Article by christian mcdermott

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Christian McDermott

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If The Shoe Fits Buy It In Every Color T

he new generation of kids have found yet another form of expression and something that keeps them mesmerized with each new shoe that releases. We line up in front of a store for multiple hours at a time to walk in and buy that shoe we have been looking to get since the beginning of the year. First in line is Carlos Valdivia, a passionate sneakerhead who is the manager of a Footlocker and keeps his collection extra fresh. Sitting down he is chatting with some friends wearing a plain hoodie and sweats with clean Yeezy’s on his feet, while his friend Matt Eberle waits his turn. Matt is wearing size 13 Bred Toe 1’s, but he really wants these new Jordan’s to exclusively hoop in, compared to Carlos who needs them for luxury and looks. Finally, in the back, Dana Stalder, a loving father and GOAT investor, is dressed in normal business attire, hoping that he will get a pair in his son’s size for his birthday. There are so many unique stories to each sneakerhead and they each bring their own ideas and actions that change the sneaker culture

on the daily. Most do not know how much time, effort, and energy it takes to be in the most involved sneakerhead in the new community. Most do not know how much sneakers are involved and how they influence young lives all over the country.

Matt Eberle exhibits this perfectly when he saw one of his teammates gift his new Jordan’s to a young fan after one of their games. Keep in mind that these shoes are very expensive and usually are protected at all costs. His teammate wanted to make a young fan’s day and the kid stood there in disbelief, gazing at the shoes and appreciating such a special gift that he will never forget. Matt remarked, “I could see how much that meant to them, especially because they had always wanted a pair of Jordans” (Eberle). It was sort of like passing the torch from one generation to another. Good deeds like this are not completely foreign in the sneaker culture as many lives each year are brightened and affected by others kindness. The kid will never forget his first pair of Jordans and it is very likely that he will continue to adore the shoes that started it all. Everybody’s

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“It’s not about the shoes, it’s what you do in them.” ~ Michael Jordan

collection starts somewhere and it continues to grow as they acquire more and more money anyway they can, called their “hustle”. Kids love brands like Adidas, Nike, and Jordan, and they are the ones putting out new shoes every week for these kids to get excited about and to hopefully add to their collection.

Those brands are doing great things for communities and children all around the United States as they inspire them to achieve greatness and promote positivity all over. For example, “Jordan Brand announces the latest evolution of WINGS, its community action program that provides a safe haven and mentorship for at-risk youth,” who look up to Jordan and what he has done (Jordan). The first Air Jordan came out in 1984 as Michael Jordan’s infamous career was just getting started and it was not an instant success. As a few more shoes called Retro 1,2,3 etc. came out, and as Jordan was winning multiple championships in a row the brand would take off to heights nobody had ever seen.

Fashion kept becoming more important as the economy was able to support these new trends and revolutionary shoes that would be releasing. These shoes have come a long way from Michael wearing them in the infamous 1988 NBA Dunk Contest into being a highly sought after item of fashion.

Nowadays, walking down the street you see hundreds of young kids wearing bright, clean, and expensive shoes and it all started with a basketball player. Michael was a hero to so many, and people would buy his shoes to emulate and hope to play basketball as good as he did. In a recent movie titled, Like Mike, exhibits how much they looked up to him as a 14 year old orphan with dreams of making it to the NBA finds a pair of shoes initialed MJ which gives him the power to be balling out in the league. Kids today still try to live up to his legacy, which shows why the Jordans that come out every Saturday are hard to get a hold of and always sell out instantly. The shoes that they wear on their feet inspire them to achieve greatness and are so popular that a lot of people dedicate their entire lives to the thriving sneaker business. Nike single handedly sells 100 million dollars worth of sneakers every day and we all wonder what makes them so appealing (@ NPDMattPowell)? It’s simple, they created a brand.

Branding is key to success in business throughout the world, but especially in clothing and sneakers. They were the pioneers of the sneaker game and were able to climb to the top with new innovations in shoes that the consumers would treasure so much.

In spite of all the positive aspects of the culture, sometimes people are so stubborn with passion that their emotions cause them to make irrational decisions.

Everyone who participates and follows the sneaker culture knows that there are a few downsides to all the positivity and culture the brands support. Although we may not hear it on the news as Donald Trump seems to take most of that coverage, sneaker violence is real and happening. It was reported in 2015 that America had 1,200 sneaker related deaths (Bain). A mother’s kid dying over sneakers is the worst thing that could happen to them as most likely they were the ones who bought them their first pair of sneakers. Even if someone does not die over a pair of shoes, violence and robberies are

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Highly Coveted Sneakers too common to sneakerheads. It’s sad to say that a kid walking home from school will get jumped and his shoes stolen, humiliating and forcing him to walk home without the shoes he adored so much. People take it so seriously when it comes to releases of shoes as they are well known for having fights and chaos break out forcing the police to handle the situation. An avid sneaker collector, Carlos Valdivia, told me he witnessed a heated argument between two adults over the remaining sizes of a sneaker at its release eventually leading to a fight. “If that were me I would have been like the shoes are yours man, It’s not that serious” (Valdivia). Sneaker culture doesn’t only suffer from violence; many of its members are also very opinionated and cut throat. Kids get harassed online for having sneaker opinions different from others as they get bullied online or in real life. Everyone will always have different opinions on different shoes, but when it’s blown out of proportion real issues arise that could end in fighting. This culture is all about status and how you are viewed by others. People compete so hard to have the newest and most expensive kicks when they should be praising each other for having their own style and shoe game. This is why kids are bullied over 6

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their shoes because others want to have all the clout and be praised as the best sneakerhead in the school.

