Sneakers. People mindlessly put them on in the morning. Slipping on pre-tied, scuffed-up tennis shoes is such a no-brainer, it’s not even given a second thought.
For a select few, however, deciding what shoe to wear is no easy task. With bedrooms and basements lined with boxes of collector kicks, selecting and wearing these shoes takes time and dedication, with a side of craziness.
These people that ride or die by their shoes are called Sneakerheads.
Junior Avarie Simpson has 47 pairs of shoes and sophomore Jaiden Tatum has around 20. Their collections together are worth upwards of $8,000.
They inherited the drive for shoes from their parents who also collect. Simpson and his mother connect through shoes.
“We share a bond and we go shopping for shoes,” Simpson said.
Other people find their sneaker inspiration by looking up to their idols.
Junior James Smith III has 68 pairs of shoes that are valued over $15,000. He gets his inspiration from the athletes he admires.
“I see them wearing them, and then I have a good idea of what I want to wear,” Smith said.
Smith and Tatum collect only Jordans, and focus mainly on the earlier shoes. Jordans are labelled by number. The lower the number, the earlier from Jordan’s career.
“His [Jordan’s] collection goes to 34 or 35. I typically stay in the lower numbers. 1 to 13 are the retros that I go for, the shoes from when he first started out. The originals,” Smith said.
Junior Livia Dietrichson collects Nike shoes. She has 15 pairs, and has a collection worth about $1,500. She looks to Instagrammers for both fashion and shoe inspiration.
She doesn’t buy shoes to impress anyone, but believes that her outfits benefit multifold from having options within her shoes.
“[The shoes] just complete everything,” Dietrichson said.
Personal preference propels the selection and use of shoes. Someone walking by a pair of shoes in Foot Locker or scrolling on StockX might not give them a second glance, but the next person might buy them in a heartbeat.
“I want the shoes that make me say, ‘Ooh, that’s dope. I want those shoes,’” Simpson said.
Because teenagers’ feet are still growing, a shoe that fit last year might not fit this year. What to do with these shoes is up to every person.
“Last year I was a size 9 and this year I’m a size 11, so I plan on donating my older shoes,” Simpson said.
Some people wear or buy shoes in order to fit in, but for Simpson, it’s the opposite.
“I like to be different. That’s the good thing about shoes, you can be as different as you want,” Simpson said.
