Premier x Saucony Shadow 6000: Mars Attacks!

There once was a time when it was just about completely unheard of for independent skate shoe brands like Etnies, DC, and Duffs to be on the same wall as Air Jordans and running shoes, and there was little common ground to justify those two worlds ever crossing paths. There were definitely early basketball models from Nike, adidas, and Puma that caught on with ’80s skaters, but on the retail end, it was still two drastically different worlds.

By the early ’90s, skateboarding began to boom further into the mainstream at the same time that hip-hop culture was doing the same, and while there was definitely plenty of crossover between the personalities, when it came to the footwear, there was still a general divide. Then Nike SB came along and changed everything in regards to the dynamics of the skate business and its consumer base.

The insane popularity of SB Dunks brought non-skaters into the skateshops, on one hand ruffling the feathers of the longtime regulars, but on the other, bridging a once unthinkable gap between two seemingly unrelated subcultures. All of a sudden, kids who wanted Jordans and Air Max’s now wanted skate shoes, and as a result, the two aesthetics would then begin to blend and intermingle with the rising streetwear movements to become a new blurred-line era of sneaker style with completely redefined demographics.

A perfect example of things coming full circle is well-respected Grand Rapids shop, Premier, who started as a Midwest skate mecca, but eventually branched out into other non-skate categories and brands as a result of the changing demands of their customers. What started with non-skaters looking to get their hands on skate shoes has flipped to a scenario where most people just seem to want cool sneakers regardless of their intended purpose or which side of the fence they were on before Dunkmania hit.

Nowadays, Premier still caters to its loyal core of skate diehards, but has broadened their selection to offer a much wider variety of brand options, including Saucony, who they’ve been carrying for the past few years. After jumping in the collab fray with two SB Dunk projects, Premier now steps outside the skate-zone and shows off some versatility with an upcoming set of Saucony runners.

Dubbed the “Life on Mars” pack, the Michigan shop has whipped up two very tasty colorways of the Shadow 6000 inspired by the Red Planet, and they’re set to release in-store and online this Saturday, March 29th. Before they land on Earth, we caught up with Premier’s Eric Blanding to get the full story on the “Mars” 6000s, the evolution of the shop, and more.

SN:  How did Premier expand beyond your skateshop roots to carry such a wide assortment of footwear categories to the point that you’re now collaborating on a running shoe?

Eric:  With us growing up skateboarding in the 90’s we have always been drawn a wide range sneakers because we used to skate in all of them. When we weren’t skating, a lot of the time you would wear runners or other “non-skateable” shoes to chill in. We opened a skate shop because that was what we knew, but when major footwear brands got involved in the industry, it brought a whole new customer into our store. During this time, we started to embrace the sneaker culture and over time that led to us carrying a more diverse mix of brands that we were getting demand for. When it’s all said and done, it’s kind of a dream come true. We have two stores, a very legit skate shop and next door, a sneaker store that carries some of the best footwear offered in the world.

SN:  Why did you guys choose the Shadow 6000 as the model to work with on this project?

Eric:  We were up in the air between the Shadow 6000 and the Grid 9000, but we decided the colors looked better on the Shadow. Plus the unique pattern of the panels on the Shadow 6000 made a nice canvas for the tonal red on red version.

SN:  How did the “Life on Mars” concept come about?

Eric:  We wanted to do a fun fictional story for a sneaker concept. One day we were discussing the future plans of traveling to Mars and thought it would be cool to run with the Red Planet theme and what better color could you have as your inspiration going into the design process. Then with all the marketing ideas that surfaced, it really got us excited about the whole concept.

SN:  How did you end up with two different colorways and was that always the plan from the beginning?

Eric:  From the start we thought that an entire tonal Red/Red all suede version was a must. Whenever we have an idea, our Art Director Chris always puts together about 100 different color options and everyone was drawn to the Red/Grey/Black version too. We basically couldn’t decide which one we liked better so we ran it by Saucony to do both and they were cool with it. Even now I can’t decide which one I like better, but the all red version looks really sick on the foot.

SN:  Please give us a rundown of the colors and materials and why they were used.

Eric:  The materials came from the thought of actually wearing these on Mars where the temperature on average is very cold. With that being said we decided to go with a heavy suede on the entire shoe for warmth and durability. The colors had to have red involved and we applied speckles to the suede and sole to give it a little more texture like the rugged terrain of the planet.

SN:  You guys have a few successful Nike SB collabs under your belts already, but now this opens up all kinds of new territory. How important was it to you guys to get deeper into the collab game, and what kind of new doors do projects like these open?

Eric:  Doing a project with a running brand like Saucony was definitely a must for us since we have been known for so long as a retailer to go for this type of product. These projects are a good way to showcase your store or brand’s creativity and it only increases your credibility as a retailer in this industry. I think anytime you do a successful project, it has the possibility of opening other doors, but when it comes down to it we hope it brings customers back to our store to support that brand on other releases. We have carried Saucony product on our shelves for many years and have been fans of the brand, so the opportunity for us to work together was a nice fit.

SN:  Do you think a non-skate collaborative project like this will be embraced by your skater regulars, or will there be a different customer-base looking for the “Life on Mars” Sauconys this weekend?

Eric:  Nowadays the lines between skate and other lifestyle product have been blurred so the customers cross over quite a bit. Will the core skater embrace this shoe?  No, definitely not because it’s not a skate shoe, but we have a very diverse customer base locally and across the country that will definitely appreciate it.

SN:  Without giving away too much, are there any other Premier collabs currently in the pipeline that you can whet our appetites with?

Eric:  I can’t say much about it, but yes, we have a few things in the works that are going to be pretty crazy. I wish I could tell more, but you will see at least one more collab before the end of the year.