’ and we figured out what’s next. I don’t know if I’m ready to share fully what that looks like…I’m still writing this book.”
Maurice Garland is a marathon-running, yoga-practicing writer who has had the same phone number and barber since 2003. He's penned impactful stories for legendary publications ranging from Billboard to Black Enterprise. In addition to being a longtime mentor at youth media organization VOX ATL, he's appeared on VH1, spoken at Spelman and Princeton, co-authored The Art Behind the Tape, edited Pimp C's autobiography and J. Prince's memoir.