Every story has a beginning, and that’s as true for sneakerheads as anyone. We all have that special shoe that transcended just being protection for our feet and earned our appreciation on a higher level. Maybe we actually got that sneaker, or maybe we didn’t, but it was a catalyst for a passion that’s stuck with us ever since.
While many have fallen in love with sneakers after that first connection and chosen to embrace it as hobby, some have even turned it into something they’re actually known for. We spoke to notable sneaker personalities for the first installment in a new series where we explore the sneakers that got us started.
Every story has a beginning, and that’s as true for sneakerheads as anyone. We all have that special shoe that transcended just being protection for our feet and earned our appreciation on a higher level. Maybe we actually got that sneaker, or maybe we didn’t, but it was a catalyst for a passion that’s stuck with us ever since.
While many have fallen in love with sneakers after that first connection and chosen to embrace it as hobby, some have even turned it into something they’re actually known for. We spoke to notable sneaker personalities for the first installment in a new series where we explore the sneakers that got us started.
DJ Clark Kent
Instagram: djclarkkent
What was that first sneaker that you felt connected to?
Pro-Keds Royal Hi.
What kind of connection did you make with that sneaker and why?
Well the emotional connection, it didn’t necessarily start with Pro-Keds. It was about having something that automatically made you feel like you were fresh. The reason why is because the older guys had it. If the older guys had it, and I had it, and they were fresh—we wanted to be like them. When I grew up and went through is not what these kids right now are going through. They’re trying to get sneakers to be the first one. You know, the guy that showed it on the ‘Gram first. I want sneakers to be fresh. That’s it. I don’t really care who has them first as long as I get them.
How has that sneaker connection influenced all the sneakers you’ve bought up to this point?
I think the way it impacted me, it made me respect the thought of spending money. It made me know, because I was buying it for myself, to make sure I was buying something that I like. Let’s just say 10 pairs of shoes come out on a Saturday, and I don’t like any of those shoes, I’m not the guy that’s going to buy a pair of shoes with the 10 pairs that came out on Saturday. I’m going to buy shoes that I like. So a bunch of Saturdays will go by and I won’t care. So it was, “pay attention to what you’re buying so you could make sure you wanna wear them as much as possible.”
How has this helped you in other aspects in life?
I think the value or the way you learn to approach things can easily transition from one thing to the next. I would say all of it helped each other. I won’t do a deal if I don’t like the artist. I won’t buy a car if I don’t like the car. I won’t design a shoe if I don’t actually like the shoe I’m designing. I’m not a bandwagon guy. For everything that I do, I gotta like it.
Jay Corbin
Instagram: sneakersensei
What was that first sneaker that you felt connected to?
Air Jordan 5 "Fire Red."
What kind of connection did you make with that sneaker and why?
I had an emotional connection to it because it was like my training wheels were off. I went to Foot Locker and copped it all by myself. So when I got the Jordan 5 it was at a premium where this is one of the few shoes I’m not even going to open. “I’m not even going to hoop in this shoe because I paid for it with my money. It’s going to be a lifestyle shoe.” Even though I knew damn well it was made for basketball.
How has that sneaker connection influenced all the sneakers you’ve bought up to this point?
First of all, it showed about the Jordan 5. I wanted to know about it. I emulated Mike on the court. It was tough for me because here I am with my prized possession, a pair of Jordan 5s, but I’m a diehard Knicks fan and Michael was torching the Knicks. It was the '90s so I felt mixed emotions. From the whole sneaker point, it’s just that I really got into the storytelling of the shoes that were coming out, looking into them, and finding that it was patterned after a 1946 Mustang Fighter Plane. That shit grabbed me because it was like now a story is being told through shoes that connected us to that player. The Jordan 5 kind of opened my eye to that expense of so much money, to take care of them, look at them, and know about them, and to want more.
How this helped you in other aspects in life?
Well the sneaker, which all starts with the Jordan 5, is something I had a passion for, and turned into something that you share. That turned into business. I make good money off of that. It pays. I do it because I love it, but why not turn it into something you can make money off of? My career at ESPN was largely based off my knowledge of footwear. ESPN saw where footwear was going and they needed somebody that was an expert at it. They considered me a historian. I was able to pay my mortgage off of my knowledge of sneakers.
Kenny Gonzales
Instagram: the_perfect_pair
What was that first sneaker sneaker you felt connected to?
Adidas Superstar.
What kind of connection did you make with that sneaker and why?
Honestly it wasn’t a pair of Jordans or anything like that. With my own money, the first pair of shoes I bought was a pair of Adidas Superstars. I was heavy into b-boying at the time. Not really underground, but heavy into Boogie Boys. So a lot of pop it, lock it, a lot of waving—stuff like that. We called it electric boogaloo. That’s what I was doing. I remember buying a lot of those shoes with my brother.
How has that sneaker connection influenced all the sneakers you’ve bought up to this point?
The impact was coming from the fact that all these kids wearing this shoe makes me fresh, doing all these different styles with the shoe. You see a lot of these kids lay out outfits and all this stuff today, well that was us back in the day that actually put it on. Then you had to go out to the club and then you were considered fresh. So that’s my thing—get fresh ‘ta death. These kids from today, there’s a big difference. Huge difference. The social media thing makes it very easy for them to be able to be this fresh person.
How has this helped you in other aspects in life?
