Shoes, You’re Probably Wearing Them
It’s a world literally under your nose. Shoes, the accessory is more utilitarian than social to most, but to us it’s a social hobby. A few of us, go to the mall and spend our money on shoes to collect that we might not even wear before selling it off or trading it. Others just wear the shoes because of the hype our favorite influencers create. A select few of our parents remember the days the shoes made it onto television, a purchasable piece of athletes like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Ken Griffey, and Kobe Bryant. All of us go under a name: Sneakerhead.
A sneakerhead is someone who enjoys shoes a little more than the average person. To us, shoes are status and power, it’s a way to be a step ahead of everyone else when it all boils down, have you ever gotten a new pair of white shoes? Do you remember how you felt the first day you wore them? Sneakerheads are trying to chase that feeling on a daily basis, we can call it the “shiny feeling”
A lot of sneakerheads are loyal to a brand, Nike and Adidas being the main two. As kids we draw to one or the other a little more. Some people wore the Samba as a kid so they will grow into an Adidas fan. Others may have worn Huaraches as a kid, and they go on to collect Jordans and Nikes. If a Nikehead wore some Adidas Y-3s they won’t get the same “shiny feeling.”
The main player in the shoe game, as you might already know, is Michael Jordan. The 54 year old makes more than the entire Warriors starting lineup on endorsements and royalties alone. His signature shoe, the Air Jordan, first came out in 1985 and is still going strong with 31 shoes released in the main shoe line. The shoes sneakerheads are interested in though are the Jordan 1 through 14. These shoes are the ones Jordan actually spent time playing in. Jordan brand knows this, and they release new and classic colors of the Jordan 1-14 ev- ery weekend. Shoes like the black and red (Bred) Jordan 1 re-release or “retro” every few years (recently 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2016)
Many sneakerheads are drawn to Jordan because of his demigod-like status in the 80s and 90s. The children of that era grew up with Nike slamming Saturday morning schedules full of shoe commercials, and watching Jordan slam down 82 nights a year with playground talk hyping up Jordan and the Bulls even more.
These kids would grow up with the shoes being a part of the athlete, and kids who wanted to “be like Mike” would want a pair of Jordans or Nikes more than they wanted Nintendos. Soon enough Nike’s Jordans, Air Forces, Barkleys, and Huaraches were a status symbol, the children of these original sneakerheads would grow up in a world where celebrities and everyone who had influence were rocking the same shoes and the cycle started all over again.
Recently, Jordan brand has been in- creasing the prices of their shoes from about $160 to $220 for a major release. This has led to the rise of Adidas as a true competitor to Nike. Adidas’s partnership with Kanye West has also propelled them to the fame they have today. As you may know, some shoes in the Yeezy line resell for quadruple digit figures. Unlike Jordan brand, Adidas has a large range of pricing for their sneakers. If someone who likes Adidas wants to rock their shoe they can wear a $80 Adidas superstar a $120 NMD or $850 Yeezy 750 Boost. The design team at Adidas is focusing on modern models and new technologies instead of re releasing coveted classic models, but they keep the supply of their most popular models like the superstar constant.
For a lot of sneakerheads a rotation is key, the usual goal is to be able to rock a different shoe each day for at least a week. A rotation also helps sneakerheads prevent the wearing down of their shoes. Creasing is the enemy of any leather shoe, any sneakerhead will feel a hole in their chest when they see a pair of good shoes on eBay with a terrible amount of creasing. Wearing a shoe only a few times a month helps to cut back on wear-and-tear problems like creasing.
Used shoes pass through markets the most because many sneakerheads can cop a pair of used shoes for usually 40-70% less than the retail price, they also use used shoes as add-ons to big trades (trading several used shoes for one big shoe like Yeezys). Sneakers below a 6/10 condition are considered “beaters”, these shoes are usually worn regularly and casually by their owners. Beaters are easy to spot from a few feet away, often there are scuffs, scratches, heel drag, and other marks of love on the shoe.For a lot of sneakerheads a beater shoe will still give them the shiny feeling, if a shoe model is iconic enough even a beat down pair will turn heads.
So to some people, shoes aren’t a block of leather and rubber to protect your feet. To some people a shoe is a symbol, a symbol of wealth, of idols, and of childhood. A look down for some people is a look into history and a look into the wearer’s personality. The shoe market is on the rise, and it’s a product everyone needs. So why not invest in a shoe you enjoy a little more than vans?
