We’ve all had that conversation; talking to a non-sneakerhead, seeing the confused look on their face as you talk about sneakers with terrific abandon. people collect baseball cards, stamps, happy meal Toys, but why can’t people get their head around sneaker collecting? What’s so odd about a passion for something you wear on your feet every single day? There are so many facets to enjoy; comfort, style, history, colourways, collaborations, sentimentality, nostalgia… the list goes on. Ok, maybe the odd bit is the fact we own ones that sit on top of the wardrobe at home, collecting dust for years on end before we finally pluck up the courage to put them on feet, that is, if we end up wearing them i det hele tatt.

When it comes to collectors, there are two ends of the spectrum; some collectors have just 5 to 10 pairs, and carefully curate their sneaker rotation, but there are also collectors who just have to have everything. Miami Heat’s P. J. Tucker, generally accepted as the NBA’s biggest sneakerhead, has accumulated over 5,000 pairs of sneakers. Bear in mind, he is now in his 15th NBA season, so he can afford it.

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The love of Sneakers

We recently took to Twitter to ask our followers “Why do you collect sneakers?”, and the answer was clear with almost 80% responding with “I just love sneakers”. we all have our reasons for loving sneakers, but collecting them is a different kettle of fish.

I’ve been into sneakers since a very young age, and being the youngest in a family of nine (all of whom played basketball) there were plenty of hand-me-downs. I grew up seeing my sisters play in LA Gear, Cons Aero Jets, and the Air Jordan 7 “Olympics” in the ’80s and ’90s, and then my brothers in their Reebok Pump Omni 2’s and Air Jordan 5 in the early ’90s. Needless to say I was surrounded by pals and teammates showing off their latest pick-ups on court too. To show how deep the passion runs, I can still vividly see the kid at high school who had the Air Jordan 12 “Taxis”. I remember exactly where we were in school, and that I stared straight at his feet from the end of one period, until he walked off to his next class. I thought they were incredible. I still remember that, and that was 1996.

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Nostalgia

So, although I’ve always had a love for sneakers, I feel it has gotten stronger over the years as retro models are released and they bring with them fond memories and flashbacks to the glory days. These glory days for me aren’t just feelings of sentimentality, seeing sneakers released year after year that my older siblings rocked decades ago; for me it also goes back to ’90s NBA, heralded as one of the best eras in basketball – not just the game itself, but the sneakers worn on-court.

From the Shaqnosis to the Air Uptempos, there was serious heat in every game. And, seeing new releases of pairs like the Reebok Pump Omni Lite 2 takes me right back to 1991, Dee brown pausing to pump his tongues just before his alley-oop double-pump reverse in the dunk Contest. and the re-release of the Kamikazes; I can close my eyes and see Shawn Kemp flying high in the 1996 NBA All-Star Game. and of course, any Air Jordan from 1 to 14, I can picture countless games with MJ reaching new heights, breaking records, and taking apart opponents in whichever incredible model was released that year.

For some of us, we like to be able to own what we couldn’t when we were younger, whether that be financial reasons, or in the case of my 2018 Air Jordan 3 “Black Cement” purchase, pairs that were released when we were too young to buy them at the time (original release was 1988… when I was seven years old).

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Flex Appeal

Some collect simply for the street cred, or to flex with the ultimate fit on Instagram. and that means having the latest and greatest, most hyped, most elusive pairs of Jordans or Yeezys. Although you can be in to Jordans and Yeezys without doing it because they’re hyped, there are also a lot of sneakerheads who simply want the most expensive, most limited pairs to simply to show them off. and some just like the feeling they get lacing rare sneakers up, knowing there’s something extra special about their pair.

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One to Rock, One to Stock

This then brings us to the “One to rock, one to stock” dynamic of the sneaker game. When a sneaker is released, some sneakerheads try to pick up multiple pairs, so they have one to wear, and one to keep “on ice” or “DS” (deadstock). There can be many reasons for this too; some plan to wear the second pair once the first are worn out, but for some, the second pair may genuinely never leave the box – usually for sentimental reasons. Others plan on reselling the second pair to make up for, if not completely cover, the cost of the first pair. With the price of sneakers ever on the rise, it’s hard to blame them.

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The full Set

Another reason for collecting is the satisfactionav å samle et komplett sett. Selvfølgelig må det være den første kjærligheten til joggesko til å begynne med, men for noen sneakerheads kan det begynne med ett par, og deretter snøball til et søk etter hver farge eller modell av en viss sneakerlinje.

En australsk samler gjorde nettopp det da han begynte sin Jordan -samling med 1 og 2, bare for at det skulle vokse til en samling på 27 par. Han har nå 1 til 23 (med noen dobbeltpakker). Han sa at så snart han hadde 1 og 2, så han bare ned en lang vei med å søke, forske og samle, og likte det han så. Han har beholdt et grundig regneark med samlingen sin, sammen med bilder for hvert par, og med alle par uutslett i sine originale bokser. Han sa også at den eneste gangen han tenkte på å selge bare ville være å handle i størrelse 7,5 for en 8. Når han først har gjort det, vil han føle seg komplett, og deretter tenke på om han vil holde joggeskoene for alltid, eller selge dem som et komplett sett.

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Videresalg

Noen samler ganske enkelt for å videreselge og selge er en viktig sjåfør for sneaker som samler inn i disse dager, enten vi liker det eller ikke, til og med kommer inn som den nest høyeste responsen i vår sneaker -avstemning. Markedet for videresalg av sneaker var verdt utrolige 4,2 milliarder pund fra 2019, og det vokser. Det er et lukrativt marked som mange mennesker lever mer enn anstendig. Selv noen sneakerheads som kjøper med det beste intensjonen, bestemmer noen ganger at de har ombestemt seg, og trenger å laste opp flere par av samlingen deres, og å selge er veien ut.

Til og med Jordan Geller, en amerikansk sneaker -samler som skapte skoen sin for å vise frem sin utrolige samling, hvor han hadde samlet over 2500 par Nikes og Jordans, til slutt begynte å selge dem av. Han sa at det ble en usunn besettelse, og han bestemte seg for å dele måter med noen av sine mest elskede gjenstander; Mest kjent med et par signerte, spill-slitte Jordan 1s som ble estimert av Sotheby’s til å selge for $ 150 000, men til slutt solgte for 560 000 dollar gjennom det verdensberømte auksjonshuset.

Uansett årsak til å samle, starter det alltid med en lidenskap for joggesko. Hvilken innledende form som tar, og hvordan det utvikler seg gjennom årene, er nede på individet. Den fantastiske tingen er at det holder joggeskoene rundt. Selv om mange mennesker ser ned på det videresalgte markedet, betyr det at du plutselig kan klare det paret du gikk glipp av for mange år siden. Og det det absolutt gjør er å holde deg på jakten, noen ganger for en spesifikk sneaker, noen ganger for noe du aldri visste at du trengte, men være trygg, vil det alltid være et neste par.

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