It definitely brought a lot of people together to make a lot positive impact in my life. It’s easy to say that a sneaker can do that, but when you have certain people all rocking the same shoes and all, kind of pushing the same views, then you know of course it’s going to be an impactful thing. I can definitely say that growing up very positively in the impact of hip-hop and the impact of real hip-hop with the days of AfrikaBambaataa, and the real days of this culture coming up. Then you have Run DMC. Growing up like that is what makes that shoe be able to be so dear to the heart. That’s how I look at it. I’m telling you straight from the heart, and it’s tattooed on my right leg. That shoe is so iconic for me, and that’s what a lot of people I don't think understand.
Qias Omar
Instagram: qiasomar
What was that first sneaker sneaker you felt connected to?
Air Jordan 12 “Cherry.”
What kind of connection did you make with that sneaker and why?
At the time I didn’t really know anything about it. I just knew that since my sister got the shoe, I wanted to get the shoe. I think the Cherry 12 has always been that special sneaker to me, and it’s not even my favorite Jordan. Then there is another sneaker that really kind of means a lot to me actually, that I’d always wanted and then I was finally able to purchase it myself—the platinum Yeezy 2s. I bought it for myself for my birthday. It was a birthday present to myself, kind of like, “Alright you’re working hard, you’re a big Kanye fan, this is your first big Yeezy ever that you’re going to buy.” So that was the first Yeezy that I bought, and now two years later I have almost every single Yeezy from Adidas. If I really had to pick between two sneakers that mean the most to me it is the Jordan 12, because it was my first one, and the Yeezy 2.
How has that sneaker connection influenced all the sneakers you’ve bought up to this point?
It’s made me love 12s. The 12s are second favorite Jordan. I try to get every colorway I can when they release. So it affected it like that. I get very selective when I get other Jordans. I’m a 1s guy, so it’s either a Jordan 1 or a Jordan 12, and occasionally it’ll be something else—like if an OVO comes out or something like that. I like those types of sneakers.
How this helped you in other aspects in life?
Shoes in general have done a lot for me and for my career the past year. My whole YouTube thing exploded after I threw in sneakers. My audience tripled, so I do owe a lot to sneakers. It definitely does go back to that beginning of a being a sneakerhead—just having that first Jordan to be the one that started it all for me. So it’s always been a passion and finally being able to make that into a career is just like a dream come true pretty much.
Jaysse Lopez
Instagram: twojskicks
What was that first sneaker sneaker you felt connected to?
Air Jordan 3 “Black Cement.”
What kind of connection did you make with that sneaker and why?
Growing up in Jersey, we didn’t have much. I grew up in real small town, Perth Amboy. I grew up in a really bad time and in a real bad era. The only positive I had was that shoe and just some of my friends that had that shoe that are no longer here. It brings back a lot of childhood memories, and a simpler time in my life.
How has that sneaker connection influenced all the sneakers you’ve bought up to this point?
I’ve always been into runners. I’m runners before anything. I’ve gone through phases where I’m like all "Jordan’d out” and I just get rid of them. I always go back to runners. I’ve always got Air Max 90 "Infrareds" in the arsenal. You can never go wrong with an Infrared. That matches everything, you know what I mean?
How this helped you in other aspects in life?
Shoes have always kept me grounded. I see the emotional attachment some people have to the shoe culture in general. The one thing that leaves through the shop that I’ve noticed is that most of the hardcore collectors, the sneaker enthusiasts that live and breathe sneakers, are always on social media checking what’s dropped and what’s happening—those people normally come from good family values. They're the type of people that would give you their shirt off their back. It comes back to the sneaker because that’s what we all have in common, that passion for sneakers. There’s some shoes that drop that some people can’t afford and justify, or aren’t in a position to have. That’s helped me basically look at my business and figure out creative ways to give this stuff away. It’s just trying find ways to give it back and help those people that don’t have. Give Average Joe a chance to get what Average Joe shouldn’t technically have.
Erika Schaefer
Instagram: gimme2pairs
What was that first sneaker sneaker you felt connected to?
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star.
What kind of connection did you make with that sneaker and why?
My grandpa got that Converse. I have pictures of him way back in the day with Chucks on. A lot of people say I take a lot of creative traits from my grandfather. I got to see him wear them, but then be able to have his shoe and people are like, “You know you remind me so much of grandpa,” who I was super close with. The Converse meant a lot. It’s kind of like, I’m from Cleveland and my grandfather is from New York, so even when I couldn’t see him I always had Chucks on my feet. It’d remind me that he was always with me.
How has that sneaker connection influenced all the sneakers you’ve bought up to this point?
The Chucks were always one of the classics that are simple to throw on. You don’t care if you trash them because they’ve been around forever. I definitely keep them in stock. But all these shoes I’ve had that collected meaning up to this point started with the Chuck. It’s kind of kept growing from there. I never forgot or abandoned them. They’re still in rotation, but everything is kind of just selective based out of my mood, or what I have a taste for.
How this helped you in other aspects in life?
I would say in business and friendships. The sneakers is like, we all have something in common, but it’s so much more than that. The people you meet because of the common interest is amazing. I’ve met people all over the country just because of shoes. I’ve built great friendships and relationships from it. It all comes down to the shoe. Some of my best friends are because of just doing business through sneakers, or being at release parties. I’ve met so many talented people too.