Personal Value in Interviewing My Subjects, I Found That, Like Myself, Many Men Have Personal Connections to Sneakers As Well As
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Personal Value In interviewing my subjects, I found that, like myself, many men have personal connections to sneakers as well as the culture that surrounds the sneaker industry. While the fashion aspect is a large part of sneaker collecting, for some collectors it is much more than just style that draws them to not only a specific shoe, but to the entirety of the culture as well. I came to realize that for many of the men whom I interviewed, style was not at the forefront of their purchasing decisions. The ideals and values varied between participants including beliefs such as, “It’s a simple flex. And it’s not too over the top, like you’re not wearing a Gucci jacket or something. Its just a pair of sneakers… that probably cost as much as someone’s paycheck.” Or “I started to get into shoes at a really young age and have carried that with me, I think one of the really interesting things about guys and fashion; about athletic shoes in particular [is] it does serve as kind of an interesting indicator about who that person is, before you even really hear them speak.” The men whom I interviewed all had their own reasons for getting involved in sneaker culture. However, what I found interesting is that more often than not, what drew men to sneakers and to the sneaker community was family. For some it was a family member that first introduced them to sneaker culture such as Subject 5, who recalls how he was introduced to the industry. “It really started early with my mom. She would get me all the Jordan’s that would come out when I was younger, as well as… my two younger sisters at the time, so we would all have the matching Jordan’s.” Similarly it was Subject 3’s parents who first introduced him to high end sneaker’s at young age, some of which he still has. “Michael Jordan was my favorite player growing up and of course everybody knows Jordan’s, so probably I think I had my first pair of Jordan’s when I was little, like 1, 2 or 3. I think I was a one year old when I got my first pair of Jordan’s. I still have them, and I hang them up on my rear-view mirror in my car.” Sneaker collecting, like many hobbies, draws people together to form a community and is something that people want to share with one another, including family members. Rather than learning the ideals of being a sneakerhead from his parents, Subject 1 is the one who is now passing the culture down to his son; Something that he says has become much more special than collecting for himself. “So, people's heads explode when they come by and visit about how many shoes [my son] has, and of course he doesn't care, he’s a toddler. But I'm trying to instill these values early on… and it's kind of our thing. So, I'm able to channel the sneaker culture… and I'm not only selfishly thinking about scoring some for me, but I’m thinking its gonna look even better for him.” Being able to share his love for sneakers with his son is important for Subject 1. It is both a way to connect with his son and also way to satisfy his hobby unselfishly. Subject 1 is growing the culture by sharing with his son at an early age, but he also finds himself sharing his love for sneakers with strangers as well, even if involuntarily; “But, again, I talked about when somebody who's wearing like, my favorite style that I have this instant bond. I find that, you know, if somebody is wearing like generic shoes that might be an indicator of sort of a lack of creativity.” As Sneakerheads walk through life they are constantly looking down and observing and analyzing what passersby have on their feet. Subject 2 says, “It’s an easy thing to look at. For me I just stare at peoples feet all the time walking around New York.” This is one of the outside influences that Subject 2 places value on, which is one of the reasons he believes that he and many other may be interested in sneakers outside of them just being fashionable. He says, “I guess its just if you’re wearing something loud on your feet that’s the first thing someone notices. When I wear my Sean Wotherspoon’s I guess it’s like statement, I don’t know.” Subject 2 admits that sometimes it feels good to be noticed, which may influence some sneakerheads purchasing decision, but also adds that it is also a bit of the problem in the culture. He comments “That’s why hypebeasts is such a big thing right now for kids. It’s a way to prove they’re rich. People just waste so much money to look the part.” Though his opinion may differ from others involved in sneaker culture, Subject 2 raises a valid point pertaining to the sneaker industry. While the personal value may be what drives many purchases, monetary value always lurks in the background of the sneaker industry. However, lately with prices skyrocketing due to resellers, the monetary aspect of collecting and the sneaker industry has become a larger discussion. Monetary Value Behind every sneaker collection is thousands of hard-earned dollars that were spent to grow the collection from one shoe up to over 70 for some of my interview subjects. Sneaker collecting is not an inexpensive hobby. Most popular releases are a minimum of $150 and that is before they enter the resell market where shoes can reach prices up to $2000 for a single pair. When it comes to purchasing sneakers, my subjects had different opinions in what they were comfortable spending on shoes or how often they were buying new pairs. For example, Subject 5 is currently purchasing more pairs now than he has in the past. “I’m probably getting, right now, I would say about 4 pair a month. I’ve been really getting back into to lately. Making sure my shoes are top notch.” While Subject 6 on the other hand has been trying to cut back his spending. “I think like, two years ago, maybe a year ago, I was buying maybe a pair month or two pairs a month and that like just kind of drained my bank account because I started going from like buying $100 shoes to like $220 every drop… but I think this month actually, is kind of my breaking point. Because I started having some more financial responsibilities. I’ve got like house payments, got all my utilities and things like that going on. Trying to save up some money. And I think last month I bought three pairs of shoes and I'm kind of sick with myself. So I'm going to cut it off for a while.” The sneakers that the subjects I interviewed purchase are not by any means necessities. That being said they often convince themselves to make purchases, even when the money may not be available. Subject 5 states, “I might move a couple coins here and there depending on the release and depending on how exclusive it is. I’ll move a few dollars around to make sure I got those.” Subject 1 on the other hand is at an age where he no longer prioritizes purchases and therefore is not moving money around in order to buy sneakers. “For me the last 10 years of being a sneakerhead has just meant making sacrifices… we've got some big thing that we're really saving for; a big family vacation. [It is] not really fair to my wife, who also works, and she saves and she doesn't have a shoe addiction like a I do.” He mentions that there are plenty of releases that he has had restrain himself from buying because the money was not available for shoes at the time. That being said, there are still shoes that when they release, he will be sure to have the money for. One of his favorite shoes is being re-released in May of 2019 and he will be purchasing hopefully more than one pair for himself as well as his children, as he did with a release in early 2018 which cost him over $1000. While many men are losing money on sneakers, there also plenty who are finding ways to make money in the sneaker industry as resellers. When we spoke, Subject 1 alluded to the battle in the sneaker industry between the collectors and the resellers who are driving the aftermarket prices of shoes. He mentions that it can be frustrating having to purchase at extremely higher prices than the original, but he can also see why the resellers continue to sell. If collectors are willing to pay, he can not fault resellers for trying to make as much money as they can. Subject 2 falls on both sides of the collector vs seller debate because selling is what originally introduced him into collecting high-end sneakers. In our discussion he reflected on the moment he realized he wanted to be not only seller, but also a collector; “I couldn’t make any money at the time because I couldn’t work, but I realized this was an easy way to make money. At first that’s literally what it was, but then my first pair of Zebras came in and I was like oh fuck… so I put them on my feet and looked down and I was like oh my god… then 11 more came in! and I was like oh shit.