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[basketball bouncing]
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[from off camera] 3 - 2 - 1.
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What do you call someone who collects stamps?.
A philatelist or a stamp collector.
What do you call someone who collects coins?
A numismatist or a coin collector.
But what do you call someone who collects toasters?
Wait... People collect toasters?
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Man: There is some beautiful craftsmanship
in some of those toasters.
I'm Elijah Sandiford,
and today I'm going to talk to you about sneakerheads.
A sneakerhead is someone who collects, trades
and obsesses about sneakers.
You can like sneakers a lot but that doesn't necessarily
make you a sneakerhead.
I'm no expert but I wanted
to talk to a couple of sneakerheads who are.
Why are they so fascinated with sneakers?
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Elijah:
She's a sneakerhead from Orangeville, Ontario
and this is her sneaker collection.
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This is my room.
And this is kind of where my shoe collection started up.
I'm Malini. I am 14-years-old.
And I'm a sneakerhead.
These are my Jordans, my other pair of Jordans,
my Nikes and another pair of Nikes.
Sneakerhead is...
..someone who is passionate about shoes -
well, very passionate about shoes.
One time I sat down for two hours
cleaning two pairs of shoes with a toothbrush.
People use sneakers as a way to express themselves.
A lot of times you hear about a guy being sneakerhead
but I just think it's exciting to have
different pairs of shoes.
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Elijah:
an OG sneakerhead from Brampton, Ontario.
This is my closet right here.
As you can see, I got my custom shoe cabinet that was built.
I'm Jess Jacob and I'm a sneaker collector.
All these shoes behind me are shoes that I actually wear.
They represent me in some way and form.
Growing up I always had an eye for shoes
and as a kid I still remember many, many years ago,
I had my eyes on a pair of And 1s.
I still remember that moment.
Perceiving that shoe, how special it was.
It was like a dream come true
and that was when I was a kid.
If I could talk to 10-year-old me,
I would have told myself to get a job at a young age,
work hard as possible,
try to earn money so you can have a good savings
in your account and then go out and buy some shoes
that you really like.
Work hard. Play hard.
[laughs]
Sneaker culture began with a genius marketing idea.
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Elijah: Converse sneakers have been around since 1917,
but in 1921 things changed.
That's when in pro-basketball player Chuck Taylor
joined the Converse sales team.
Later, his name and signature
was added to the All-Star sneaker.
Just like that, Converse pioneered
the celebrity athlete endorsement.
Sneakerhead culture exploded in the 1980s and 90s
and that has a lot to do with
another iconic basketball player, Michael Jordan.
Elizabeth: When Michael Jordan and Nike team up,
it really does bring sneaker culture
to a much wider audience.
My name is Elizabeth Semmelhack,
I'm the Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum.
This is a place for people who are curious,
who are interested in why wear the shoes we wear
and have open minds.
One of the things that I'm actually trying to figure out
right now is when did Air Jordan start to get numbered.
The Air Jordan 1
means there is going to be an Air Jordan 2,
and an Air Jordan 3, and an Air Jordan 4.
Collecting shoes in series, getting the latest or rarest
drop is something that many people want
to have in their collections.
But that means that if you can get it first,
and you can trade it or sell it,
you're also doing a business move.
Elijah:
Every year thousands of sneakerheads gather
to buy, sell, trade, and check out
the freshest kicks in the culture.
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Hey guys, we finally made it to Sneaker Con.
Look at this place.
So is this your first time coming to Sneaker Con?
It's my second, it's his first.
It's my first.
I got NMD R1s, they're really nice.
I got them for a steal price.
How much?
I got it for $120.00.
And they retail like I'm pretty sure over $200.00.
Yeah.
Are you like a collector or like do you like wearing shoes?
I like to collect and wear,
but more expensive ones I wouldn't.
So I saw your friend who did a trade there
are you also doing some trades?
No, I'm just trying to buy stuff.
What is this shoe here you got?
Okay, so this is
a Yeezy Boost 700 box,
I got it signed today by Yeezy Busta and Blazendary.
I got on the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 creams.
I got them on the Yeezy Supply website.
So, they're actually pretty comfortable.
Do you like wearing shoes or are you just a collector?
A little bit of both. Yeah.
A Sneakerhead is usually a highly experienced
when distinguishing an authentic and a replica sneaker.
I guess you'd call them an expert.
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How do you guys know what's real and what's fake?
So, I'm a sneakerhead.
I own most of these sneakers here.
All of my co-workers are all sneakerheads as well.
It becomes like second nature,
if the shoe is a little bit off,
like we'll know about it.
Elijah:
Trust me
I've got 2-1 boxings for you, I've got custom order.
A pair of Air Mags.
Like, oh my, God, guys, you don't even understand.
I think these right here
are one of the hottest sneakers of fall 2018.
I've been coming to Sneaker Con
for the last five years,
I would say at this point
I started out as
one of the vendors around here.
You know, selling - trying to make, you know,
try to make a living out of it.
I was pretty young but that was the way I earned some money,
and eventually I just found myself into the world
of YouTube - trying to resell my pairs on YouTube.
What's your most expensive pair you have?
These right here.
Wow, how much did they cost?
$3300.00 and that's USD.
Now they go up to eleven thousand.
Wow, you made some major profit.
I did make some major profit, yeah.
Yo, man, these right here are the Spooky Off-Whites
Virgil, you know, collaboration with Nike blazers.
You know what I'm saying.
Have you ever camped out for a pair of shoes
you really wanted?
Hell yeah. It made lot of money.
Why not?
You go to a job, you're sitting at the job,
sitting at the job for hours, you get a little bit of money.
I sit overnight for like five hours.
I can make at least $1500 - $500.00.
Elijah:
in a tent to cop some Huaraches.
Yeah, it's not for everyone.
But if it's for you, you probably know by now.
All right, guys, that's it for Sneaker Con.
I'm Elijah Sandiford for
Peace.
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