In 2016, shoe designer Brian Reid asked if we’d be down for a The Hundreds version of the Osiris D3.2001. Brian was the original designer of the D3 and he predicted a trend resurgence around puffy, 90s/00s-era skate shoes in fashion (he was right). Even though I was supportive of Osiris during those Y2K years (coordinating with Tony Mag and Persue for Transworld Stance Magazine — I was there to put the G-bag on Black Thought), I never wore the D3. In fact, like many skaters of the period, I didn’t understand that shoe or its popularity.

As years passed, and the D3 became one of the best-selling skate shoes ever — co-opted by rap-rockers and a new generation of skate youth — it also cemented its place as the most controversial. Almost two decades later, that’s what I tasted when Brian suggested a collab. Too polarizing for The Hundreds, too pop, too kooky.

Brian gifted me with a sample anyway, and there it sat on our shelf until a new tide of kids staffed The Hundreds. Brice was the first to say something. “Hey, is that a The Hundreds D3?! Yo, we gotta make this!” David backed him up: “Bobby, this is one of those times where you’re too old to get it.” They didn’t share the same impression of the shoe that I’d had. To their generation, the Osiris D3 was seminal — the lofty price point, the notoriety, and the outrageous design weren’t strikes. Instead, they elevated the mystique. The more people caught wind of our lonely D3 sample, the foamier the enthusiasm. The rest of the older The Hundreds crew, including myself, were baffled.

In my book, I talk about how culture isn’t fixed, so you shouldn’t be either. Relevance isn’t just about good design and branding. It’s a by-product of staying adaptable and inspired by change. If our job is to engage with culture, then we need to meet it where it travels — to celebrate it, add to it, shape it, and even question it. I think a lot of aging brands do the reverse. They leave the conversation on their own terms, unwilling to dialogue with the incoming class out of fear, hate, and myopia. I’ve been guilty of this myself and every time, that short-sightedness has not only clipped us of opportunities but led to further self-imposed alienation from the world.

Do you know what’s the secret to living forever? Staying curious. Open-mindedness never goes out of style, hence, neither will you. It’s hard to be bitter and boring when you are infected with fresh and youthful passion. Working on this D3 project has been so much fun and it’s that spirit, of being overcome by a different and beautiful sound, that keeps me charging into the uncomfortable and unknown.

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The Hundreds X Osiris D3.2001 drops 6/20