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A Conversation with Simon “Woody” Wood of Sneaker Freaker
This year marks a massive milestone for the OG of print sneaker media: the 24th anniversary of Sneaker Freaker. Born in Melbourne in 2002, the publication has evolved from a passion-fueled fanzine into a global authority on footwear history and design. We sat down with the man behind the brand, Simon “Woody” Wood, to discuss the industry’s current "reset," the art of making 280,000-word books, and why the future of the culture belongs to physical media.
Noirfonce: After 24 years in the game, how do you view the current landscape? It feels like we are in a moment of significant transition.
Woody: Yeah we are definitely in transition mode but there’s a lot of ways to describe how dire the current sneakerscape is. I haven’t seen the industry hurt like this in my time, the only comparable moment was 2010 when the US economy cratered and everyone wanted to dress like lumberjacks. Saying that, things are arguably more ‘interesting’ now than they have been for a long time because there’s an appetite for change and space opening up for new ideas. The retro sneakerhead formula worked so well for two decades that it trapped the industry into a lazy loop of same-sameness. I mean, I‘ve only been predicting this exact scenario would happen for at least 15 years!
Right now, every brand is wondering ‘what’s next?’. Sitting around waiting for the next big thing to energize the market makes everyone nervous and unsure which way to go with product roll-outs and marketing concepts. I think this flat period – as brutal as it is – will turn out to be a positive in the long run. Brands will just have to work harder, take some bigger risks and lower their expectations.
Noirfonce: You’ve mentioned that Nike, specifically, is at a crossroads.
Woody: Nike’s situation is well documented and I think there’s a certain schadenfreude at watching the biggest player in the game get kicked in the nuts. Everyone in the industry – and that includes their major competitors – want Nike to be successful because they create category energy like no other brand. But it seems to me that Nike has lost their magic touch and that a generation of kids just don’t seem to think their shit is the shit anymore. But don’t write the Swoosh off just yet, they’re still a $50 billion behemoth with a huge arsenal to rotate. I look forward to seeing how they reconnect the dots and bring some fizz to the game.
Noirfonce: Let’s go back to the beginning. What was the original spark for Sneaker Freaker in 2002?
Woody: Honestly, I just wanted loads of free shoes. But more than that, I just thought a magazine about sneakers seemed like a good idea. I’d worked in fashion, motion pictures as a graphic designer and in the advertising industry, which was soul-destroying. One day I just had an epiphany… I can make the entire magazine myself so let’s just do it. The arrival of the first digital camera meant I could shoot fast and work cheap and that was transformational. Right from the start I saw Sneaker Freaker as a DIY fanzine in the great tradition of home-brew music titles – it was just one person’s expression of their idiotic love for shoes. Admittedly the first issue was chaotic and pretty raw, but I was intentionally not trying to look too professional, which helped as I made the whole thing in about a week. Over time, every single issue was redesigned with new looks and fonts, though we always kept the same compact A5 size.
Your recent work has moved into massive, archival books like The Ultimate Sneaker Book and the TN 25th project. Is that where you find the most joy now?
Woody: I’m the happiest person in the world when I’ve got a big book to work on. The Ultimate Sneaker Book has sold 500,000 copies, which is phenomenal for the industry. It’s a big-ass wordy book, I think I wrote about 280,000 words. I spent months and months and months working 12-hour days just to make it as perfect as possible. Often there’s deadlines and budgets and constraints with client projects, but I never looked at the clock or thought about anything other than making that book fucking awesome. The TN 25th book was another passion project, one that took ten years to come to fruition. Nothing beats the thrill of getting that first copy back from the printers.
Noirfonce: We’ve noticed a trend at our store: younger consumers are becoming obsessed with physical experiences and tangible media. Is the printed magazine coming back?
Woody: I hope so, that is encouraging to hear, maybe it works like the revival of vinyl records and film cameras. The magazine was a bit of a victim of the COVID era and shipping costs just made the business model really tough. Since the downturn in print media, I have remained committed to the quality of the magazine. We never thinned it down or used shitty paper or cut back on anything. We kind of got stuck due to a whole host of reasons, mostly the big book projects, but Issue 50 will come out in late 2026. And it’s gotta be done just right because it’s such a momentous number. If the younger generation is interested in books and getting their faces out of their phones, it can only lead to more creativity and energy.
Noirfonce: It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Sneaker Freaker footwear collaboration. What are your thoughts on the current "collab" culture?
Woody: The collaboration space has changed more in the last 18 months than in the previous ten years. What used to work just doesn't cut it anymore. That’s just facts. People have always said there are too many collaborations, but I just think there are too many boring half-assed ones. I mean, Sneaker Freaker will never put out an all-white or all-black colab, the world doesn't need more of that, though I don’t get mad when CDG do it because they legitimately own that space. But I hate to see brands and stores just dial in safe designs because they’re too wimpy to have a go. When you have the chance to go nuts on a shoe, why wouldn't you?
Noirfonce: Without giving too much away, what is the "Crystal Ball" telling you for 2026 and beyond?
Woody: Personally, I’m currently working on my biggest book project yet. It’s much more collaborative and involves hundreds of interviews from all around the world. It’s been years in the making and still won't be seen for some time. As for the industry, the sneaker world is always going to be an amazing place to sit back and watch the action. Things may come and go, but kids will always want cool shoes to impress and one-up their mates. I certainly haven't lost my love for it and still get that FOMO feeling bad when I know I have to hustle. That’s never going to change, though I probably still buy more shoes than most.
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Massive shout out to Woody for his time, for coming by the store and the entire Sneaker Freaker team for continuing to add fuel to the fire of this culture that is so dear to us.
Peep some pics below.
Check out some great Sneaker Freaker products here and here.
