At the age of  11 I became intrigued with what other people were wearing on their feet. I started to become more interested in certain Jordans or Nike sneakers. At first I didn’t understand why people would want to pay $100 or $200 for shoes that only get dirty — and eventually thrown away — once they got too small or worn.

Then I began to do my research. I wanted to know why one pair of Nikes were worth that much money. I wanted to know the difference between Jordan 1’s, and Jordan 11’s, and what made them so fascinating. It was so much to learn that I became obsessed.

The more I learned about sneakers the more I wanted to expand my collection. Collecting sneakers, I came to understand, is more than just wearing them with the right outfit and having a new pair every week. Some sneakers have history to them. For example, the Nike Air Mags were worn by Michael J. Fox in the movie “Back to the Future II,” whose future segments were set in 2015. The Air Mags have power laces that adjust when you put the shoe on, and the laces tighten to fit your foot. Air Mags were actually released in 2015 to people with connections and money, like celebrities. The shoes sell for  about $10,000 today.  Flight Club were selling them for awhile until they ran out but you could check E-bay to see if anyone were selling the real Air Mags.

Unlike the Air Mags, however, most sneakers cost about $150 to $200, like Jordan 11’s I bought on December 20,2014. I woke up at about 3 a.m. to go with my cousin to the Next shoe store in Beachwood Mall to get the latest.
We were the first in line, and people with babies and children and their boyfriends and girlfriends started to file in after us.

After we waited for a couple hours, one of the employees came out and said we had to buy a ticket and do a raffle, because they weren’t expecting as many people to show up. We were upset; we were expecting to get the shoes first because we were the first ones in line. We still filled out the tickets and turned them in.

About almost an hour, store employees started calling names, and mine was the second one called. I was so nervous. I looked down at the other half of the ticket and yelled, “That’s my number!” I walked into the store, told them my size, and paid for the shoes. I was so thrilled, but ran out of the store after they were done with the raffle, to find out my cousin never got a pair.

Later that day, we ended up going to two other stores to see if they were still selling the shoes. She ended up getting some in a pair that were left over from the raffle at Vill in Garfield Heights.

I consider collecting different sneakers to be a nice hobby. In my free time, I can be found searching for the next big sneaker release, or looking up the latest in sneaker news. Now, I am not one who will buy every pair of Jordans or Kobes that come out, but if I know they have important history or are simply shoes I like, then I would put the date in my calendar and start saving up for them.

I have learned through my research and experience that sneakers are more than just a pair of $100 or $200 of shoes, they are like a lifestyle.

There’s a never-ending supply of sneakers and news about the next big pair coming out every day. The excitement of getting new sneakers never ends.