The Sneakerhead Dilemma

     During my teenage years, I joined the booming sneaker market and purchased many different Jordan and basketball shoes. If I had to guess, I have probably bought over a hundred pairs of sneakers. With most sneakers being over a hundred bucks, that means in my lifetime I’ve probably spent at least $10,000 on shoes. Looking back this looks ridiculous but to this day I still have a love for good-looking sneakers. With my sneakerhead experience, I have many regrets but I’m sure I will continue to buy sneakers during college and after.

    So one of my main regrets about buying sneakers is the waste of money. Most people probably think I mean wasting money on things you wear on your feet, but in reality, I am talking about selling all of my sneakers. I went from buying over a hundred pairs to having only four and a pair of slides. I had countless interests growing up and whenever I needed money to buy something, I would always just sell a pair of sneakers I didn’t wear as much as the others. The problem with that is that sneakers are like cars, as soon as you start using them the value depreciates. Basically, I was buying shoes at about a hundred bucks, wearing them for a month or two, and then selling them for $50 if I was lucky. Not the best concept and that’s coming from a business major. 

    The crazy thing is, I still consider myself a sneakerhead and one of my life goals is to buy all the shoes I sold so I don’t feel like such an idiot. This plan is probably stupid too but at least I can look at them and recollect on my past. I think the reason I developed a love for sneakers is the props you get for wearing a fresh pair. You may be the ugliest or weirdest kid in school but you come in wearing a new pair of jordans peoples eyes are gonna turn. As a guy, I don’t receive many compliments during the day but one of my favorite feelings in the world was having a cool kid say “I like your shoes.” While that probably started my sneakerhead journey, I actually developed an interest in the art involved and the history of certain shoes. From Michael Jordan’s banned colorways to Kyries Spongebob-themed basketball shoes, I became fascinated with the sneaker culture. 

    Overall my sneaker journey has taught me a lot about spending money wisely but I’m sure in the future I will continue to purchase sneakers. Below is a collage of all the sneakers I have owned in the past or at least the ones I can remember.