Sneakers: A Way of Life

Sneakers. To the majority of the world’s population, it’s simply an article of clothing that you put on your feet to protect you from the elements. To us, you could say it’s a way of life. If you’ve stumbled upon this article, you most likely have a keen interest in sneakers. You may consider yourself a sneakerhead and even part of the sneaker community. Depending on how long you’ve been doing this “sneaker” thing, all this may seem normal to you, but how normal is it? 

What many of us fail to realize is that being a sneakerhead (the type that buys lots of sneakers) is not normal. The next time you’re out doing your thing, whether it be at the grocery store or at the movies, take a look at the feet of the people around you. More often than not, you’re going to come across people wearing sneakers that are not considered relevant, modern or even “cool” to us.

Reason being, the majority of these people couldn't care less about the type of sneakers they wear. Take for example last night when I went out to eat, I kid you not, I saw more people rocking those Roshe Run look alikes that are sold in Walmart for $9.98, than any other type of shoe. Do you think these people know what elephant print is? What about an Off-White collab? You think they know the significance behind the Air Jordan 1 High Shattered Backboard? 

We're pretty certain they have no idea what an adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 is either. What I’m trying to say here is that the sneaker community that sneaker fans take part in is a whole lot smaller than we think. The things and facts about sneakers and sneaker stores that we deem as important, is insignificant to the majority of the world.

To people on the outside looking in, the Air Jordan 3 White Cement and the Air Jordan 3 Katrina is the same exact shoe. To us, we know that both of those releases are two completely different shoes with two different back stories that make them special in their own significant way. Many people find it weird to own 25 different colorways of the Air Jordan 1. To us, every single one of those colorways hold a very special place in our collection. I mean, come on, we all know Black Toes, Bred Toes, Breds and Chicagos are NOT the same shoe, but they’re all  must-haves, right? Ha!

What makes the sneaker culture so dope is the unique connection we are able to have with sneakers. Every single one of us relates to sneakers in our own separate way for our own different reason. Although a big portion of us got into sneakers because we all wanted to be like Mike when we were growing up, there are also plenty of other reasons as to why people got into collecting sneakers. 

Maybe you loved RUN DMC and the way they rocked the adidas Superstar back in the day. Or maybe you thought those auto-lacing shoes that Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future: Part 2 were the coolest things ever. Whatever your reason is for being a part of the sneaker culture, it gives you a sense of belonging to something you deem as important and cool in your life. 

Sneaker culture has definitely gone mainstream over the past few years. Sneakers are the “cool” thing to get into nowadays (hi, Kylie Jenner). But just like any other trend, the ones who got into them because it was the “cool” thing to do, will eventually wander off to whatever is trending next. As for the rest of us, the ones who truly love the kicks, sneakers will remain a way of life for the foreseeable future.