The kid is Dan Amrich, and he still has his carts. He didn’t keep the Knight Rider shirt and the KangaROOS. That would have been weird.
ROOS are still around as part of the bullshit “retro” craze. They’re referred to as “lifestyle” shoes, and here’s a choice quote from Wikipedia: “They were notable for having a small zippered pocket on the side of the shoe, large enough for a small amount of loose change, keys, or more recently, condoms.”
Hipsters bother me.
(Photo via Dan’s Flickr)
2 Warps to Neptune 
Condoms? Wouldn’t you crush the shit out of them in your shoe? That is not going to be effective anything.
But you can tell all your friends that you have a condom in your shoe.
I got a grey pair of velcro Roos back in ’81–’82, suckered in by the whole concept of the kangaroo “pouch” to hold my arcade quarter salvo. Um, yeah right. Dood, those zippered side pockets on the shoes were totally not convenient at all. For one, the nylon wasn’t flexible, and the “pouch” totally hugged the side of my foot (like shoes should). At the most, I could fit maybe 2 quarters in there (yay), and it was ridiculously hard to both slip them in and get them out.
Aside from that though, they were comfy shoes, but clunky looking when worn with all the surf duds (Op, Lightning Bolt, Body Glove, etc.), so I had no choice but to ditch them and go back to my Vans.
To say nothing of the fact that anything kept in that tiny pouch inevitably ended up smelling like feet. I had a beige pair of the ones in the pic around ’82 or so. I was not a repeat customer; the novelty didn’t last long.
Aw, man. I just realized after looking at that pic again—I think Roos had that total intricate tread pattern that made it a horrendous hell and a half if you stepped in dog poop (which I did). Ugh. Time to find a skinny twig, a place to sit, and breathe through my mouth.
I had the same pair Dan is wearing. I can’t remember anything other than that, but I only had the one pair. It’s been Vans from about 5th grade to now, with a couple of short-lived phases: Converse, K-Swiss, and one pair of Nikes.
I wish Vans would start making shoes for old people feet. I need the arch support.
That’s just sad.
I stopped the Vans thing after ’83. Then, I bought myself a pair of Vans a few years ago to skate in. You’re right about the arch support..there is none.
On a brighter note, they do make a new version of the Converse Chucks (low-tops) which have a gel insole with an arch on it. I have a pair. Man, what a difference.