Let’s take a trip down memory lane…
In 2004, FUTURA opened his FUTURA LABORATORIES flagship store in Fukuoka, Japan. To commemorate the store’s opening, FUTURA created the Nike SB "FOR LOVE OR MONEY" (FLOM) Dunk—a shoe that he made only to gift (not to sell) to his closest friends as a symbol of thanks to those who made their way to Fukuoka for the shop’s opening. He also had a surprise raffle: two customers who made any purchase were unknowing participants, who had been chosen at random, each winning a pair of FLOMs.
The now-famous all-over money print motif on the sneakers was always a very intentionally-designed point of tension; it was one part metaphor and prompt, and another part play on an acronym used by a famous cinematic bounty hunter…
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“the FLOM acronym "FOR LOVE OR MONEY" was kinda stolen, but flipped from a STAR WARS bounty hunter named [4-LOM] and as he was a mercenary I immediately thought [4 LOVE OF MONEY] my personal way of renaming things to suit my mental. later this idea came up about money and passion and motivation and desire and greed and creativity and you know, everything. so I changed the word (OF) to (OR) and captured my true meaning of this acronym with an abstract twist.”
– FUTURA 2000
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From the sneaker’s design process forward, a powerful question was literally and figuratively emblazoned on the shoe's fabric: would FUTURA’s friends keep the shoes (FOR LOVE) and express that friendship means more than money—or would human impulse reign supreme (OR MONEY), seeing them resold singularly for short-term monetary gain?
In the years since the FL release, the OG "FLOM” has become somewhat of a sneaker myth. How many pairs were actually made? Who had gotten them? Crazy secondary market transactions have affixed a general zip code of financial value to them. But perhaps, for their original 24 owners—was it at the cost of the spirit of friendship?
In 2025, the question still remains: FOR LOVE . . . OR MONEY?
To celebrate his 70th birthday in 2025, FUTURA ran back the FLOM ethos—once again returning to JAPAN as a backdrop for a pivotal life moment. Making, this time around, 70 individually-numbered friends and family AF1 FLOMs, FUTURA once again celebrated a life milestone—by creating a gift for others. And once again, he has pulled an audible.
Futura Laboratories had a raffle for two pairs of shoes that was open for the weekend before Christmas. As it was the holiday season, we encourage the community to donate to an organization the FUTURA respects: FEEDING AMERICA. We raise over $12,000 to support Feeding America and its network of 200 partner food banks to meet the need across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Every $1 raised through Team Feed Corporate will provide at least 10 meals for people in need of food assistance.
Thank you to everyone that participated in the drawing and donated to the cause!