The Purple Sneakers Party Keeps Evolving, More than a Decade On

This article is presented by Nike as part of Air Max Month, which celebrates the enduring legacy of the Air Max

In 2005, Martin Novosel started a party in Sydney where Yeah Yeah Yeahs fans could have beer-spilling fun with their MySpace mates. More than a decade on, his Purple Sneakers party hasn't stopped—only shifted in form.

The party has grown into a brand, which now curates events, nurtures new artists, and blogs about music news.

"Our mandate is really to be able to help artists get to a level where national media will pay attention to them. We give time to artists that wouldn't necessarily get it elsewhere," Novosel tells VICE.

At first, his vision for Purple Sneakers was actually in the form of a record label. But after realising he didn't know how to start one, he leant on his party-throwing skills. The parties created community in Sydney, and eventuated into him finding out that he also has an instinctual knack for artist management.

"I'm definitely a hands-on manager in the sense that I like to get involved in the artist's music. I see myself as a jack of all trades, but not really a master of any. I can hear music and understand it; I can put artists with the right producers or other artists. Plus marketing, producing, DJing."

He's a natural born collaborator—a real team player—so of course he's into sport too. So much so that he launched Musica Copa, a music industry football tournament that raises money for charity.

"Sport is a massive part of what I do. We've got a crew of music people who play tennis, basketball and football. It's so collaborative. You're literally passing the football to each other. It's about winning and losing together," he says. "That kind of collaboration is definitely taken to the music studio and label office."

You could say the guy's into sneakers too, with around 20 pairs on rotation. His collection demonstrates the kind of work ethic that's gotten him to where he is now.

"I was kind of poor growing up. We were an immigrant family, we could never have the nice stuff. At one stage mum painted brown sneakers black, everyone could tell. But when I was a teenager and started working at a car wash, I saved up for sneakers. When I was 15 years old I bought a pair of Air Max."

And he's still wearing them today, albeit a more fancy version than his old Air Max 2s—he's currently repping the Air Max Atmos. "They're comfy and I like the jungle vibes. They look like something Andre Agassi would wear. I reckon Andre Agassi would love these shoes."

Air Max Month celebrates the shoe that changed the sneaker world 30 years ago, and has continued to captivate generations of fans since. You can find out more about Air Max Month and the future of the revolution here