NAME: Tomás Varela
LOCATION: Pamplona, Spain.
OCCUPATION: Student.
Where do you like skating? I love the Del Mar Skatehouse, in Logroño and the Ripagaina Bowl, in Pamplona. I like the spots in my city too but I want to travel and discover new places around the world.
Why did you go Veg? One day I just started researching info in the internet and realized that I could live without meat. I changed my food habits and now I feel really good. I’m the only Veg in my home, so I learned to cook too 🙂
What is your favorite thing to skate and why? I love to skate bowls and mini-ramps. I love street spots too, specially stairs, gaps, and I like to be creative and skate rare spots.
What shoe are you skating in now? Some Nike’s that a friend borrowed me. Now I discovered this blog. I’m going to start wearing Veg shoes for sure!
Or just say whatever you want about skating Veg… (no answer here)
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Are you veg and shred? Send in a some photos and the answer to all these questions to fakie@veganskateblog.com Don’t forget a mailing address so we can get you some rad stickers. ( US only – that international shipping is EXPENSIVE!)
Over the past three weeks I put these shoes through the ringer. I’m able to skate about 8 hours a week, so this is roughly 24 hours of skating in the Figueroas.
First Impression: This shoe felt amazing the first time I put them on my feet. It was snug fitting with a bit of a narrow shape, really holding my foot in. Straight from the shelf to the streets, the Figueroa is skate-able right out of the box, no break-in needed.
Board feel: For a cupsole the Figueroa has great board feel. I’ve struggled with “performance cupsoles” from other brands where there’s basically an EVA wedge under your heel, but the Figueroa’s mid-sole stretches the entire length of the shoe. This full-length mid-sole does not make the shoe feel bulky at all, Emerica nailed it with this one! Just enough padding under foot to get that happy medium between board feel and impact protection.
Durability: This colorway is made from synthetic-nubuck, animal friendly but also able to take a beating. The first session was a bit rough due to the fact that the outer coating on the synthetic-nubuck is extremely grippy. After about an hour I’d worn off the outer layer in the high wear areas and the shoe became much easier to skate. The synthetic-nubuck is a durable fabric very similar to the feel of suede, but stays stiffer longer, helping the shoe retain it’s original shape. The ollie and flick areas are definitely showing wear, but I still haven’t blown through the upper yet.
Grip: The thin EVA mid-sole in the fore-foot combined with flex-grooves on the sole help keep this shoe flexible allowing it to conform to the shape of your board and grip more surface area. I would compare the grip on this shoe to a vulcanized model. Obviously not as grippy as a vulc, but definitely a close second.
Verdict: Hands down, the Emerica Figueroa is my favorite shoe from 2015, and easily in my top 3 favorite shoes of all time. A cupsole that grips your board, great board feel while still being able to jump down stairs and gaps, and solid toe shape with quality flick. If you’re looking to make the transition from vulcanized shoes to cupsoles, want a long-lasting cup with board feel, or just looking for a solid shoe, the Emerica Figueroa is for you!
The Servant Dagon IS a go-to vegan skate shoe. Not one colorway, but all the colorways! The model pictured above has been updated in color, but the same specs can be found on the previous edition we ran 
The Dagon came highly recommended from our last skate review. A few things we did hear back in the comments was, sizing was sometimes off. The overwhelming majority found the shoe was a 1/2 size larger. So you might want to order a half size down. Servant has a nice size guide on their website, so use it. If you get the wrong size, their shipped out of Michigan so getting an exchange isn’t too difficult. (We’ve listed several colorway to give you the best option in sizes, but the Blue Gum are pictured above.)
NAME: Misha Pishulin
What is your favorite thing to skate and why? Street, stage, railing, gap. A true spirit of freedom. I really love it.
What shoe are you skating in now? Now I ride in VANS Chukka Del Barco, but my favorite shoes for skating is the Dekline Harper.
Huf Classic Lo come in a vegan colorway that reminds you of that other all black lo-top. These may have a bit of a higher price tag then you remember, Chuck. Skate-goth doesn’t come cheap. The vulcanized canvas shoe features a soft foam insole, a protective toe-cap to give some extra skate wear and a rubber heal for a sturdy grip around the balls of the foot.
Some would argue the value, and maybe the skate-life is all in the details. Extra durable canvas and hidden stitch lines. (We still haven’t heard back from Huf about a pair for skate review, so readers can post their experiences in the comments) A big advantage with the Huf Classic may also be the shear range in sizes. So for the small and large footed alike, Keith’s got you covered.
The DC Evan Smith Hi comes in two vegan colorways and that is the only way it is made, currently. Black and Gray, or White with red and blue details. The shoe is an all canvas upper with rubber toe-caps that should give the Hi-top some added durability and skate life. A tall padded collar will save your tender ankles and make sure your pant legs are properly cuffed!
I got excited when I saw this picture from Evan’s new DC add! (Maybe some of my Pittsburgh readers know the spot.) The lo-top version of The Evan Smith does have suede. Kind of bummed, and Evan is too. In his recent 
