Sneakerheads

What's on your feet? Have you ever seen or met anyone that always had an unusual choice of sneakers? You may have been blown away by the style, color, choice, or sometimes shape of the shoe. That is what we call a "sneakerhead," a person who collects/wears limited, rare, OG, or flat out exclusive kicks. It is often a hobby, or even considered an art form, for those that accumulate a collection of shoes initially made for sports-- such as skateboarding or basketball. Don't get it confused with a person who just buys alot of shoes because a true sneakerhead usually has a background knowledge of certain sneakers.

The birth of the sneakerhead culture in the United States came about in the 1980's thanks to basketball, the emergence of Michael Jordan and his Air Jordan line of shoes released in 1985, and of course, hip hop music and culture. With the growth of hip-hop music, this new era provided a subculture which gave sneakers their street credibility. Now, you can find information about sneakerheads all over the world with marketing from magazines, promotions from celebrities, and the growth of several popular brands into collectors items in the "sneakerhead" community. Companies such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas have all taken advantage of the industry interest with online retailers and shoe auctions. Some rare sneaker releases have collectors camping out for days just to get their hands on an exclusive pair of kicks to add to their collections.

As a sneakerhead myself, I have met many other collectors and shared stories of the now common art form. I have even been tweeted by Mark Farese, a very well known sneakerhead that goes by the name of "The Mayor." The Mayor is most famous for his extremely large collection of sneakers, mostly Nike Air Force Ones, and has been quoted to own as many as 1400 pairs of sneakers. He estimates his collection to be as much as $300,000. Now that's putting your money where your mouth is (lol). Farese's popularity in the sneakerhead community even gets him exclusive sneakers sent from Nike weeks before the actual release date. One thing about The Mayor is that he actually wears his sneakers and collects because of the love he has for a nice pair of kicks. People like Farese are among an equally exclusive group of collectors that have a passion about being a sneakerhead and keep the culture going.

There are many different people in the world, but we all have something about us that makes us fresh. Being a sneakerhead is one of the things that makes me fresh, and my love for kicks is one of the reasons I share the fresh life with each one of you. So I ask again, what's on your feet? Enjoy and stay fresh!!

The Mayor sitting at his thrown of his exclusive sneaker collection.