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ASICS INFLUENCE ON WESTERN SYDNEY

ASICS is one of those brands that heavily shape early streetwear culture across Greater Western Sydney and Inner West Sydney. 

The brand carried an almost cult-like following, but more than that, let's be honest here, it carried a signal and demeanour. You could pretty much make a fairly accurate assumption just by seeing the model of ASICS being worn on someone's feet in Western Sydney.


For many, ASICS is seen to be marketed towards runners, athletes, or honestly, anyone with podiatric issues. If you go deep enough into early NRL and rugby photos, you'd see that it was worn by every athlete - from Gel-Kayano 20s to Gel-Kinsei 5's on Jonathon Thurston.

Anyways. Wearing ASICS came with a uniform. More often than not, that uniform was a green jumpsuit, whether that was from the Silverwater Correctional Complex, Goulburn Supermax Prison, or another facility across the state. And from what I understand, inmates across Australia were able to purchase ASICS through a prison canteen system - correct me if I'm wrong as I've forunately never experienced this - with models like the Gel-Nimbus, Gel-Kayano and Gel-Kinsei. So I'd feel like it'd be fair to say that wearing certain ASICS shoe models came with a heavy history. And it went deeper than just aesthetics.

Beyond the cultural weight and experience, the shoe just worked. Despite former inmates departing from whichever facility they were locked in, the shoe as a uniform stayed, and the sentiment has remained until this day. The comfort was undeniable and practical enough for everyday wear, built for whatever the day threw at you. Whether you were strolling through Parramatta or needed to be up and over someone's fence without notice.

Talk about loyalty, yea? Those former inmates came home and stayed rocking ASICS. That loyalty had real economic weight too. Through the late 2010s, a lot of these guys were the heavy spenders keeping the ASICS resale market alive in Australia, particularly Western Sydney - sustaining the value of discontinued models like the Gel-Kayano, Gel-Kinsei, GT-1000, Gel-Quantum, Gel-Nimbus and Gel-Cumulus long after ASICS had discontinued the exact model number.

That history is also why there's always been a bit of discourse sitting underneath the ASICS community across Australia, particularly those who were from the Greater Western Sydney and Inner West Sydney region. Questions about who should actually wear the shoe - kind of like gatekeeping, you know? Would it be fair to say there's a bit of pride or sentiment attached to it? And who could forget about the ASICS breathable hats. Especially that tiffany blue one where I remember was being sold for hundreds of dollars.


Then came the Gel-Quantum 360 V1. Between 2019 and 2022, the hype for them was huge and on a mass Australia level - newcomers were trawling ASICS outlets and more market aware buyers and resellers went to Amazon, small local athletic stores and offshore sites just to cop a pair up to 50% off their $270 AUD retail. It was the first real wave of mass ASICS hype that extended far beyond Western Sydney. Lads all the way to the North Shore were desperately trying to rock them. And now, with the recent retro of the Gel-Kayano 20, that energy and hype have been brought back, especially with exclusive colourway releases we're seeing JD Sports. And honestly, 

ASICS is just one of those brands that require very minimal corporate intervention because of the sentiment and comfort that comes with it. If the colourway is right and the resellers' instinct tells them it'll hit, you could pretty much bet that the initial release will sell out within just a few hours.

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