A lot of time has passed since we had a chance to get any shoes by a rollerblading brand. Being familiar with this topic already, the Powerslide company revives the idea with a pleasant twist. Their newest venture with the lead of Oli Benet is called Epic Grindshoes and it has just started their promo campaign. The premiere products can be already found at the skate shops around the globe! Known for innovations, the German manufacturer sets the stakes very high by creating high quality sneakers with grinding ability. It goes in pair with introducing a new street movement named freeslide. The freeslide is an amazing combination of freerunning, parkour and grinding around urbanized architecture of a city.
As we can read in many online publications, the idea of bringing the grinding shoes back was planned for a long time. The launch of the brand was just waiting for the right moment. Without a doubt the premiere of Epic Grindshoes was a success. Using their huge experience in skate production, Powerslide made sure that Epic shoes will meet all the expectations and dealt with all the cons that the previous versions had. Naturally, the most of us remember nostalgic 90s and very first products of this kind like popular Soap Shoes or the Salomon ones that even allowed for soul based tricks. Yet the very first grind shoes were quite heavy and what is more important, the availability was very limited. The main aim of Epic Grindshoes was to improve those two aspects. As we can see from the premiere models and competent marketing — the goal has been achieved!
Quality without compromise!
Epic Grindshoes are the good example of a quality without any compromise. Improving the overall comfort was essential. Designers managed to get rid of all the issues that predecessors had. Unnaturally thick sole was replaced by a much lighter and more flexible base with an integrated grind plate. Due to this fact Epic Grindshoes can be easily used as casual trainers and not only for the quick freeslide session. The core of Epic Grindshoes design is the ‘sandwich sole’. Epic designers didn’t take steps to finalize the look of the shoe until they had the perfect sole. The goal was to have an easy-to-use grind plate while still offering all the comfort, cushioning and grip that any other regular sports shoe has, and this was achieved with the sole design. The progressive groove design provides an excellent rail lock while keeping the low centre of gravity. Also, the raised corners make grinds possible on curbs while maintaining a safe plate-to-ground distance to prevent the plate from touching on regular walking. At the beginning the grind plate was considered to be completely replaceable, although the idea was quickly dropped due to more weight (screws, washers) and to keep the flexibility at proper level.
The shoes are equipped with a shock absorbing EVA and rubber sole and comes with set of solid laces. Additional TPU reinforcements for improved durability. The weight of a single shoe in size EU 41 is just 450g. The company also offers a legal warranty of 2 years against any manufacturing defects.
The upper shoe material is made of PU and suede leather together with another TPU coating for abrasive resistance. According to the main designer Javier Rosa, the most difficult task was to strike a balance between the looks and the durability, the comfort and the stiffness or finally the weight and replacement options. In our opinion Epic Grindshoes smashed it flawlessly, finding the golden mean. The final product can really catch the attention and the eyes of sneaker heads.
Available models
Current Epic Grindshoes offer consists of two different models, available in a few colour schemes. Epic Hype and Epic Dash models are low-top sneakers, while Epic Storm and Epic Stomper are higher, (giving more ankle support) weighting around 50g more, ‘hi top’ shoes. Both versions have its following and fans — in the end it all depends on the one's individual style!
Picking the right size will not be difficult. Epic Grindshoes have a ‘true to size’ fit. Most people can pick up the size they are currently using in their everyday shoe. Of course, we advise to check the given size chart and Mondo Point measurement to get the most accurate match. For now, available sizes range from EU 39 to EU 47, yet we were informed that the next drop will include even the bigger sizes, as well as very sought-after vegan version!
Epic Grindshoes team
Even the coolest project may turn out as a failure without the proper marketing. Oli Benet definitely has good understanding of this, and he carefully picked the representation of the brand. Huge chunk of the team is a group of aggressive inline skaters living in sunny Barcelona (Nick Lomax, Mery Munoz, Xavi Eguino) with addition of two incredible, innovative skaters from Germany (Eugen Enin and Sven Ischen). To not be too local, the rest of the team comes from the USA. The American rooster involves highly adored Air dolphin, crowd favourite Montre Livingston and a street athlete from California — Bob Reese.
If you are an inline skater, we highly recommend to check Bob Reese first just to experience something totally unexpected. While the rest of the team is obviously coming from inline skating, Bob Reese is more parkour and free running enthusiast. His ideas for tricks and acrobatic stunts now incorporates grinding & sliding and just by watching his content we can immediately notice the key of freeslide movement — total freedom! Everything is allowed, there are no rules or guidelines. Possibilities are only limited by your imagination so it is a great moment to start freesliding and be part of something fresh. As it usually goes with a new thing, the rapid progress makes it super exciting! Every day, there are new tricks invented, people are incorporating all these ideas. Parkour is just one of the many actions that can benefit from return of the grind shoes and truly unlock its potential. Or maybe Epic Grindshoes will even bring back Ryan Jaunzemis? Ryan was a Soap shoes pro back in the 90 who still can not get over that the movement disappeared back then. If you are looking for a quick entertainment check his YouTube channel where he has plenty to offer :)
Shoes for every inline skater
Grinding with shoes may also be very helpful for all rollerblading beginners. As it often happens, complete newbie, without basic understanding of using inline skates, can get discouraged pretty fast when it comes to first attempts of jumping on a rail or a ledge. Keeping the balance while grinding may be quite difficult for somebody who still can't completely control his movements on inline skates. That is why training your tricks with grind shoes first, may greatly improve the experience and will help to overcome initial fear of locking on a rail.
If you are still thinking about Epic Grindshoes try to remember all these times you have jumped on a ledge, stairs or a curb just by walking around. Now thanks to Epic Grindshoes you can improve this experience so much! Epic Grindshoes are proper option for any inline skater. There were times when companies like Reign, Jug or Sifika helped to give rollerbladers some kind of identity. We finally have a shoe brand with rollerblading roots that we can all support. Considering the look itself, despite the fact of characteristic design, Epic Grindshoes are no different from any other casual sneakers out there. Even if you are not planning to jump on handrails with these, Epic Grindshoes can just look good and be a perfect supplement to your style.