Also, It’s sad that people feel pressured to like shoes because of the hype surrounding a release or to wear what their friends think look cool. “Resellers,” the ones who sell shoes that sell out in stores, are often the type of people pressuring others to like a shoe because of what the street value of the shoe will be after it sells out. Even though some negative energy surrounds the sneaker culture sometimes, beautiful acts of kindness and careers are made in this up and coming industry.

We have never had better access or opportunity to get involved with the culture that influences so many all over the country. Technology has been evolving ever since the first Jordan came out in 1984 and the internet has revolutionized the way to buy these sneakers. The shoes that mean so much to the kids are extremely accessible and this is a huge reason

why so many get involved in the culture. Consignment stores have taken over big cities so that anybody can walk in and find a shoe that was sold out on the release. To even make it better online consignment stores have erupted in the past few years as companies like GOAT, StockX, and Stadium Goods generate a ton of profit online. The shoes get shipped off to all corners of the globe as money is the only issue in buying new sneakers. Ebay was an early platform for selling sneakers but as it became more popular fake Jordans and shoes were being sold for very high prices. To help end this problem the company, GOAT, has professional sneaker evaluators to authenticate all sneakers sold on their website. GOAT is essentially the perfect middle man in a once untrustworthy business polluted with fake shoes. These apps are incredibly popular in the sneaker community as Footlockers and other retail stores around the U.S. are actually closing because of so much competition. Dana remarks,

“I do think over the next 20 years retail as we know it is going to radically change it’s going to be less about Footlocker, an old retail experience, and more about the digital experience” (Stalder). This might sound uncomfortable to the old sneakerhead who loved going into the store and trying the shoes on before he bought them but now we have the internet to to buy and sell all the sneakers on the market.

In addition, websites dedicated to sneakers, such as Complex or Sole Collector, give all the most recent news and releases to anybody who might not have known where the shoe was dropping without it. This is so helpful to everybody looking where to get the next release because otherwise they would miss out on buying them for retail and spend huge amounts of money to get them from someone who did.

Ultimately, the internet has done everything it can to help consumers get access to these authentic and frequently released shoes that are so coveted.

The sneaker game is ever-changing, so the future is undetermined. However, the internet, the companies behind the brands, and sneakerheads are helping people find and use their passion to improve their lives. No

matter where you come from or who you are, sneakers teach you so much about your surroundings and how to be an individual.

Carlos reflects, “I barely had any money to buy shoes and worked my butt off to get that next

retro that’s coming out. And what you might not find cool or not your favorite retro maybe could have a personal meaning behind it for someone else. Everyone has their own taste� (Valdivia).

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Works Cited Bain, Marc. “1,200 People Are Killed Each Year over Sneakers.”Quartz, Quartz, 20 Nov.

2015, qz.com/554784/1200-people-are-killed-each-year-over-sneakers. Accessed

12 April 2018.

Eberle, Matt. Personal Interview. 19 March 2018.

---. Personal Interview. 31 March 2018.

Jordan, Michael. “Michael Jordan Quote.” A-Z Quotes, www.azquotes.com/quote/813644.

Accessed 14 May 2018.

“Jordan Brand Launches Global WINGS Program.” Nike News,

news.nike.com/news/jordan-brand-launches-global-wings-program. Accessed 12 April

2018. @NPDMattPowell. Nike did $9.1 billion in Q1. That’s $700 million per week; $100 Million per

day; $4 million per hour; $66K Minute; $1K (25 pairs) a second. Twitter 11 Oct. 2016,

12:49 p.m.,https://twitter.com/NPDMattPowell/sta tus/785930311716569088.

Stalder, Dana. Personal Interview. 24 March 2018.

Valdivia, Carlos. Personal Interview. 3 March 2018.

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About the Author

Christian McDermott is well known for his love and what some call obsession over sneakers.

He would like to design sneakers or clothing one day for big marketing brands like Nike, Supreme, or Jordan, and is pursuing a career path in business and fashion. Aside from fashion he plays three sports and enjoys football more than anything else. Learning so much from the game, he uses those skills and puts them into everything he does as he is passionate, thoughtful, and persevering. He has been a competitive person ever since he was born as the third and youngest child with an older brother and sister. His family is very influential in his life as he knows they will always be there for him and have good relationships with all.

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