B/R Kicks: B-Boy Swag with NYC Sneaker Boutique Extra Butter

It's always great to start a friendship through a common interest. For two young kids growing up in NYC, one of the biggest pastimes was break-dancing or "B-boying." The creative directors at NYC sneaker boutique Extra Butter, Jason Faustino and Bernie Gross, met each other while taking part in hip-hop's most famous dance style.

One of the shoes of choice for most B-boys has long been the Puma Clyde. This 1970s classic Puma silhouette meant as much on the basketball court on the feet of New York Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier as it did off the court for some of the most stylish people in NYC.

With fashion being one of the elements of hip-hop, making sure you had shoes that were "in" was just as important as anything else you wore. The Puma Clyde was even featured in the Netflix Original The Get Down, a show that explains the origins of hip-hop in the South Bronx during the late '70s. 

So what better time for the Extra Butter x Puma "Kings of New York" collection to hit the streets? Leveraging Puma's long relationship with NYC and its history in hip-hop, this pack embraces everything about what was "in" during the culture's nascent period. That includes the velvet upper (velvet being one of the most popular clothing materials), the fat laces (another hip-hop-inspired classic accessory) and the gold branding (gold accessories were the easiest things to add to an outfit as a sign of status).  

via Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report: Why Puma and why now? Why New York?

Jason, Extra Butter: Why not a while ago? Because this is something that when I was opening Extra Butter I wanted to do, it just took a while to get to. Relationships with Puma and them celebrating the Clyde's anniversary [helped].

Why New York? New York is the birthplace of hip-hop, and I don't think there is any denying that. Break Dancing is one of the four elements of hip-hop, and Bernie and I met as B-boys. I was always a little sneaker nerd, and sneaker culture and style got way more serious as a B-boy.

As a B-boy, you have to have your style on point. How do you present yourself? What's your flavor? The Puma Clyde is synonymous with B-boy culture from the beginning. One of the special things about the shoe is that as much as it represents Clyde Frazier's amazing style, yet it's such a simple design, it's about what you do with the shoe. 

B/R: How much does the Clyde add to the hip-hop dimension of this story? 

Jason, Extra Butter: I've always had a connection with movies, and the word butter has the movie references like popcorn, but it's also "Old School" NY slang. Anything premium or dope was "butter."

We did velvet Clydes, we wanted people to touch this shoe and say, these are butter. We chose a red colorway and a blue colorway and it all ties into hip-hop because of the movie Beat Street. In the movie, one B-boy crew is in red and the other is in blue, and it is one of the most influential hip-hop movies. 

via Bleacher Report

B/R: What led to doing the launch event as a B-boy battle?

Jason, Extra Butter: At Extra Butter, we don't want to deliver anything that doesn't give you a proper experience. And that ties back to movies having to do with the name Extra Butter. Movies are supposed to make you experience something different, take you to another world, and we want to do the same when you buy one of our products or collaborations.

If we are telling a B-Boy story, we are going to bring you there if you never experienced it before.

B/R: When did you fall in love with the Puma Clyde?

Bernie, Extra Butter: The last scene of the movie Wild Style, it showed some of the most famous Rock City Crew members and the legendary King Swift was getting down in a light blue and red pair. I must have searched for those shoes forever. Puma didn't retro colors back then, so when it was gone, it was gone. 

B/R: How did this collaboration come together? 

Bernie, Extra Butter: When Jay and I started building the Extra Butter brand, we knew that brands were going to come knocking on our door to do these kinds of special projects, and we understood that it was important to tell stories. When it came to Puma, we knew it had to be B-boying that we told a story of. We waited a couple of years before we had a serious conversation with Puma because we knew that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime, hit-or-miss type thing.

Originally, we wanted to celebrate the anniversary of Beat Street. One of the first famous movies that [brought] B-boying to the mainstream audience, featuring the Rock Steady Crew and the NY Breakers.

We knew we wanted to do a predominately blue pair and a predominately red pair, and the first sample of this collaboration was closer to the colors from the movies, but we didn't feel like that resonated with today's consumer. We went back to the drawing table, agreed to keep the red and blue motif, but executed it differently with some crushed velvet. We made a B-boy shoe premium. 

B/R: What was your favorite feature or part of making this shoe?

Bernie, Extra Butter: I want to say the velvet fat laces. I think most people would assume that if we were going to do a B-boy shoe that it would come with fat laces, but the fact that we did them with velvet takes it up a notch.

That was one of the things during the sampling process that was tough, as we wanted to make sure we did it right. We wanted to make sure it was double-sided velvet, make sure it tied well, and that it kept its structure.

Another feature that some people will notice after a couple wears is the NY monogram pattern on the inner lining of the shoe. 

via Bleacher Report

Extra Butter, along with the UDEF Pro Breaking Tour, put on a B-boy battle that had the crowd fully invested in its outcome. With breaking legends like Crazy Legs and Junior Jakes on had as judges, B-boys from around the world battled it out. Ultimately, one of NY's own won the battle, the prize money and a pair of Extra Butter x Puma Clyde "King of New York" sneakers.

Crazy Legs (Richard Colon) gave us some more insight on the sport of "breaking," and he is involved with the Youth Olympics as they are bringing "breaking" to the Youth Olympics in 2018 with hopes of adding it to the regular Olympics by 2020.  

When asked about Puma and the Clyde itself and what it means to hip-hop and breaking, there were so many different responses from members of the B-boy community: 

Nemesis: Puma is something nostalgic, it was a big part of the golden era of the dance around the '80s. Puma was very prevalent in the hood because they were affordable and you could style them up to make them your own.

Too Sweet: Puma Suede or Clydes are all that B-boys play with. If it ain't Huaraches it's definitely Pumas. Beat Street made them what they are. When people think about B-boying they think about Beat Street and when you think about that you think about Puma. 

Crazy Legs: Puma Clydes are classics, and it's nice to see the originals, but it's also great to see the brand evolving. Seeing other options and flavors keeps B-boying fresh. 

Junior Jakes: Puma is one of the originals. It's great to see the folks at Extra Butter and Puma giving B-boying some love since it is an important part of hip-hop. 

via Bleacher Report

A big shout out to Extra Butter for taking the time. You can follow Extra Butter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or simply visit their New York store located at 125 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002.