so I just got this pair of shoes the other day and I was so excited and I started to think about
it these literally have zero value but I also started to think about it when you're a sneaker
head sometimes you just gotta buy the shoe so in today's video I'm going to be explaining to
you guys why sometimes it's okay to buy a pair of shoes that has zero resale value and if you didn't
know by now my name is DJ and this is the DNA show on this channel I love talking about sneakers and
especially giving you guys my insight on shoes over all the things I've learned over the past
15 plus years so if you haven't already consider subscribing and joining the fam we're on the road
to a million subscribers and you could be the next one to get us there so first things first
you have to have an understanding when you're purchasing a pair of shoes what is the goal
when you're buying the shoes are you buying the pair of shoes to flex are you buying a pair of
shoes to add another addition to your collection that's gonna complete a set of different things
are you buying it for everyday use are you buying it because you're trying to flip it and make some
extra money there's so many different reasons why people buy sneaker and I'm know in current time
as a lot of sneaker heads like to do they like to talk about the resale value and what the shoes are
worth and if they're able to buy it for retail or Below Retail and then resell it for more money and
what the value is all the things make the flip and do all you gotta yeah but there's a lot of
collectors out there that literally just want to have their pair of shoes for their Collections
and they may have a lot of memories behind that shoe that drives them to want to go after that
shoe again when it may retro or something like that and for those that don't know when a shoe
Retros basically in that sense it just means the shoe came out in the past they decided to
re-release it again years later and then they give the opportunity for people to buy that shoe again
and for us as sneaker heads we might have some type of childhood memory or something like that
with the original version and now we see the Retro version coming out you know 10-year anniversary
whatever it may be and you're like yo I'm an adult now I can afford it I want to add these
to my collection I have so many memories from the past this just makes so much sense I have to cut
the shoe and I think this is exactly where this pair falls into play right here I I used to have
these back in high school and I used to wear these as my foot was transitioning oh my bad you guys I
haven't shown the shoe yet maybe we should do that first uh we have a all-white Air Force One black
bottom black swoosh black sock liner very simple white and black colorway but why is this shoe so
important to me and why was I willing to take that l or whatever you may want to call it to have this
shoe and be able to add it into my collection because I know there's no resale value when it
comes to this shoe but there's so much sentimental value when it comes to this shoe for somebody like
me so for those that don't know I've been in the shoe game for many years and I remember vividly
back in high school my foot was changing size oh so rapidly I came into High School wearing
a size 10 and a half and by the time I was a sophomore in high school I was wearing a size
13. I was struggling trying to understand what my size shoe was and I still wanted to have shoes in
my collection I was rocking J's and forces and different stuff and trying to find affordable
options and even buying you know Shell Toes and different things because I knew my foot
was changing so much it was hard to be like Oh I'm gonna put all this money into a pair of shoes and
then I can't fit it a couple months later so it was definitely kind of that struggle people just
growing up trying to find ways to hustle and make money so I can afford my sneakers and all
different things but I remember vividly I had a size 13 of this shoe right here they were sitting
at like Champs or Foot Locker or something like that they're available on the shelves I was like
these are gonna be great because I can wear these with all my outfits it's going to make so much
sense very neutral I can rock these throughout the entire year you can't go wrong with some all-white
Air Force Ones but it's got a black bottom so it's gonna make the shoe even better because if
it gets dirty I don't really have to worry about it as much you know just all those little things
that made me justify like why I needed this pair of shoes in my collection so as me a young 15 16
year old kid back in high school this shoe right here was just the perfect everyday sneaker for me
and I loved them but you know how it goes you're young in high school you're still riding bikes
having fun kicking it with your homies going to the Little House Parties doing all the things
next thing you know over time you wear the shoes so much it starts to get beaten up and they start
to get broken down and you still clean them up but they just don't look the same as they did
back when you first got them from out the box So eventually I ended up retiring this pair from my
collection and honestly I don't know what I did with the pair of shoes I might have took them to
like Buffalo Exchange or something and tried to get you know how they give you a little credit
