If you look at the current landscape of sneaker media, there are a lot of things that exist now that probably didn’t exist five years ago. One example of this is unboxing videos. An unboxing video is just what it sounds like: a video of someone unboxing their new sneakers. And if you told someone in the 1980’s or 90’s that this would be a popular thing in the future, they probably would have looked at you as if you were crazy. Yet, here we are, with many people creating them.

If you look back at it now, though, in a way, it makes sense. When you really think about it, what is the best moment of getting a new pair of shoes? The answer is the moment you take the sneakers out of the box. And there are a lot of feelings connected to that part of the experience.

There are a lot of sensory and emotional things that come with that moment of unboxing a new sneaker. In a way, it’s a shame that you can’t actually experience the smell of the packaging or the feel of the shoe simply by watching a video, because it’s all very distinctive, and it can really take you back to a specific time in the past.

It’s hard to know where media in the sneaker industry goes from here. The most effective unboxing videos tend to be the simplest ones, whether it’s a basic overhead shot or just something straightforward, focusing on the box and not featuring as much talking. After all, how much is there to really say about an Air Jordan 3 that hasn’t already been said?

One idea is to really embrace the nostalgia that comes with unboxing videos. You could create some that feature a whole theme centered around a specific era of the past. Make the setting look like a Footlocker from 1988, shoot it on VHS tape, have music from the era playing and even have a hairstyle that fits the timeframe. This is just one idea of how these content creators within sneaker media can improve on and create variations of the basic unboxing videos, because they’ll need to evolve and change to avoid becoming stale.

Online sneaker education is a good way to learn more about the development and future of sneaker media and the sneaker industry. It’s by far the most convenient and accessible form of sneaker education available.