Sneaker culture heads toward the right direction

By Saebean Yi,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

In front of a local Kicx Unlimited, a young male kneels down and swipes the scuffs off his pair of Jordan 3’s. Inside, two men, each holding a shoebox, wait in line to purchase their new kicks. Talking to each other with excitement, they talk about shoes. Just shoes.

This growing community of sneaker collectors, often known as part of “sneaker culture,” are full of people with the exclusive and pricey footwear. You’ve probably heard about them before– the sneakerheads.

When Michael Jordan, one of the most famous basketball players of all time, entered the National Basketball Association in 1984, his shoe line soon followed: the Air Jordans, in 1985. What seemed like an ordinary basketball shoe at that time would completely change the sneaker game. The Jordans’ design and brand name quickly solidified itself as one of the biggest and most recognized sneaker lines to date.

Marvin Barias, more commonly known as MJO23DAN on his YouTube channel, is a sneaker collector since 1995, who specializes in Air Jordans. Barias uses his videos to teach about the history of his sneakers and his new purchases.

“Currently, I own over 250 sneakers with the majority of them being ‘deadstock’ (brand new) condition. It’s a collection I take great pride in,” Barias said.

Barias definitely sees Michael Jordan and his basketball shoes as a major inspiration regarding sneaker culture.

“I’d spent a majority of my teenage life idolizing my favorite basketball player, Michael Jordan,” Barias said. “Much of his mannerisms and on-court playing style is something many kids emulated growing up.”

A common place where most young sneakerheads show off their kicks nowadays is at school, for their peers to see.

Sophomore Eli Vikstrom is one of the many students at Davis High who often wears his sneakers to school. “[Wearing sneakers] has value to other sneakerheads and it can be a great way to get to know someone,” Vikstrom said.

Barias also agrees.

“Sharing a common hobby with your peers is something that should be celebrated,” Barias said. “The only time I see it as a distraction is if a teen is attempting to obtain a sneaker release on their mobile while they are in class. Otherwise, sneakers are a good distraction for the youth.”

Being a sneakerhead sometimes seems to be a negative light shining down on them. Sophomore Saad Malik says he might know the answer.

“Nowadays, a sneakerhead is all about hype and having most expensive stuff [sneakers], not the actual design and stuff,” Malik said.

With monetary value comes people looking for some profit. Matt Powell, a researcher of the retail business of sports, says resellers changed the whole sneaker community and business and how “many young sneakerheads have not sense of how big the market is.”

In Powell’s “Sneakernomics” article he wrote, “very quickly the sneakerhead world went from collecting for fun to profiteering [. . .] Sneakerheads have always sold and traded their shoes, but never to this degree and intensity.”