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The ever-changing sneaker landscape is full of ebbs and flows, and while styles and even brands rise and fall in popularity, there will always be those individuals out there who never waver from what they love regardless of what everybody else is doing. Here in the U.S., we’ve seen a big spike in the popularity of classic New Balance runners in recent show. Love for the brand’s retro archive has been going strong for a long time in Asia and Europe, but it’s taken a little longer for the fever to catch on to the same degree in the Stateside sneakerhead community.

In large part, the turning point can be traced back to some stellar US-based collaborative efforts like Burn Rubber’s first MT580 and Concepts’ “Kennedy” 999 that got sneaker enthusiasts excited about a New Balance shoe in a way that had seldom been seen here prior. The momentum they built translated over into not only more coveted collab projects, but also a greater appreciation for New Balance’s heritage catalog in general.

As a result, all sorts of new NB fans have since come into the fold, but for all the tasty releases that have come their way recently, there are still decades worth of killer colorways and overseas collabs that have passed them by. That’s certainly not a problem for DJ Mars though. He’s been a diehard New Balance fanatic for over two decades and has been scooping up all the good stuff every step of the way. While touring the world as a DJ, Mars was cleaning up on NB heat and has put together one of the most impressive New Balance collections in the world.

His love and loyalty for NB have earned him a rare spot as a true ambassador for the brand, working with them instantly on promotional campaigns, creating colorways, and even DJ-ing their events. Continue on for our interview with DJ Mars and an extensive look at his collection that still really only scratches the surface of all the treasures found inside his 20-plus show worth of New Balance boxes.

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DJ Mars:  I actually don’t know how many kicks I have. I’ve never counted. I have 3 closets plus an additional walk-in closet full of them though. My walk-in closet is dedicated to all New Balance.

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DJ Mars:  I would say I started collecting shoes maybe 20 show ago. Back then, I didn’t realize it was a sport! I was just buying and then keeping what I liked. Of course, I have been wearing sneakers my entire life, but it wasn’t until I got in college that I actually kept what I bought.

SN:  What was the first shoe you ever fell in love with?

DJ Mars:  The first shoe I fell in love with was a pair of army green rubber rain boots. The inside was lined with wool. I believe they came from K-Mart. I loved them because as a kid, we only wore them in the winter and that represented fun to me. My mother would buy them every year, it wasn’t winter without them.

SN:  What’s your favorite New Balance model of all time?

DJ Mars:  I honestly don’t have a favorite New Balance model. The way the collaborations are done, it changes my choices all the time. For example, when Frank the Butcher designed the Kennedy’s, that was my everything. Then when New Balance

came through with the dope 998s my feelings got hurt!  The black and orange 1400s from J. Crew were game-changers for me as well. Every couple of months, there is a dope colorway that makes me look at a shoe differently.

SN:  What is it that first drew you to New Balance and made you love the brand so much?

DJ Mars:  As I said earlier, I’m from Massachusetts and back in the 80’s, the college preppy look was what my personal style was inspired by. Massachusetts is like one huge college campus in terms of how many colleges we have in the state. There was no way it couldn’t inspire me, and a big part of that look was what some of these kids had on their feet. I actually grew up next to Springfield College and in the 3rd or 4th grade I remember

seeing preppy college kids with fresh New Balance on their feet. That entire visual was kind of etched in my brain somehow. Le Tigre, Izod, Polo with some fresh New Balance runners is what I saw on a regular basis. That particular energy kind of stuck with me. I felt like New Balance exudes that same feeling. For me it was natural for them to be my brand of choice.

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DJ Mars:  My uncle bought me my first pair of NBs. I don’t remember the exact model, but they were navy and grey, so they could have been either 576s, 577s, or 574s.

SN:  What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to hunt down a pair of shoes you wanted?

DJ Mars:  I actually haven’t done anything crazy. I don’t do lines or any of that. If I can’t walk into a store and buy them, then I don’t get them. I’ll leave that to the hypebeasts. This new trend in sneaker buying is actually a turnoff to me. I like the days when I would walk into a store and be surprised on sight. To be honest, I don’t even hit the internet as often anymore, I miss the element of surprise.

SN:  What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a pair and what was the shoe?

DJ Mars:  I think the most I ever spent was maybe $175 plus tax, and that was either for the Alpines from West or the Full Metal Jacket 580s from Undefeated.

SN:  What’s the crown jewel of your collection – the one centerpiece that you hold above all the rest?

DJ Mars:  I would say the crown jewel above all else is the limited edition Holiday Pack 574’s I co-designed with Walter’s in Atlanta. The entire project was a marketing strategy to reintroduce the fact that Walter’s was increasing its shelf space with New Balance product. So we all teamed up to design a pack that would let the Atlanta buying market know that Walter’s would be the go-to place for New Balance general releases as well as collabs. The pack sold out in a day, we were all gassed. Walters handled the retail aspect while I handled the marketing. I made sure all of the blogs covered the release. We took pictures and wrote a brief write-up detailing the project. We sold the shoe the weekend after Black Friday. What was so incredible to me was, after kids spent all their money on Nike releases the week before, they came back and bought out the entire Holiday Pack collection.

That told me a few things – one, that the idea was a good one, and two, I knew how to market shoes. From concept to colorway, it was a success. I am sure that incident increased Walter’s confidence in terms of stocking New Balance. Now there is history behind the design itself. I initially designed that shoe to commemorate the 20 year anniversary of A Tribe Called Quest’s nike shox monster 3 album. The album title was written on the heel of the shoe and everything. Getting it cleared would have been a headache, so the idea never came to light. I did get one pair done though and I gifted them to Phife on his birthday. So he has the only pair. That particular pair has a lot of meaning to me.

SN:  What’s your ultimate grail that’s missing from your collection – the one shoe at the top of your wish list if you could get your hands on it?

DJ Mars:  It’s hard to say. There are so many shoes that I wish that I had that I simply don’t. The other day, I saw a pair of Knicks inspired 576s. Nuts! Those looked so crispy to me. I may never see that shoe again, but I wish I had them.

SN:  You’ve worked with New Balance on some custom 574 projects, but has there been any talk of doing a collaboration on a different model? And if you could color up any NB shoe for a DJ Mars collab, what would it be?

DJ Mars:  I have so many shoe ideas I would love to bring to market with them. My first would be the MT576 model. I guess it’s a hybrid model. I own a pair and would love to do some magic to them.

SN:  You’re obviously well known as a New Balance connoisseur, but what are some of your all-time favorite shoes outside of NB? Or do you keep it to NB only?

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SN:  What’s the most recent pair you’ve picked up?

DJ Mars:  I just picked up all three pair in the Barbershop pack. I love those, especially the red ones.

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DJ Mars:  I’m rocking 998s really heavy right now. They are my go-to shoe.

SN:  Are there any upcoming releases that you’re excited about?

DJ Mars:  There are some bling releases I’m looking forward to as well as some general releases I’ve seen. I’m not sure of their nicknames though, I’ve only see the colorways for a few of them (576,998,580). It’s going to be a pretty good summer for the crew up in Guest street.