If you are real a sneakerhead, I'm sure you know that the first pair of sneakers you buy is unique. Sneakers have always been significant to me, but as a child I was broke so I only got what I could afford, anything from Walmart Shaq's to DC's at local outlets. I was 17 when I got my first pair of Air Jordan sneakers, something I wanted for a long time. I researched for hours online, looking for the best deal and for the retro pair that suited me the most. Finally, I came across a pair of the Air Jordan 1 "Highlight Reel" on Kixify for $100 CAD. These joints weren't even brand new, but they were cheap for a fire colour way. Without hesitation I bought them, anxiously waiting for them to arrive in the mail. After a few weeks, the sneakers finally came and I ripped the box open to see what was inside. I wore them right out of the box, just to flex on the guys at school. I was so focused on flexing them at school that I didn't even check if they were authentic; fake will get you roasted. If you don't believe me watch the TV show Atlanta, Donald Glover presents a great example of what transpires when you wear fake FUBU in High School. During that episode Earn attempts to justify that the FUBU shirt was authentic. It may seem funny at first but for teenagers fake clothing was seen as being poor while the authentic represented something desirable and popular; both for the clothing and the individual. As a result, Earn wanted to perceived as someone cool by his peers and would even step over his own peers to achieve his goal.
Traumatic experiences with footwear
Before Wearing the sneakers I enjoy now, I wore some very cool and questionable sneakers,. I was a risk taker with my own style, those risks resulted in either my peers loving my shoes or roasting me for it everyday. From Walmart's "Shaq'" to Nike Dunks, I've seen it all. My most traumatic experience was wearing this pair of white boots When I was in Grade 7. When I bought these boots I thought they were awesome, fully white pair of winter boots that no one would have. However, I made one wrong assumption about the boots, everyone else thought they were women's boots. I didn't even think that gender roles and colour could be applied to boots but here we are. At the time it was something I could even conceptualize but my friends were making fun of me for it. Like calling me out everyday for wearing "girs" boots. Even my dad thought the boots were designed for girls. (my mom was the only rational person at the time). Inevitably I wore the boots for maybe 2 weeks before I started hiding them in my Backpack. Next year my dad got me some grey Lugz Boots which everyone at school loved, I carried on as if the white boots never existed.
Fast forward to today, I stand firm on buying what I like even if it is not liked by another individual. As I've gone through life, a various amount of experiences affected not only my interests but my consuming interests. I now think about the ethics of sneakers and how they are being constructed, what a company stands for, and ultimately if that sneaker is good enough for me to represent on my feet. I still own Nikes and Jordan, but they don't have the same grasp on me as they used it. 6 years ago everyone was wearing Adidas Yeezy 350's but do to recent remarks Yeezy's don't even circulate in the media. Adidas cancelled the partnership with Kanye and took the Yeezy branding off the remaining shoes they had. However, what would happen if someone like Phil Knight, Co-founder of Nike was Racist? I'm using this example because Nike is the most notable sports brand in the world, being the clothing providers for numerous sports leagues, athletes, and notable figures. Alone They dominate the market share for sports goods and apparel. Yeezy was cancelled because it was attainable, Would cancel culture work on a global corporation like Nike? Would you stop wearing Nike sneakers or continue to wear them without remorse.? No Phil Knight isn't racist I'm just making a point. Just remember, when you wear a brand it shows others you support what the company stand for; stay educated on your favorite brands my friends.
Anyways, I still own the Jordan 1 "Highlight Reels" today, though they are now at beater status, I'll use the sneakers for anything now. Check out the photos below, tell me if you think they are real, but I could care less about them being authentic now.
Authentic
My Pair
What Happened to the Sneakers?
After wearing these sneakers for almost 10 years they are finally falling apart. The outsole is falling apart, the leather is ripping apart in the front and the just look unbearable in general. I have a lot of experiences with these shoes, they have been with me through all my journeys. From Highschool to University, these shoes have been with me for a good chunk of my life. If I went out somewhere these were always my go to pair. Though I'm not sure that I can still wear these shoes, I want to see if I can restore them to some extent and salvage them on a shelf. I know, I harbor a weird attachment to these sneakers, but it could be much worse in my opinion.
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