Curren’s Vulcanized Perfection
images by gray sorrenti.
For more than half of his life, Curren Caples has been a skateboarding household name.
A child prodigy who at seven was sponsored by Termite Skateboards, eventually graduating to Flip at eleven before making his first X-Games appearance at fourteen and turning pro at seventeen. He was thrown into the spotlight insanely young, instantly becoming a poster boy for California. With his shaggy blonde hair, ability on both a skateboard and a surfboard, he was the embodiment of the state known for its laid back, beachside lifestyle. Since then, he has had filmed a number of video parts, skated contests, skated less contests, skated less transition, skated more street, got new sponsors, started skating for AVE and Jason Dill’s Fucking Awesome, the board company with an influential roster, among so many other things.
Watching his video parts you can see the transition from his mostly bowl skating youth into the ATV he has become. Starting at Flip 3, you can see the start of that transition that is taken a bit further in his Propeller part, then further by his 2017, Push part. His 2023, Curren Caples for Vans part solidified his ATV status, set to the incredible sounds of Ween and Papa M, the Ryan Lee filmed, Greg Hunt edited eight-minute part is that of a masterpiece. The part highlighted his ability to effortlessly flow around the Los Angeles street, skating truly anything in his way, from ledges, banks on the side of the road, handrails, hubbas and of course transition. The part showcased where he is at this point in his career and cut down any doubts that he was still that long haired bowl grom people remember.
After over a decade and a half skating for Vans, the Off The Wall company finally are giving Curren the well-deserved honour of his own pro model shoe. An honour that Curren never expected, saying ‘I’ve been skating Vans my whole life and never really thought I would have a shoe with my name on it. It’s a pretty cool feeling! Being part of the legacy of skaters with their own shoes on Vans is truly an honour.’ There is no doubt that the shoe is deserved, if anything it’s a shock it took Vans this long to make it happen.
The Curren launched with a commercial campaign, a brilliant campaign that in itself is a playful and ironic reimagination of fragrance ads. Vans employed the brains behind WKND skateboards and Monster Children favourite, Grant Yansura, to work on the campaign alongside renowned fashion photographer, Gray Sorrenti. The video features a brilliant voiceover by Liverpudlian skateboarding great, Geoff Rowley and cameos from legends such as the AVE Bench, Checkered Slip On’s, and Steve Van Doren. Set in the desert you see Curren running through the sand and dirt, in socks and a tailored suit, searching for his Vulcanized Perfection. Posing Curren in the role of stardom isn’t too far away from his reality, regularly rubbing shoulders with the upper echelon of Hollywood stars. Whether it's partying with the likes of Drake, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kendall Jenner or skating Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s backyard skatepark. Curren is a star that is even recognized as such outside of our insular skateboarding world.
Vans created a shoe for a star with The Curren, not cutting any corners on the shoe that serves as the X which marked the spot on what seemed to be Curren’s never-ending search for Vulcanised Perfection. The silhouette, riffs off the vulcanized footwear legacy that has been at the heard of Vans since its inception, bringing in a new outsole pattern, that isn’t Vans’ classic waffle sole, yet still features that unbeatable grip, exceptional boardfeel, and reliable support that die hard Vans heads know and love. The custom outsole pattern of the Curren features a Vans sidestripe detailing and is optimized for both grip and boardfeel with Vans’ new tested SICKSTICK™ rubber compound. The sole is just the first element of the shoe which embodies the evolution of skateboarding footwear. The upper of the Currens’ follows suite in this perfection, with a clean, low profile one-piece toe that is reinforced with DURACAP™ underlays for extra durability where it really matters most. Making it perfect for both the street skater kickflipping into nose manual at the start of their line three hundred times and the vert skater with no fear doing knee slides all day long after flying ten feet in the air above the already fourteen foot vert ramp. Secured with the comfort brought in with the softly padded collar lining and Vans’ classic POPCUSH™ insole for impact protection, to ensure you’ll safely be able to land in manual after smith grinding an eleven-stair rail with a kink at the bottom.
Before writing this, I wanted to have a look at the shoe for myself, so I went to the skate shop to look at the Curren VCU, the first colourway of the shoe, exclusively sold at skate retailers. Opening the box it felt like a shining light hit my face. The all-black shoe with a premium leather upper, waxed laces, and sleek silver accents, that looked both luxurious and incredible to skate, was all I’ve ever wanted. Even just picking up the shoebox, you realise this is not your average skate shoe, yet something elegant, in a way your black and white Sk8-Hi’s could never even comprehend. A matte black box which on its sides, reads in French ‘la chaussure’, which translated to English is ‘shoe’, in a smooth silver serif font. Then opening the box, you’re met with a pink canvas drawstring bag – just a tad lighter than a hot pink – where the shoes have been living before meeting the love of their life, your feet who have been searching for the Vulcanised Perfection of the Curren since the day you were born. Not even baby shoes are this comfortable. Once you move past the loot, you’re met with the French words ‘voir le monde’, which translated to English is ‘to see the world’. As summer approaches the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to voir le monde in the gorgeous Curren’s, go see the world, go have a European summer, I know I am. The Curren is functional, straightforward, elegant, beautiful, and speaks French. How many shoes by an American shoe company started in Anaheim, California in 1966, are bi-lingual? Riddle me that.
The Curren will be available in red and gray/yellow at Vans stores, Vans.com.au and select Skate Shops nationally starting May 16th. Meanwhile, the Curren VCU, in its luxurious and French all-black vulcanized perfection, made its exclusive skate shop debut on May 5th, get there quick before your feet are sad realizing you let the love of their life slip away.