I used to be what they call a "sneakerhead", or someone who collects shoes. There are tons of websites designed for sneaker enthusiasts; I used to frequent the Nike SB forums, Solecollector, and HypeBeast. Already you're probably thinking, "What's a hypebeast?" A hypebeast is someone who wants to obtain a pair of shoes purely because there is a lot of discussion and anticipation or "hype" for the release of a sneaker. I may or may not have camped out overnight for shoes. Some terminology that is commonplace to shoe collectors , but foreign to most include: heel drag, number of stars, B-grades, limited releases, and quickstrikes. Heel drag is when the heel is worn down; this usually occurs when someone is rocking shoes too big for their feet. Number of stars refers to how many stars are left on the bottom toe of the shoes (Nike puts tiny little stars on certain shoe lines so you can tell how worn they are). B-grades are shoes that are nearly top grade, but there is a minor discrepancy such as poor stitching. Limited releases, or LR's, refers to a company only releasing a very small amount of shoes. I own one of ten pairs of Nike SB "Tokyo Mids" that were released, or dropped, in the state of Washington. Quickstrikes refer to a release that is limited and comes with little or no prior warning. Now that I have to spend money on more practical necessities, it seems ridiculous how obsessed I was, but to this day I am proud of my 30+ sneaker collection, which is sorted by model in my closet. I have all the boxes too. A legitimate box makes the pair complete. I even own some sneakers that are "deadstock", or unused and in mint condition. I keep telling myself I should cash out, but I know I never will. Maybe my future grandchildren can sell them for some serious money someday. Sounds outlandish, but just google Jordan Eminems, or Nike Dunk Supreme's; they're worth ridiculous amounts, climbing into the five digit price range. Once even, at a particularly anticipated release for the coveted Nike SB NY Pigeons, a man was beaten with a baseball bat...over shoes. Some people are willing to sell their soul before they sell their soles.
http://kadycarrougher.blog.com/2014/03/26/blog-7/#comment-9
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When reading your blog I just had one thought going through my mind: there is really this much regarding shoes? I think of shoes as a purpose- I have running shoes, cute shoes, my muck shoes, etc. Who knew people owned shoes they would never use ! But then again, my horse blogs probably don't make much sense to others as well. I think your topic brings up an interesting discussion of the groups established in the world over something so simple but so complex at the same time. This is a group of people that wouldn't have met if not for the internet and these forums. (To my knowledge), there are no "shoe conventions" or anything that physically brings these sorts of people together and therefore they can relate with each other on a topic most people aren't aware of.
ReplyDeleteI hope you make loads of money on those unworn shoes of yours- or at least your grandkids do. I think it's neat you found a passion in something such as shoes.
Thanks for sharing this unknown culture with us,
Kady
I really enjoyed this post because I am always looking at Sneakernews.com for all the new releases. It was interesting to hear about the language and certain terms that are used since I am usually just looking at the shoes although now that I have read this post I may start to get involved in some of the conversations. You should really take a look at Sneakernews.com though if you haven't since they have dates and locations for huge shoe conventions for trading and selling and buying. I think it's awesome that you have such a vast collection and you should for sure keep it going. Let me know if you've got some Nikes you're wanting to get rid of. Just kidding but not really.
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