Did you get distracted filming this video? It ends up being about miniramp skating and your new board setup. Did Etnies actually say anything or just send product?

As skateboarders, we should keep SoleTech alive lots of nostalgia for the brands with us old heads.

Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy. Its a great way to encourage you to keep giving your honest thoughts, which we all appreciate and you’ve earned your trusted position in the community after all this time

man You gotta respect etnies for taking constructive critisizm and still blessing you with a giant box of product after you talked s*** on them for a half hour. LOL (agreed with all you said) now all i need is a better trick tip from u on how to do slide tail slides!!! much luv ben haha

Congrats Ben! Kudos to Etnies for listening. Tells a lot about the company.

Ben speaks.. the industry listens.

That’s awesome when companies take the time to respond and even send a hook up!

Great content! We need a nine club episode with Ben Degros❤

yo youre such an inspiration dude, youre the prime example of what not giving up on youtube can do. I see so many channels go hard for a couple years posting then stop when the traffics slow but youve overcome that a few times and some how are bigger than ever! Your contributions arent unnoticed man! You can honestly keep up with the best of them on flat and a ledge id love to see you get called up for batb influencers if they ever did it again. Congrats on all the recognition this last 2 years man and congrats on 100k

you are a great skater ben. i love your content and i hope more companies bless you with product. you are honest and objective

Maranas are amazing. I grew up skating them. They are good for anything. They don't feel bulky despite what most people think. You can skate low impact stuff with good enough board feel. Some thin flimzy shoes hurt my feet even after one day of low impact skating and the next day my feet are messed up. With these my feet never get hurt. No need to talk about big impact stuff. The insole + outsole foam combo is amazing. The upper lasts long too. I prefer the joslin version for having no rubber on the outside. It has rubber on the inside for when you wear through the sueuede.

I haven’t skated in months, but I must say that miniramp session got me hyped to skate. It’s sick seeing how the few new tricks you learned really opened up your lines, and you’re skating faster than ever on that transition it seems!

The coolest part is that ben is gonna give away that one pair to a homie in the area. Real comrade sharing the wealth ❤

you’re giving them a really valuable review. They can legitimately improve upon their models with the way you address every aspect of the shoes. Super cool man!

Hi Ben. Congrats on making contact with Etnies! Well deserved 👍. I'd love to have the "storm trooper" shoes! I'm in the Vancouver area. Keep the great work man! 🤘

In my experience, the Marana will stretch.. I walk them in for like 2 weeks and they are perfect.

That Degros court park is looking mighty nice Ben. And you still have some expansion space. Glad the knee is getting better.

I get the same issue with Skate Pro versions of Vans that have the "Duracap" rubber toe. They last longer and all that, but if they don't fit right, and they're a bit snug, they won't stretch at all.

Buy you a pair of "shoe stretchers" Ben. I've got some. Perfect for helping to break shoes in faster and for those ones that are just a tad too tight like it sounds like some of yours are 👍 PS- saw a 10 year old doing back tails and kickflip indys on the 10ft deep end of the bowl the other day 🤯 blew my mind

The way ben was coming in on the axle stall revert,i was suprised he didnt slam earlier..it looked like it hurt!..@ first.."feels like it serves you right is so true..never looked at it that way..thanks ben!

That nollie inward heel at 28:40! Nice pop dude!

Those yellow and white shoes that you were skating are so freaking gorgeous.

I'm happy they're willing to listen to someone directly in the skateboarding scene since IG comments/DMs/customer service feedback falls on deaf ears with Soletech, sadly. So many good ideas they're missing out on by not tapping into that. Ben, you can bridge the gap!

PPS- the random bandaid!!! 🤣💕👍

I love the Maranas Michelin, durable, protect my feet and I still have good board feel.

Them Fiber Lights are hella dope!!!! Remember the Ipath grasshoppers and crickets? I love them kicks! Then Circa had this 205 vulc with the straps. Plaid. I had some dark maroon plaid ones. I miss '06!

Hilarious I’ve been building my house watching you never realizing you were one of my childhood skate heroes Ben and Ted 🙌

Nice one, Etnies!! Definitely hooked up the right guy :)

Just got a flashback to you painting a ceiling with a sore back. Said "Ow" so many times in that video

Hyped I was part of the last videos comment section lol I'm wearing some Marana's rn!

I'm rocking a pair of kingpins thanks to you Ben. I'm loving them.

