Viberg Service Boot

If you had told me this time last year that wearing the same pair of black boots every day for months would be a transformative experience, I would have laughed and said it might be time to log off Instagram/Discord and detox with a few pairs of Air Max’s. And maybe I will (buy a few pairs of Air Max’s, that is). But the fact is that it truly was a life altering experience. Wearing a singular pair of boots for half a year or more is nothing new for me – I’ve worked as a carpenter and contractor for a couple decades – but pulling off BLACK boots (and pulling them off with style) is a whole different animal. It might have been easier had I still been crushing half a pack of smokes daily and wearing actual bargain bin vintage clothing, but, alas, those days are as far behind me as my starving artist induced six-pack abs. It wasn’t like they were combat boots, either. No, my pride and joys were sleek, fuzzy roughouts with an oh-so sexy wholecut silhouette that were as hard to keep clean as they were to photograph (not that I did that great with either, if we’re being honest). But what was even more difficult was finding ways to make them work with my wardrobe and personality without completely starting from scratch and reinventing my persona. And, to my surprise, I succeeded. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a few choice items to weather the journey with me, but mostly I embraced the black boot life. And the black boot life whole heartedly embraced me back. The regular compliments I received from strangers sure didn’t hurt, but mainly it was due to the confidence I felt looking down at those utilitarian symbols of badassery with each and every step I took. Until this competition, black boots were always something that were entirely situational, and never in a million years would I think to pick a pair as my daily drivers. I’m honestly not even sure what I was thinking when I chose this pair. Perhaps subconsciously I knew I needed a not-so-subtle nudge to reinvigorate