The shoe industry has boomed in recent years, with Sneakerheads filling up their inventory of fresh shoes everyday. A sneakerhead is a person who collects sneakers as a hobby. According to Rob Lammle, former sneakerhead, sneaker collecting started in the late 1970’s as part of the evolution of the hip-hop movement of New York City. The evolution was a result of many celebrities wearing sneakers from retailers such as Jordan, Nike, and Adidas. Celebrities wore these sneakers because they were easily customizable. They could be easily customized either by color coordinating laces to match an outfit, or by filling in the swoosh logo by Nike with a magic marker. As a result, the shoe industry has constantly been growing.

When shoe companies noticed the constant exponential growth, manufactures started producing limited edition “colorways,” a term used to describe unique, special-colored shoes that cost more and are limited in production. Today, just about every major shoe manufacturer offers limited edition colorways. Nike has really expanded this the concept with lines like the Dunk and the Air Force 1, which are produced almost exclusively as limited editions. These limited edition kicks would go in production for a couple days and then they’d stop making them. Therefore, limited edition shoes become extremely rare after the production ended.

Sneakerheads will take advantage and sell limited edition shoes for a greater price compared to the manufacturer. If the limited edition Air Force 1 is in production, then the sneakerhead will buy it quickly in order to sell the shoe on eBay to get almost twice its retail price after the production ended. Since sneakerheads love new releases, they use that selling method to gain more money for upcoming shoes. Some sneaker heads would do this because their main goal is to see the shoe and wear it maybe once or twice. In the Upper School Spanish teacher, Dr. Anthou, is also a sneakerhead. He likes to buy very rare sneakers and then sell them for more money.

Sneakerheads look for high quality sneakers that are not like your quintessential Nike free runs, which are running shoes for the Average Joe. Manufacturers such as Nike will take advantage and purposely make the prices of limited edition shoes higher than the retail price. Therefore, sneakerheads have to save their money for wise purchases. Young sneakerheads will save up and work hard for any shoe they want, which is a good and bad thing. It allows kids to understand how hard it is to make money.

You can ask Jerry Zhang about how hard it is to support his hobby. He has spent four to five thousand dollars on 27 pairs of sneakers. Zhang’s shoes mainly consist of a combination of Nike and Jordan shoes. He even has the new and exclusive Jordan Retro 11 and AJ Futures. These shoes typically are around $400 to $500 dollars. Jerry said, ” I spend a lot of money because I love shoes.” In the eyes of sneakerheads, the price is less important than the actual appearance of the shoe.

Sneakerheads have been stunned many critics, whether it be for their hard work or the determination to get the shoe. According to David Astramskas from ballislife.com, many critics say that sneakerheads are boys who are dangerously affected by the obsession to buy shoes that are overpriced. In some opinions, though, a sneaker is art that is to be demonstrated on the human foot. The shoe developers use different symbols, patterns and materials to convey the elegance of a particular shoe.

Luxurious materials, such as leather, can bring out the “art” of a sneaker. Sneakerheads are the promoters of the art of shoes. Without sneakerheads, none of your favorite shoe stores would be open. Stores like Nike, Footlocker, Eastbay, and Adidas would be lost without them. With unrivaled commitment and hard work comes a life-time reward: an artistic hobby that will only grow in the future.