I hope they start making the Raps again. Basically, the MC Raps in all brushed leather/suede, no 93 on the heel, one and two color colorways, and no holes in the brushed leather/suede. It's why I like the black MC Raps. All black, you can't see the holes, the 93 is faint, and they are all brushed leather/suede (except for 1 small piece of smooth leather on the side). I agree, with your other video, too. The Scams, too!

Cool. Very cool. Especially the mini ramp stuff.

Omg im waiting for my marana to arrive. Glad you liked it more than the joslins! You got me more excited.

Your such a genuine dude awesome videos lately ben even made me laugh a little

Great hearing that feedback about the shoes!

One thing I do now to break in my shoes is actually stick them in the microwave for 30 sec, take out and flex around a bit and put back in for another 30 sec then put on , lace up and skate! I know it sounds crazy but actually learned it from P-Rod over on his channel! It def helps to stretch them out and mold perfectly to your feet.

Woah! Ben's officially sponsored by Etnies. Now we just need that welcome to the team street part 😉🥳

Hey Ben. I’ve been skating the Marana for years. When you first buy them they fita bit tight like you say… but… I wear them for a few weeks without skating them. This loosens them up a bit and then they are perfect. Maybe give that a try before you write them off?

Thanks Ben I like the last etnies you skated .think the quarter pipe railing needs a 2by4 on top to.

just ordered a pair of Etnies last night after skating nothing but vans for 10 years. i decided to try something new and ordered a pair of Fps and unfortunately they are to big. so i was on the hunt for some new skate shoes and i got a sick deal on some Joslin X Bones

Try the Estrella some time. The flick on fllatground flips is unmatched in my opinion. My favorite shoe in 20+ years so far. Had 3 pairs and 2 brand new. Don't want to go back anymore.

Hello Ben nice video, man so cool you got an answer from etnies. I'm waiting for your review on the new Aasics SB shoes, they just entered the skate industry.

If a company doesn't take constructive criticism and use it to improve their business they don't care enough. Been rocking etnies for a while now. The joslins are the only shoe I've found that can put up with my abuse.

I think Etnies should also let their designer throw a wildcard here and there, it’s been a while I feel like since a current-modern design has been the cool thing around and since the really big boys are playing it safe maybe Etnies might be in a good enough position to where they can shake things up a little …

Congratulations Ben!

Right on!!! Stoked they hit you up and responded so quickly Rad company

Your nollie inward heels are dope

the Raps and the eS accels are two of THE best skate shoes to come outta ghe mid 90s. straight TF up 💯 thats such a dope hookup from Sole Tech dude, they should flow sponsor you any company in their right mind would do that.

I love it when "one last try" turns into three hours of 'I refuse to give up!' Also, heck yeah, Marana Michelins FTW 🤙

i had 2 pairs of the og mc rap in the jordan colorway, red/blk/wht leather, they were one of my all-time favorite skate shoes. i got them on clearance for like $30-$35 back then(mid-late '90s). i kinda thought they looked goofy, like clown shoes, but they grew on me. it's usually the loud/goofy colorways that go on sale for cheap, and i don't care bc they gonna get shredded anyway. i did get compliments on them though, or people thought they were jordans. the leather was so much more durable than the suede ones and the suede ones weren't even bad.

brown/gum doesn't necessarily make me think of Tom Penny but it definitely makes me think of Sole Tech. They do it best.

You and I must have the same exact size feet, the Etnies Marana’s didn’t work for me because 10.5 was too small and 11 was too big, same thing with the eS Penny 2’s sadly. The eS Swift 1.5’s feel great size 10.5 and so do pretty much all vans shoes, except for the Wayvees for some odd reason. The Zhaba’s feel awesome btw size 10.5, highly recommend. 🤙🏻

You absolutely shredded that mini daddy ben. Also good to hear that etnies is responsive and willing to listen to constructive criticism, I’ve had a pair of mich maranas and I liked skating them despite how bulky they were.

I used to use a hair drier to heat up the rubber toe cap on Maranas and push against it for 5 to 10 minutes with my feet to get them to adapt to my foot shape.

Man I saw the joslin 2's the other day they look so good, so sick with the velcro.

