Joe Freshgoods Announces He’s Working on His Own Sneaker
Published
Since his first collaboration with New Balance in 2020, the New Balance 992 No Emotions are Emotions, Joe Freshgoods’ relationship with the Boston-based brand has flourished into much more than a partnership on colorways. Joe, whose real name is Joseph Robinson, played a pivotal role in the brand’s Conversations Amongst Us Collection and initiative in 2022, which focused on amplifying Black voices and opening up dialogue around shared experiences, cultural expression, and the power of communication within the Black community. In the three years since then, we’ve been blessed with collaborations on New Balance sneakers that all told stories personal to Joe and the Black community. Fans of his work will be excited to hear Joe has announced that he is in the process of making his very own shoe.
During an appearance at Coco Gauff’s New Balance Coco Delray launch event in Pompey Park in Delray Beach, Florida, which Sole Retriever was fortunate to attend, Joe hosted a panel with Coco and her grandma. The discussion spanned various topics, from what Coco has going on in the future to how Delray shaped her into the athlete and role model she is today and the impact the community around her had on her upbringing. Still, Joe made an impromptu announcement regarding his future work in the footwear world.
BREAKING: Joe Freshgoods says that he's in the process of making his own sneaker at Coco Gauff's New Balance Delray Community Celebration 👀 Inspired by Coco, Joe plans to name the sneaker after the neighborhood he’s from.
“I’m in the process of making my own shoe. I think imma call it the neighborhood I’m from,” Joe said. Inspiration for the naming of the unseen sneaker comes directly from Coco’s use of her hometown, Delray, in her latest sneaker with New Balance. Coco made sure to give Joe his flowers when on the stage, telling the crowd that he “has done wonders at New Balance, broke records with his shoes. Joe Freshgoods, if you don’t know him, you should know him.”
No further mention of the shoe came up during the panel, but Joe kept quiet on the sneaker discussion when speaking to Sole Retriever after the event. “I Got a lot coming, but part of it is really expanding on this whole ‘Joe World,’ and that’s gonna be deeper than just like colors on shoes.” While not confirmed, it’s more than likely that this new sneaker will be with New Balance. In total, Joe has released 23 different sneakers in direct collaboration with the brand and has worked on four through the Conversations Amongst Us Collection, the latest being an homage to his first collab — the New Balance 992 Made in USA Aged Well.
Joe Freshgoods’ upcoming sneaker has no confirmed release window, but if he’s in the process of designing it, it’s likely a few years out from this point. In the meantime, let's hope we can get more JFG x New Balance projects to tide us over. Download the Sole Retriever mobile app to stay updated on the latest releases, raffles, news, and more in the sneaker and streetwear world.
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
