Drew's pair of brown Vans have been a consistent presence at all bunchofcaners events for the last two years. Comfortable, attractive, dependable - these trainers have risen beyond normal dancing shoe status to become legends in their own right. 

From humble beginnings in a designer outlet store in Bridgend in South Wales, they have grown from being a mere apprentice into one of the most demanding clothing roles in the country today. Veterans of no less than two Ibiza campaigns,  the Vans have danced their way through more Paul Van Dyk sets in Amnesia than should be reasonably expected from modern footwear. The dancefloor action has been by no way limited to foreign climes. Back here in Blighty, great club names such as Slinky, Ministry of Sound, Fabric, and The Fridge as well as smaller venues such as the 414 club and the Dogstar, have all had their dancefloors pounded to the rhythm of these trainer giants. Many more expensive brands have trembled in their wake and retired quickly to dimly lit chill-out rooms while these boys have lorded across more podiums than your average Nikes could ever dream of.

The action has not all been contained to the dancefloor either. Trainers of such standing only get to their position by taking part in such activities as Skydiving and  Karting, and by visiting extreme terrains such as those found in Morocco and the Gambia.

All this hardcore footwear punishment comes with a high price however, and a visit to Amsterdam over the weekend of 1st October 2000 finally proved too much for even these most hardy of boys. Returning to London, stained with regurgitation, the Vans last days were spent slowly rotting away quietly at home.

Tributes to drew's trainers have been flooding in. In Vietnam the shocking news reached Rob and Andy. "Well I really don't think things will be the same from here on. I can barely remember a time when those trainers were not a part of our lives" commented Rob; Andy was just too upset to comment.

Drew's skydiving instructor said "They were magnificent. I only flew with them once but they took to the air with the grace of doves. I will miss them".

Tributes have, of course, been mostly from the nightclubs of Europe:

"We have approximately 10,000 trainers in on Monday nights, but that pair just shone out like two dazzling suns. I could barely concentrate on stage when they were in" - Mike Manumission.

"My next album will have a track called 'For some Trainers' and will be dedicated to them" - Paul Van Dyk

Drew himself issued a statement with these brave words: "This is a very sad time for all of us. I would encourage everyone to try and think of the trainers with fond memories of all the long nights they have supported me through various sessions of canery. Personally, although I will obviously miss them, I am looking forward to hitting the dancefloor at the memorial party in the new pair of Airwalks I picked up the other day. We must go on and learn from this experience; to take the lesson that those trainers gave to us, and spread it to the whole world. I also want to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts at this difficult time."