The Etnies LO's from the 90s were my favorite shoe. I wish they would remake those...The Windrows look pretty close to them

They responded to one of my comments on that last video 😅 I'm still waiting on my MC Wrap Hi's, really hoping that they work out for me ... specifically because I got my local to order two pairs for me. Still rocking Joslins or Maranas for my dailies, depending on what's in stock in my size when I go in. Oh I hate that red/white/blue colorway though 🤣 I got the plain black and white

100k now ?! damn! keep it up!

the purple mc rap highs with michelin sole look sick, even with the 93

I was like “i gotta skate mini ramp right now” but then you slammed right after, i was like “ok, flatground session”😂

Ben in my opinion you were spot on with your last Etnies video and plan. Everything you said I totally agree with and it all applies to éS too. The stupid colourways etc. I really like the Silo SC and they've released a few horrible colourways, yet still haven't put out the Silo SC in a simple white/gum colourway. They need to do all the base colours first but no, they seem to have a teenager let loose with crayons designing their shoes. This annoys me endlessly because like you feel with Etnies, I feel that love for éS and want them to really take off. However I feel they are falling off right now.

I'm a 10, I live in NS but ill pay shipping 😁 I wanted to buy the Tan Marana but they didn't have them in my size when I looked the other day. I think I'm going to try some windrow's.

31:19 After the G052 + Venture 5.6 lights combo, I might try the April 8.125" or 8.25" on the Ventures too, I guess. But I'm curious what you end up on :D

Big Ben improving skate shoes with ease

Sole Tech needs Dad on the product test team. Thanks Dad❤

Now all I need is for my local shops to restock on Etnies. Been wanting to try them for quite a while now.

I sent your video to Don the day you posted it. haha

The Etnies Hook-ups shoes were my favorite

I had noticed the etnies' in the last video. This explains how and why.

The side of the ramp you don't like is heavily shaded by trees. Coming into or out of shaded areas is huge in ball sports like baseball especially. So that totally makes sense. It messes with your vision.

Living the skate dream❤

The Maranas look good on you for sure

It looks like unintended sponsored video but I like Sole technology brands anyway. They are truly core skateboarding company that gave a lot to skateboarders and skateboarding history. I'm curious if you can review their Sal Barbier 23 from 90's 😅

That back heel at 6:14, I liked that a lot

I personally think axle/50-50 to fakie is easier coming in off the back truck like a pivot, less risk for hanging up on the front. To each their own!

I’m looking forward to the Degros x Rap Collab 😁

This is dope man🙌

Just getting back to skating after a meniscus injury. Hearing you talking about being scared of a trick, i feel the exact same. Hurt myself during ramp skating aswell, just doing simple stuff in ramps now feels suuuper scary. Any advice on getting over that fear factor that ive built up? Also did you have long term issues with pop after your injury? does it still hurt in the knee after longer sessions?

We need some Kingpin clips! 😍

Marana is my first Etnies shoe ever and I love them.

I'd love to get your input on the eS swift 1.5s. That's what I've been skating in and they're my favorite cupsole right now.

Ben please do a quick front crook tutorial if u get a chance.I just want to hear ur perspective on the trick.

Etnies needs to wake up and release those 90s retros ASAP.

Not sure if it'll help or if you've already tried it but, try putting the OG maranas in the microwave/stove to heat em up a bit, the heat might be able to loosen the rubber toe lining then mold to your foot once you put your foot in it, haven't tried it either so not sure if it actually works, p.s thanks for the videos :)

Ben, can you do an honest review of the new Andy Anderson deck, hopefully it’s not too soggy lol

Man I haven't skated Etnies since I was a kid, maybe I'll pick up a pair. I mean inherintly I did kind of because I rode the Emerica Reynolds line for like 7 years straight lol.

Yes I had the vulcanized maranas and they were hell to break in. They are way too narrow at the toe

I love it when Ben uploads

I wish Ben would come to my local and just “show off” he’s so damn good bruh

Quality content from Ben Daddy🔥

Love it when ben is feeling good!

A quarter size too small is my life, but as a 12 I don't have the option to try a 12.5. I get excited when I hear about a shoe that runs large.

The MC Rap Lo X Bones are a very comfortable shoe.

the brown/gum etnies always look good

6:33 whenre we getting a slappy front crook tutorial! i got bs but fs is eluding me

Been sitting on the Joslin bones colab for a month or so until my other joslins blow out.. I'll be skating them soon..

I have the exact same shoe size.... It's so hard to buy without trying first. I'd love those shoes, but I live in NC. BUMMER

Finally lol your content gets better

Woah those rap highs are kinda sick