7 Pro Tips on How to Make Your Breakin Sneakers Last Longer

Hey whatsup everyone, Dyzee here, and today I want to share some gold knowledge which I have collected over the years when it comes to keeping your sneakers fresh and for as long as possible. Now it doesn’t matter which particular brand or shoe you wear for Breakin, whatever is your preferred sneaker, these golden tips apply to all Breakin kicks! Before I begin, please allow me to give a bit of a back story.

Growing up as a young Bboy, I was always searching for the best sneaker for my style. I went through almost every type of of sneaker until I settled upon the Puma Ligas and Adidas Sambas. However, these sneakers weren’t so popular and were hard to find. So I eventually began trying to figure out ways to make them last longer, and later on, I began to figure out tricks to keep them looking clean as well. Some of my Breakin sneakers actually lasted over 10 years! Some of my Breakin sneakers I have until this very day.

With the launch of my premium Pro Breakin sneakers under the Dyzee Threadz Sneaker company, I have become obsessed with designing and collecting sneakers made for Breakin. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a “sneaker head”, because as a Bboy, what good is collecting sneakers that you can’t or wouldn’t dance in them? With that said, I have collected as much knowledge and developed methods for future Bboys and Bgirls to collect and preserve their collection to dance in. I call them “Sneaker Breakers”.

With that said, here are my biggest tips for keeping your Breakin sneakers FRESH.

#1 Buy multiple pairs of your favorite shoes to Break in

While this sounds like buying multiple pairs might be costly, it actually can save you money in the long run. Especially if you can buy your sneakers on discount or a two for one sale. Once you find your sneaker of choice, might as well buy a few pairs for different occasions, outfits and purposes. If you have only one pair of sneakers that you wear for all occasions, your sneaker will not last long and will be harder to keep fresh, which this is what it’s all about, keeping your kicks looking fresh when you represent! Even if you only have two pairs, one is for keeping fresh and the other one is meant for “breaking” (pun intended)

#2 Don’t wear your training kicks out on the street

Breakin’ already wears down your sneakers, but so does walking around all day and slowly scraping away your sole on the rough concrete. When your sneakers get dirty from the outdoors, you tend to not care as much about keeping them mint. Only wear your Breakin kicks for Training, showcases or special events. That way they will last so much longer and if you are like me who prefers to have bright outsoles, they will state white and bright for a long time, considering that dance studios are usually clean and most events are indoors.

#3 Designate your pair that is in the worst condition as your main trainers.

Eventually one of your sneakers will be in the worst condition compared to the others. Use your worst pair of sneakers when you know you are going to do heavy training, or working on moves that you know will scrape the floors. That way you can get the most mileage out of this sneaker, wearing it all the way down until you can no longer use it anymore. This will take the wear and tear off your other sneakers in your collection. Once your main trainer is completely done, the next sneaker in the worst condition will then take it’s place. This takes me to the next tip…

#4 Have a pair specifically for out door dancing

Sometimes you have no choice but to Break out doors. I designate two pairs specifically for outdoor use. One pair I wear almost every day (Black 2Stepz), and even though I rarely ever dance in them, they already look in worst condition than all my other sneakers. However, if I did need to dance in them, I totally would! I also have a 2nd pair (White Elephantz) that I keep in relatively mint condition and I wear them outside when I want to look fresh, but know there is a chance that I might have to Break (ex: Going to a party). But all my other sneakers I never ever wear them anywhere except for at open sessions, workshops and also events, but only on the dancefloor!

#5 Buy a pair of baby wipes to quickly clean your sneakers after dancing

Whenever I come home, I use baby wipes to quickly wipe down all the white areas that have scuffs or dirt marks. When dirt settles into your sneaker, it becomes extremely hard to take them off. So while the scuff is still fresh and the dirt soft, clean them right away!

#6 Stuff your sneakers with tissue wrap or plastic in order to prolong the shape when your not using them.

Like pretty much all sneakers, the more you “Break them in”, the more they conform to your feet and loose that brand new shape. You can preserve the shape by taking tissue paper or plastic and stuffing the toe part of the shoes. This is extremely help full when you put your sneakers into your back pack for training. This helps your sneakers retain the shape. When I get to training, I remove the tissue paper and stick them into my outdoor sneakers while practicing and when I’m done, I stuff them back into the shoe and adjust the shape before sticking them back in my backpack.

#7 Wash or replace your laces when they get dirty.

If you are like me and like to use bright color laces, nothing can make an old sneaker look brand new better than a fresh pair of bright laces. If you want to save on buying multiple pairs of fat laces, you can just take your laces off and wash them either by hand or in the machine.

BONUS TIP #8 Put your clean Breakin’ Sneaker collection on display.

Now this bonus tip just helps you keep a collectors mindset and motivates you to keep your Breakin sneakers in as mint condition as possible. There is something about looking at your collection that makes you want to keep collecting and preserving them the best you can. Most people buy “black” because they know their sneakers will get dirty, but in this way, you can collect all types of colorways and never really worry about wrecking them when you dance once you truly learn the ways of the Sneaker Breakers.