The question that is always asked to me, “how did you ever become a sneakerhead?” This obsession stems far back to my childhood days. I have played basketball since I was 5 and along with the sport usually comes sneakers. A love for Michael Jordan (like most) was also a dominating part in my life. Lastly, a brother who was a complete sneaker addict, also helped lead me to my own sort of sneaker addiction.
It all started with those Jordan Aqua 8’s…the feeling and excitement I got from getting those J’s. Something about the feeling, made my heart skip a beat. While the joy was awesome I couldn’t wait to get my next pair, and then the next. This is how my love for sneakers all began. It sounds so materalistic and petty….but I know all my fellow sneaker gurus out there can releate. It truly feels like an addiction, your entire life begins to play a huge part in sneakers. The constant research, the constant drooling, deciding what releases that month you will break your bank for, the desire to have more never stops. The justification is what gets me every time….I buy a pair and then say “NO MORE FOR two months” then the next week I find myself at House of Hoops , Nike, or on eBay saying “oh yeah, I have to have this release because its rare and its so important.” At this moment is when you ask yourself, “How is it possible for a pair of kicks to make me smile so big.” The funny thing is kicks aren’t like other material items, in 2 years from now I will still be just ask excited to open up that box of fresh J’s as I was the day I purchased them. So what is it? What makes a true sneaker freaker so crazy about kicks? This is a question I may or may not be able to ever answer. The obsession breaks the bank month after month….but the desire never stops. Even if it is just looking at kicks online or spending a day going to try them on, something about this makes all sneaker fiends excited.
Being a sneaker head I obviously hang with a clique of fellow sneaker fanatics!
Now lets dive into a male’s mind and closet and see what he has to say about the matter!
1. What jump started your addiction to kicks?
“It all started the first day of school in 4th grade, all the guys had on new kicks. Everybody was comparing their kicks and different colorways to one another. Immediately I was like “oh man I have to have the flyest kicks!” Similar to your story, I also played basketball and something about sneakers and basketball goes hand in hand. I had to have the newest J’s for each season….as I begged my mom for one pair it always led to the next and the next until the addiction had began.
2. How many kicks do you purchase a month?
“Depends what releases are that month, also depends what trades and sales I come up on. Every month varies.”
3. Would you rather eat dinner or purchase a pair of concords?
“Let me just tell you. The first time the concords retroed I literally ate Top Romen for 2 weeks straight to save every extra penny I had to cop them. It was that serious and still is.”
4. How many hours a week do you spend researching sneaker releases and information?
” Lets put it this way, if my job could be researching buys/sells/trades and releases for kicks I would be in heaven. Aside from my day job I spend at least 4-6 hours per day on the kick grind.”
The Closet
While I would like to say the sneaker scene continues to grow over the years (especially in the female sector) it wasn’t once the craze it is today. In 2013 everyone calls themselves a sneakerhead. So what really is a sneakerhead? Today people say ” I like sneakers” or “I bought some J’s” then call themselves a sneakerhead…then all the real sneaker heads laugh and this is what we like to call a hypebeast (someone who will only rock hyped up sneakers and gear to get props). However, to a sneakerhead it gets frusterating because it’s people like that which are driving the prices of sneakers up because the damned is now at an all time high. In addition, as a sneakerhead as much as you love that release coming out you gotta admit it can be upsetting when every dude is walking down the street rockin those ‘Grape 5’s’. The sneakerhead appreciates them for what they are and rocks them with their own individual style; the hypebeast appreaciates them because of the popularity period! Point Blank: hypebeasts will continue to only be trendy and cop what sneakerheads are after, but sneakerheads will remain on their grind and truly value and appreciate each kick for what it’s worth!
~ Knuckled Up, Feet Firmly Planted
Female vs. Male Photos by Michelle Herrick
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