If you follow Gino Iannucci on Instagram you will have noticed something interesting about his footwear when he announced his brand Poets’ Fall Collection. Gino, who has been with Nike SB for the best part of two decades was noticeably wearing Adidas sneakers much to the confusion and intrigue of the skateboarding community.
In the skateboarding industry if you are sponsored by a shoe company it is usually sacrilege to be seen sporting another brand of footwear. Given that it is Gino, he may just be the only skateboarder who could perhaps get away with this move, however it appears he has now actually left Nike SB. Gino has now removed Nike SB from his Instagram bio and in a recent interview for Parade with Anthony Pappalardo, Gino can be seen in a photograph proudly sporting the three stripes. Lucas Puig, a long term Adidas Skateboarding rider, also took to Instagram to display his delight at seeing the Long Island native in a fresh pair of Adidas Samba. Gino just last year had released a collaboration shoe with Nike SB and his brand Poets which pretty much sold out inside twenty four hours.
In the Parade interview with Gino, Pappalardo asks him if he has been skating much recently to which he replies, "That's one thing i haven't been doing much of either. Something's just missing right now." Whether Gino has been skating or not, his cult following usually means his name is an attractive asset to the shoe company he is associated with. Over the past year, many large corporate brands have felt the economic strains due to the Coronavirus pandemic and rumours are Nike have also been forced to make cut backs. Has Gino simply been a casualty of the brand cutting costs? Whatever the reason, it seems we will no longer be seeing Nike’s signature swoosh on his feet.
On Tuesday 19th January 2021 Gino posted a photo with former Chocolate Skateboards team mate Scott Johnston in Cafe Belle (Gino's girlfriend's cafe) in New York. This added fuel to the rumours of Gino joining forces with Adidas since Scott is currently Design Director at Adidas Skateboarding. Scott had previously been working for Lakai as rider turned designer however the opportunity to move to Adidas in 2015 was too good to turn down. Just Passin' Through Skate Blog would guess this meeting could have taken place to discuss Gino dropping a signature shoe on the famous three stripes brand. This would be a power move for Adidas given Gino’s cult following! Watch this space and be sure to check out the blog for updates!
