Sneaker mania slips into collecting trend

By Katherine Nguyen
Knight Ridder News Service

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Jeepers, peepers where d'ya get those sneakers? THEY'VE GOT SOLE: THE ORIGINATORS Chuck Taylors/Converse Nike Air Jordans Adidas Shelltoes Nike Air Force Ones Nike Air Max 95s CURRENTLY HOT Air Jordan II's Dunks Air Force Ones HOT, COMING YOUR WAY Jordan 19s: black/red, June Jordan IV's: September Jordan I's: White low-top inspired by Dunks, June. Carhart Dunks: June Lucky and Unlucky Dunks: Lucky gold shoe, number 7 stitched on side, high-top. 777 pairs. Unlucky, black with red. No. 13. Sources: Blends, Undefeated, Sole Collector

The fear of getting them marred by creases or dirt keeps the footwear tucked safely away in neat stacks of shoeboxes. Once in a great while, if Hsieh really likes a certain kind, like the Nike Air Jordans, he'll buy a few extra pairs so he can actually wear them.

There are names for people like Hsieh: "Sneakerhead" and "sneakerfreak" are handy labels given to the modest but ever-growing community of avid sneaker collectors.

Much of it started with Michael Jordan when Nike began creating sneakers for the basketball legend, a new model each year of his 19-year NBA career.

It all started two years ago for Hsieh when his dad bought him two pairs of Air Jordans.

"I really loved the shoes and liked having two pairs side-by-side in their boxes, so I just kept going," the 26-year old Irvine resident said. "Within seven days, I bought 24 pairs of sneakers."

The addiction has been costly. Hsieh, a student at Cal Poly Pomona, in Pomona, Calif., said he's plunked down an estimated $20,000 to build his beloved Nike sneaker collection, much of it on credit. "My credit card blew up, I think," he says, shaking his head. "I don't know how to stop."

His most expensive sneakers are $1,400 Paris Nike Dunks that he scored two months ago from a seller in Britain. Recently, Hsieh returned from a trip to Taiwan, where he purchased 20 more pairs of sneakers, which will bring him to his goal of owning 200 pairs by the end of summer.

"This is what's interesting about this generation of sneaker collectors," said Scott Tufts, who writes for Sole Collector, a magazine dedicated to all things sneaker-related. "Back when we were younger, of course, we didn't think about collecting the sneakers we loved; we just wore them. For the first time, we're seeing people buying a lot of sneakers just for the sake of collecting them and not wearing them."

Not every sneaker lover shares Hsieh's sentiment. Eli Reyes, 23, has a different philosophy on his collection of 150 sneakers: "Shoes are meant to be worn."

For Reyes, who lives in Fountain Valley, Calif., the Holy Grail came in the second grade while watching a playoff game.

"I remember watching MJ play against Cleveland, and he hit a shot over Craig Ehlo to make it to the next playoff round and I remember he was wearing the white cement Jordan IVs," said Reyes, who works in marketing. "Seeing certain shoes like that now brings back a lot of great memories for me."

That kind of nostalgia has sparked a trend in rereleasing old sneaker editions. In the past two years, sneaker mania kicked its way to the mainstream thanks to celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, who regularly sports Nike gear on his hit MTV show "Punk'd," and rap stars like Jay-Z, who has his own shoe with Reebok and can be seen wearing Adidas in his latest music video. Rapper Nelly even dished out a song called "Air Force Ones" in 2002. Much of the current sneaker buzz is kept alive online at message boards like niketalk.com and instyleshoes.com, where some 10,000 sneaker collectors gather to discuss the latest kicks and share tips on where to buy.

There are also underground sneaker parties, sneaker-zines and, soon, documentaries to highlight the sneaker culture.

The demand has also created a different kind of collector, who resells the shoes at a much higher value for profit. There are dozens of listings on eBay, from vintage 1985 Air Jordans going for $1,000 to sample sneakers never released to the public for $3,000. The recently released Hemp Dunks were auctioned for more than three times their original price.

"Everybody wants what few others can have," said Alex Wang, creative director of Sole Collector. "The exclusivity is what a lot of collectors thrive on. There's this sense of pride, like, 'I have this. You don't.' "

Wang should know. As one of the best-known sneakerheads around, Wang, aka Retrokid, has gained notoriety for his estimated 500 pairs of rare sneakers. He admits he enjoys seeing the shock on people's faces when they recognize certain pairs he wears out.

When asked how much money he's spent in the past 10 years on sneakers, Wang laughs and mumbles, "Maybe about a condo's worth." Wang will appear in the "Sneakerheads" documentary.

"People might think it's odd to collect shoes, like it's a freaky fetish or something, but to those people who ask why, I say: why not?" said Wang, 27. "I mean, what about the people who collect rocks, China sets and dolls? To each his own."