# The Whole Squad Is Back: World Cup, Skechers, and the State of Sneaker Culture Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sneaker-history-podcast-sneakers-sneaker-culture-and-the-business-of-footwear-1032816/the-whole-squad-is-back-world-cup-skechers-and-the-state-of-sneaker-culture Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sneaker-history-podcast-sneakers-sneaker-culture-and-the-business-of-footwear-1032816/the-whole-squad-is-back-world-cup-skechers-and-the-state-of-sneaker-culture.md Podcast: [Sneaker History Podcast - Sneakers, Sneaker Culture and the Business of Footwear](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sneaker-history-podcast-sneakers-sneaker-culture-and-the-business-of-footwear-1032816) Published: 2026-06-22T16:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://sneakerhistory.com/podcasts/the-whole-squad-is-back-world-cup-skechers-and-the-state-of-sneaker-culture Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/ff3443c9-b69c-423e-b161-b4a17951ea7a.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sneaker-history-podcast-sneakers-sneaker-culture-and-the-business-of-footwear-1032816/episodes/the-whole-squad-is-back-world-cup-skechers-and-the-state-of-sneaker-culture Duration seconds: 3677 ## Resource The whole crew is back. Nick, Robbie, Mike, and Rohit reunite for a full-panel episode of the Sneaker History Podcast, and it feels exactly like catching up with friends who happen to know more about shoes than most people you know. They kick things off with Rockin' and Coppin', covering everything from Nipsey Hussle PUMAs and adidas SL EVOs to a World Cup craze over jerseys and some very real talk about what shoe buying looks like when adulting kicks in. From there, the conversation stretches across World Cup sneaker culture, 3D printing and foam technology in performance footwear, the history of player endorsements in soccer, and how the sport has become one of the most interesting spaces in the sneaker world right now. They also spend time on the rise of Skechers as a legitimate player in the athletic space (yes, really), dig into brand rivalries, talk representation in sneaker culture, and close with a preview of where women's basketball footwear might be heading next. It's a wide-ranging one, but that's the whole squad for you. Come for the sneakers, stay for the chaos. New episodes of the Sneaker History Podcast drop regularly. Subscribe wherever you listen and find everything at sneakerhistory.com. New episodes of the Sneaker History Podcast drop almost every Monday. Subscribe wherever you listen, find everything at sneakerhistory.com , and if you want more sneaker business insights, The Sneaker Newsletter goes out on Substack at thesneakernewsletter.com . Nick also has a book coming. Small Luxuries: Sneakers drops October 2026 and is available to pre-order now at bookshop.org/a/122044/9798317900854 . If you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: podcast@sneakerhistory.com CHECK OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS: For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: htt… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sneaker-history-podcast-sneakers-sneaker-culture-and-the-business-of-footwear-1032816/episodes/the-whole-squad-is-back-world-cup-skechers-and-the-state-of-sneaker-culture/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/sneaker-history-podcast-sneakers-sneaker-culture-and-the-business-of-footwear-1032816/the-whole-squad-is-back-world-cup-skechers-and-the-state-of-sneaker-culture.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.