Luckily for me, I stumbled across Rockport Archive over a year ago and have enjoyed reading about the UK’s history to the brand ever since. Here was a subculture I’d never heard of, which having worked and paid close attention to footwear for over a decade, goes to show how long these stories can remain hidden.

Wanting to learn more about the UK’s relationship to Rockport, we asked Rob who runs the Rockport Archive account a few important questions. Having worked closely with the brand to bring back the Umbwe and Mweka, as well as having lived through the ‘90s era of the Rockport, we thought there was no one better to ask than him.

I don't think there was one specific boot, if anything it was finally getting my first pairs Umbwe and Mweka that led to my collection, even if I didn't realise it at the time! They were the ultimate Rockports to have in the UK back then and the buzz I felt unboxing them - the feeling of 'making it', of having *the* top brand on foot, that never left me.

When people started to move away from them and they became harder to find, I ended up on eBay chasing mint, Portuguese made pairs. Buying and selling loads over the years - getting better condition ones, finding rarer colours, picking up duplicates of my favourite versions – that led to a collection over time without really planning it.

On one hand, it's been great going through my collection, thinking about the conversations I've had over the years and helping shape what people would actually want to see come back. Rockport already had a direction, but being able to help refine that was amazing.

It has been great to see the brand genuinely engage with its history in the UK. I think Rockport being based in Manchester makes a difference as well, there's a proper understanding of what these meant over here, which I don't think the head office in the US would ever have really got. To be involved in that has felt a bit surreal at times.

The single standout for me was being invited over to the factory in Portugal and seeing the first finished pair of Millennium boots roll off the production line. That pair will stay boxed in my collection forever!

They know your product better than you might think. They were the ones out there wearing it 24/7. They’re the ones who formed an emotional connection with it. Listening to that kind of feedback takes time.

Take the video I did last year of the lad unboxing his millenniums that had a mini viral moment. That wasn’t something a brand could just create; that was a lived experience. If brands don’t recognise that, or don’t take the time to listen to it, they risk missing what they’re actually selling.