Sneakers

Sneakers. For some, they are equipment for sports. For others, they are style. For most, it's just something to protect their feet with. For me, they are art and a lifestyle. I am what we call a sneakerhead. I am among many who love sneakers. We collect, buy, sell, trade, and wear them. They mean more than a piece of leather and rubber, but piece of art. Some sneakers carry history that even some people don't hold. Some people think I'm crazy, some respect my hobby. My family get mad at me every time I come home with a shoebox in my hand. Some of my friends carry the same passion for shoes as I do. When I break out a new pair of sneakers to school, these are the friends that notice.

First off, I must shed some light on some terms used in the sneaker world. Sneakerheads have a vocabulary of their own, dedicated to sneakers. There are nicknames for certain shoes, names for the condition, and how they are released. Jordans, Air Jordans, and AJ all refer to Air Jordan Sneakers. Dunks and SB Dunks refer to the Nike Dunk. Forces, Air Forces, and AF1's refer to the Nike Air Force One shoe. DS means "deadstock," which means the shoe is in mint condition. VNDS and NDS mean "very near deadstock," and "near deadstock," respectively. A limited release is a shoe that is released in limited numbers, to a number of stores. These stores aren't usually your local Footlocker or Footaction, but mom and pops stores, and sneaker boutiques. These releases usually go fast, and the more popular sizes are out of stock in less than an hour. Many sneakerheads camp out in front of the store the night before, like Star Wars fans before the release of the newest movie. A GR, or general release, is just a normal release of a shoe. A QS, or quickstrike release, is when Nike releases a shoe out of nowhere, with no hype, and no prior notice. Usually, these are also in limited quanitities. A hyperstrike is like a quickstrike, but in even more limited quantities. There are many nicknames for certain shoes. Most are for Air Jordans, Dunks, or Air Force Ones, the three centerpieces of the sneaker community. Tiffany's represent the Tiffany Dunks, one of the most recently hyped sneakers ever. These shoes retailed for under eighty dollars, and now they resell for over two hundred. Air Forces are usually named after the occasion by which the sneaker is made, like the Valentines Day or Scarface Air Force Ones. Air Jordans are named after either the colorway of the sneaker, or any special event that happened in Michael Jordan's career while he wore those sneakers. For example, Taxi XII's represent the colorway of the shoe, which is black/white/taxi yellow. The Space Jam XI is the sneaker Michael Jordan wore in the movie Space Jam.

A sneakerhead has three sneaker havens, the sneaker store, his own collection, and the computer. Everyone gets their information via the internet. The most popular places sneakerheads go are Niketalk.com and the SC Forums, both discussion boards where they share information and collections. Niketalk (www.niketalk.com) is possibly the largest home for sneakerheads. Even Nike themselves check the forums for feedback. ISS, (www.issforums.com/forums/index.php) or the SC Forums is known for it's marketplace, where many sneakerheads buy, sell, and trade their sneakers. This is a much safer and legitimate place to do this, because Ebay is crawling with fakes. I have made three transactions on ISS, and all three have been successful. There is a level of respect I the marketplace, because fakes are not tolerated, and fraud is taken care of well. Just added is a new feedback system, similar to Ebay's, to better clear out fraud. There are sneakerblogs that keep track of the sneaker game too. Hypebeast (www.hypebeast.com) and NikeSb.org (www.nikeskateboarding.com) are two very popular blogs. A brand new site, Sneakerplay, (www.sneakerplay.com) is like a Myspace, for sneakerheads, without the teenage