My Passion

Sneak Into My Sole

The Sneaker Game Pt. 2

For most people who either know me in real life or follow me on social media one thing is very clear: I love sneakers. 

My love for sneakers started at an early age really watching my older cousin Kevin get the latest kicks. The first Jordan I recall having was the black/infrared VI when I was 5-6yrs old. My mom and aunt (Kevin's mom) would always try to sway me in another direction but I always wanted the sneaker my older cousin would get which were usually the latest Jordan release. Another shoe I fell in love with was the Nike Air Force 180 which I also had. 

As I get older and moved away from my cousin and aunt I always kept my passion for sneakers. I indirectly used it as a way to think of my cousin even though I wasn't around him as much. I learned everything about sneakers from him just through observation. I saw how to clean sneakers the right way, take care of your pairs, and even how to save $$ for pairs. I would say I became more interested in the sneaker game when I was around 10-11 and moved back to Brooklyn from Long Island. Certain sneakers will always have sentimental value to me because they represent that transition such as: the Air Veer, Air Speed Turf Max, and Air Way Up these were the first sneakers I chose on my own without following my cousin. 

Since I was not the greatest student in middle school I did not get as much sneakers because well I didn't deserve them. This was from 96-99 so while I did not have any Jordans during this time I did have other gems such as OG Penny II, a few uptempo's, and A few Pippen models. I would not say I got teased often for not having every pair of kicks but it puzzled me to see kids just as bad as me getting every pair even made me a little jealous but again I was 12-13yrs old. 

Before high school I just looked at my mother and said "I plan on having almost any sneaker I want while i'm in high school" yes it def sounded crazy. High School was definitely the golden yrs for me in the sneaker game. My crew and I pretty much had every dope release that dropped during that time not saying we were the flyest but we did have a lot of dope pairs between us. There were also a lot of other dudes in my School who copped even more than me and those are the cats that I always refer

to as "OG" as a way to pay homage to those who were doing it big when I was in high school sneaker wise. I always told myself once I got my own money I would never miss a release. My mom handed me over my account when I became 18 but I didn't start becoming a savage until about 19yrs old. In high school I was getting maybe 5-7pairs a school yr but every yr since it grew from 10+ to now averaging 35-45 a yr. 

It's always funny when people tell me "why do you buy so many sneakers" one person even said "I hope you can sell your sneakers to buy a house." Actually I can people don't realize sneakers are now a business so while you criticize me, I can take a few pairs n sell for a couple thousand dollars real easy. A lot of the pairs mean something to me because they represent a moment whether it was a movie, tv show, sporting event,or any other moment. While I understand and plan to purchase less to leave the game completely.....can't say I would. I may not get the respect I should by my local shops when it comes to releases but THEY KNOW before a lot of cats got on this sneaker ish who was copping pairs.

I'll close with this, before you criticize a person who buys a lot of kicks ask yourself: why do I care? Every Saturday morning a few hrs after a release there are the "financial analysts" who tell you how you could have spent your money. Funny how people can wait on line for the club,

for black friday, and a new iphone release but once it's for sneakers it's a problem. Sneakerheads aren't bothering anyone so just leave them be.