at Buffalo and next thing you know they give you like 17 or something and they use that towards
something else no damn well it wasn't even really worth it but it was like I'll take what I can get
because I'm young and broke and I'm 15 years old like you guys all remember those times right so
yeah I think I'm assuming that's probably what I did because I definitely used to sell a lot
of things at Buffalo Exchange when it came to clothing and sneakers and different stuff like
that on Facebook but I don't know either way I remember I got rid of them somehow I don't
know how I got rid of them but I don't have them anymore to say the least all this time goes by and
I just remember having all these memories and just so much Nostalgia for me uh having that shoe in my
collection and and wearing it and just feeling fresh and all this stuff and I remember there's
actually a picture of me wearing them on Photo day uh for football pictures back sophomore year
a high school I remember that hopefully I have it here for somewhere on the screen for you guys
to see that's me young DJ way back in the day but yeah anyways just all that time goes by and I am
literally at the employee store I see the shoe and I'm like bro I have to get these no doubt about
it like you all you guys know that shop at the es like you get the discount too so it makes so
much sense I ended up seeing him there and I was like bruh at this price you can't go wrong with
this price at all it's all white Air Force One but for me so much memory and Nostalgia and everything
like that for myself you could look at this shoe and be like oh this is just a you know everyday
Air Force One I got shoes in my collection back here that are worth way more than these but
these mean way more to me so to be able to find these get them at a discounted price add them
into the collection definitely gonna add these into my rotation this fall excited about that
um it was just an exciting moment and I think this is a great opportunity for me to share with
you guys hopefully you guys are able to pick some of those dimes that I was dropping throughout the
video just saying like you know buy what you like understand that you don't need to always buy with
the intent of the resale and the Long Haul create those memories with the sneakers and then when
they retro again continue to live that life of that sneaker and then you know get that new pair
and freshen up and get right and stay icy and stay fresh you don't always have to worry about
the resale value is what I'm saying now again there is going to be a fine line between that
because some people like oh I just buy bricks only two great that's not a problem again buy
whatever you want to buy and buy what you like because it's your money I'm not exactly telling
you what to do with your money I'm just suggesting based off of what I've learned over the years you
have to have that fine balance of shoes that you're willing to pay you know retail price or
whatever they're sitting on shelves at the local Foot Locker but you have so many memories with
that shoe and you want to get them back in your collection or you might be willing to pay the
extra thirty dollars over retail and it's not really reselling for nothing but nobody really
cares about the shoe at the same time so you can get it for just a little bit slightly over that
retail value but it means so much to you when you finally add it to your collection there's
a lot of shoes that are like that and trust me if you guys want to hear more stories I have
a lot of shoes that I've gotten for really good deals that I've been able to bring back memories
and different stuff like that but either way just understand that when you're buying shoes
uh you definitely want to have that intent like okay am I making a wise investment on the sneakers
that I'm purchasing do these have the chance to rise in value and do they have the chance to be
able to be an opportunity for me to trade that sneaker for another uh sneaker or somebody else
going to covet that sneaker the way I covet the sneaker there's a lot of different things that
come to that now when it comes to a basic black and white Air Force One not everybody's gonna
be like oh bro I gotta have those black and white forces but if you got like oh I got this Retro 4
infrared colorway like you know okay it's flipping for a little bit people enjoy that there's no way
the shoes are just gonna go crazy down in value and you're gonna just lose a bunch of money right
but I think at the end of the day again you have to have a healthy balance because if you don't
all you're going to be doing is chasing the hype trying to get the latest and greatest shoe that
everybody else wants paying the resale value all the different stuff like following the trans and
doing the thing that's cool and all that's great that's a part of the game I understand it and
sometimes again you may like a shoe that you're like this shoe is actually dope and unfortunate
fortunately everybody else likes it too it happens often so it doesn't make you a hypebeast for
liking a shoe that's dope if the shoe is dope the shoe is dope and trust me there's a lot of shoes
that are worth a lot of money that aren't that dope and that's also perfectly fine because it
may be a shoe that I don't like but somebody else may like and that's the best part about the shoe
