Toure 1

Badou Toure
Professor Intawiwat
ENG 111-25
October 19, 2016
Ethnography: Sneaker Culture

The sneaker culture is a very popular culture among teenagers, and

young adults. Well I should even include adults. The members of the sneaker
culture are known as sneakerheads, the cultures popularity rose in inner
cities, mostly New York city, and then spread throughout the whole world.
The first time the sneaker culture got some attention was at the release of a
collaboration between Nike and Staples (a streetwear brand from New York
city) it made headlines across the country. The sneaker culture has given
birth to other cultures such as, the streetwear culture, and many others. To a
sneakerhead sneakers are a way to express themselves. Its also pretty
costly hobby. A sneakerhead takes pride in the journey that led to them
getting a pair of shoes, the overnight waiting in front of a store in a cold
weather, traveling to other states, skipping school or work to make it to a
release, going to a public library to use multiple computers to be able to get
a better chance to get that online only release, and getting all your friends to
get you a raffle ticket to win a chance to buy a pair. They even have their
own vocabulary.

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The release that changed everything, on February 22, 2005 the
collaboration between Nike and staples released the Nike pigeon sb, only
150 pairs were released worldwide. During an interview for the documentary
sneakerheadz, Jeff Staple stated that hundreds of people camped outside
the store in NYC for 3 days straight, and on the release day when he came to
open the door there was a massive crowd of hundreds of people in front of
the store. A huge riot broke out so the cops were called, some people got
arrested. Customers were brought into the store one at a time and after
purchasing their pair they were able to leave throughout the backdoor,
where cabs were stationed to take the customers to their destinations
because many thugs were standing outside planning to rob whoever came
out the store with the shoes. The shoes retailed for $200, but now they resell
for $5000+. Yea, you can buy a car with the money. The Nike pigeon sb is
known as one of the most hyped shoes to ever release, not the most but one
of the most, which should let you wonder.
Being a sneakerhead is a pretty costly hobby for most, according to a
study by Complex Magazine on average each sneakerhead buys at least one
pair a month, and the Air Jordans are the most collected sneakers, they are
priced between $150 and $220 for retail. However, the retail price isnt the
problem, there is people who go to sneaker releases and buy as many pairs
as they can get their hands on, and that makes it difficult for the regular Joe
who simply wants to get a pair. The regular Joe is then forced to pay resale
price to get a pair from the reseller since the store sold out on the sneakers.

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The resell industry is worth millions billions of dollars, they even have resale
stores. The most famous resale store is flight club, they own stores in
multiple cities including NYC, LA, and Tokyo. According to a study by a
redditer who based his studies on eBay sneaker sales, he noticed that on
December 26, 2012 $7000 worth sneakers were sold on eBay, they were
mostly Air Jordans, so using that data we can assume that the total yearly
revenue of sneaker reselling alone is about $118 million. Brand new shoes or
as sneakerheads refer it to as deadstock sneakers are not the only
condition the sneakers can be sold in, sneakers are sold in any conditions.
Several months ago a destroyed Air Jordan 3 from 1988 was sold eBay for
$800. And vintage sneakers that can no longer be worn are sold pretty often
on eBay, They are mainly used for closet decorations
The sneaker culture and street wear culture have submerged over an
amount of time, because mostly members of the sneaker culture wore street
wear. Some of the popular street wear brands were skating brands, but due
to their collaborations with Nike theyve got many snakeheads wearing their
brands. Some of those brands are Supreme and Stussy. Long ago all the
sneakerheads cared about while putting an outfit together was the shoes,
but now things every aspect of the fit (outfit) matters. Many High End
designers have also made their mark in the sneaker industry with their
shoes, however, their brands got enough exposure for the sneakerheads to
buy their other products. Designers like Raf Simons, Yohji Yamamoto, Olivier

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Rousteing, Rick Owens, and Ricardo Tisci are the main High end Designers
who have made a major impact on the sneaker culture.
The sneaker culture started off as a New York thing, but with time it
spread worldwide mostly throughout hip-hop. Sneakerheads have a true
passion for sneakers, and that passion cannot go unacknowledged. The
culture has inspired many, including musicians, artist, and designers. The
culture has also helped bring many people from different fields together in
collaboration. The sneakers are what they use to express who they are in a
world where most things are the same.