Joe Freshgoods’ New Balance Collaborations Have Aged Well…

They say the true test of a man is if he can admit that he was wrong. Owning up to your missteps is never an easy thing to do, and certainly something I’m not well-versed in, but that’s what I’m here to tell you. It’s been five years since I tore into Joe Freshgood’s first New Balance shoe, a 992, during an episode of Full Size Run. I wasn’t feeling it at the time, as someone who’d been into New Balance for nearly 20 years. It looked like a shoe off of New Balance’s NB1 program, which lets shoppers design their own custom shoes, rather than an actual collaboration—especially the leather on the tongue. It threw me off and made me think the shoe wasn’t anything special at the time. And I was wrong.

The first Joe Freshgoods x New Balance 992 colorway, called the “No Emotions Are Emotions,” released at All-Star Weekend in Chicago in 2020. It was a freezer of a weekend, right before the world shut down. Chicago, being Joe’s hometown, was the perfect place to launch the sneaker. The color palette resembled a heart, with multiple shades of red and pink suedes on the upper. It was loud for a New Balance, or at least against the common public’s perception of the brand. But there have been plenty of loud New Balances in the past, especially collaborations. Concepts’ pink 997s modeled after a bottle of rosé come to mind. Or Solebox’s black, purple, and gum sole “Purple Devil” 1500s from 2006. Or a portion of Ronnie Fieg’s work with the brand, especially his “Daytona” 1600s, with their blue, pink, and tan upper.

Many people normally associate New Balance with boring, grey suede running shoes that suburban dads wear. And that’s the brand’s core identity. It’s an independently owned company from Boston that assembles shoes in small factories in rural Maine. The brand is viewed as conservative in all facets. It’s not really known for taking risks.

Instead, it’s known for making shoes domestically that retail for more than most other brands that sneaker enthusiasts obsess over. New Balance produces shoes in Asia, like almost all modern sneaker brands, but the shoes many collectors covet are the premium, pricy pairs assembled here in the US.

Joe was able to do something new with New Balance. It’s not that New Balance hadn’t made eye-catching sneakers before. But he opened the brand up to a new audience that never thought much of New Balance, aside from maybe getting the sneakers in 2 for $89 sales at Foot Locker in the 2000s. Joe’s sneakers retail for $175 and now resale for over $2,000, in the case of his first 992.

Joe’s work was able to make New Balance cool within the “culture.” It gave the brand a shot of energy in the arm. It was the perfect storm, too. It led the way for collaborations with the likes of Aimé Leon Dore, Action Bronson, Salehe Bembury, Amine, and more. New Balance was no longer just the shoe that retirees wore to run errands.

But it wasn’t the first time that New Balance had street cred, either. And Joe was able to become a student of the brand that he, by his own admission, didn’t grow up on. The brand’s spiritual home (outside of New England) is the DMV area. The shoes became popular there in the 1980s and ‘90s because of their high price tag and comfort, with hustlers giving the New Balances an aspirational allure. Joe referenced this history in the ad campaign for his follow up to the 992s, 2021’s “Outside Clothes” 990v3s. A license plate from Washington, D.C. pops up in the video promoting those 993s.

His releases end up getting bigger and bigger, with each becoming more mainstream. Joe Freshgoods made three pairs of 993s in 2022, and it seemed like everyone was wearing them at ComplexCon that year. Joe’s work was undeniable. He hadn’t only just made it, he was the guy. His 9060s, although not a shoe desired by New Balance enthusiasts, became his biggest sneakers yet. Fake pairs started popping on TikTok, and they went viral. It also put people onto the silhouette, which was everywhere thanks in part to his effort.

Joe started integrating more storytelling into his sneakers, too. In 2023, he hit his zenith. There was the New Balance 650, the high-top version of the 550. It played off the story that Michael Jordan wore New Balances when he did the original Jumpman pose. Joe asked the question, “What if the story was different?”

He was inspired to do this shoe, to tell a real story. “I think I’m getting kind of bored with storytelling,” Joe told me in a 2023 interview. “I think the next three projects people see that, oh shit, this is some different type of storytelling.”

He followed those up with arguably his most cohesive project to date: three 990v3s inspired by the 1998 film Belly. There were two white and black pairs, inspired by outfits from the film. But the most notable shoe was the blue pair, called “Keisha’s Room,” which was inspired by the lighting on the set. Even Jay-Z wore a shoe from the collection recently.

Joe went on to release two New Balance 1000s and two 990v6s. Both were solid projects and resonated strongly with his fanbase. The 1000s reminisce on “When Things Were Pure,” and the pink pair was my favorite of the duo. The “Prom to Paris” took a step back from Joe working on exciting colorways and saw him flip all-red and all-blue shoes that were a departure from his typical work.

Now we’re five years in and Joe decided to re-work the theme from his first shoe: his next New Balance is releasing this weekend. And he knocked it out of the park. It’s a flip on the 992, and it’s titled “Aged Well.” It’s what the first sneaker, his debut New Balance collab from 2020, would look like worn in and faded. It’s brilliant. It doesn’t overthink a concept. And it delivers. There’s even a pair of laces that come with the shoes that look like they’re dirty and worn in. I’m not sure if it’s the best sneaker of the year (so far), but it’s up there. And it’s given me time to rethink Joe’s work over the years, which I’ve become a big fan of. I’ve also become one of his more vocal supporters in the process.

When he had Joe on Full Size Run in 2021, in the not-so-fun Covid days, we hashed out our differences on his first New Balance shoe. He told me, “You pushed me to go harder on my next shoe.”

That was never my intention. But it’s amazing to see what Joe’s work has become, and we’re at the point where we can celebrate his catalog, which is five-years deep at this point.

Give him his flowers in real time. It’s been half a decade since his first New Balance project, and I think he’ll still be going a half decade from now. His work has aged well, and it’s not done yet. It looks like it’s only getting started.