game right we get to buy what we like having that understanding and knowing the balance of like okay
yes I'm going after all the bangers I want the Travis Scotts I don't want the fragments and all
the different things and the Retros and the new Yeezy drops and all the things everybody wants all
that stuff but you got to get the shoes that's like these are great everyday shoes I can make
cool memories in these these got nostalgic Vibes for me especially if you're an older
collector or older head you know exactly what I mean you start to see shoes retro again and
it could even be a Jordan Retro model you know we see the Cardinal Sevens are supposed to be
coming out again a lot of people have different memories not only from the last retro but the
Retro before that one and some people even with the OG there's a lot of things like that that's
like it's so much Nostalgia behind it and that's the part of the game that I think a lot of people
don't talk about as much that's right we want to talk about still grabbing those pairs of sneakers
for our collection and enjoying our collection and enjoying the stories and the memories even
if the shoe isn't worth a lot of money still able to add those to the collection so I would say
personally I always go for like um maybe like 10 or 20 percent of my collection of like all right
yeah I don't care if it's like a brick or whatever like it don't matter because I want this for my
collection I don't care at all boom I'm grabbing it now obviously I'm gonna make smart decisions on
the other pairs because that's going to play the vast majority of the value of the collection what
I can use that as an asset later making wiser decisions with putting that into properties
different things like that and trust me I don't just buy any shoe to say I have it and all the
other stuff like I buy all the shoes that I like I like the complete sets that I like and as you
guys know I'm not really a huge fan of the Adidas Yeezys and all that stuff and I don't like every
single Jordan model and I want to have them all like again you guys know I don't like the shatter
backboard ones like that's the number one thing that people oh you don't like those like it's
fine I don't like the shoe I've had it before I tried it I just didn't like it so I sold them I
got rid of them I traded them it's just it's just what it is like so if you understand your identity
and understand who you are as a collector and the stuff that you like to collect and the items that
you like to have and knowing that but at the same time still saying all right words back to
my humble days when I was first getting started in those sneakers that got me into it and everything
like still have respect for those type of shoes because trust me a lot of people that's watching
these videos and a lot of people that are making these videos had to start somewhere right so don't
forget that and don't forget those days because we always are going after those grills and we
see the crazy expensive sneakers and all the lifetime achievement awards when it comes to
collecting shoes and all these random stuff that we're seeing online when it's just hype
hype hype hype hype so hopefully this video can just kind of bring us back down for a second and
understand like a simple pair of white and black Air Force Ones went so far for me back when I was
a young kid in high school and it's crazy to reflect and see this pair of shoes right here
now in my current time my current state of life and getting a fresh pair and what the memories
I can make in this pair of shoes all these years later right so I think to me it's super dope how
sneakers can tell stories and you can tell tell your stories through your sneakers as well and
we might both have the same exact pair of shoes and have two completely different life stories
from this sneaker and that's the thing I love about shoes and all this stuff so hopefully you
guys enjoyed this video I'm sorry if you didn't but either way I'm just telling my story about
sneakers and why I think it's very important to still you know go after those coveted shoes that
you may like that everybody else doesn't like or doesn't have the resale value and different stuff
like that because that also is a part of the shoe game that makes things fun so I appreciate you
guys as always if you guys want to see any other stories or me just talking about recent pickups
that may be like this that may not get a lot of views on YouTube and stuff which is fine with me
because I think things like this definitely need to be shared on YouTube a little bit more often
yo if you enjoyed this video and want to grow your collection or make extra money on the side
I built a VIP Mastermind that will teach you everything that I've learned about growing my
sneaker collection over the past 15 years this will also give you access to the DNA fam in my
VIP Community where we talk about investing outside of sneakers and don't worry if you
don't plan on joining the VIP Community it's okay I also set up a private DNA fam community
that gives you access to all the behind the scenes looks from the studio and multiple chances to win
free sneakers and gear from weekly and monthly challenges so all you need to do is click on
the link Down Below in the description or the first link pinned in the comment section that
will get you set up and into the community I'm excited to see you guys on the inside
thank you