Erik on Autry
It’s not often that we get to introduce a new ‘old' sneaker brand to our ranks. I bet there are a lot of sneaker brands even you, person in the know, haven’t heard of.
British Knights, ITZ, Avia, Mitre, SPX, Asahi, Ektelon, Kaepa? I could go on, but that would mean a list of words that probably mean nothing to you (or me for that matter). History has produced a lot of brands that have come and gone, but have each played its part in the global market. In comes Autry.
Originally a rubber producer, Dallas-based Autry Rubber Company started producing performance footwear in the early ‘80s. The Wildcat, Concorde, Cloud, Mach III, Jetstreamers, Medallist: all shoes meant for running and tennis. Where you would think NIKE’s marketing machine wrote the book on advertising when it really started picking up steam with Michael Jordan in 1984, Autry had success themselves. Not with an athlete, but with an enormous marketing budget and well-placed advertisements. The Medalist and Jetstreamers each won awards from their sports-respective magazines. Magazines were the authority back then.
Autry really was a well-known brand in 1980’s America. Sadly Autry’s founder Jim passed away and the brand dwindled away and was largely forgotten about. Not to Alberto Raengo and Régis Billard. These French Autry-lovers resurrected the brand in 2019, aiming to recapture the glory days. The Medalist was chosen as the ‘hero’ shoe. While it is not exactly the same as in 1985, it’s has received a 2019 makeover to make it more suitable for you and me. I’ve been wearing them for 6 days straight now, that means something.