• This was my first time going to Sneaker Con and probably not the last.
  • To the guy wearing the $10,000 Jeff Hamilton leather Lakers Championship coat draped around his shoulders like a mob boss…I get it.  
  •  As somebody who remembers when Jordans used to come out during Thursdays and sneaking out of class to get them, I am amazed by the sheer size of the event and what the sneaker culture has become. You literally saw every type of person – disabled people, people dressed as aliens (literally), everybody was welcome.
  • The What Not raffle wheel was a particularly competitive point for people in the audience. There were even audience members taking side bets on where participants’ spins would land.
  • Obviously the app What Not is going to be one of the ecommerce companies to lookout for in the next couple of years. It definitely is changing consumer behavior (I promise this is not a sponsored post, promise).  
  • How in the hell did the vendors have shoes like the DJ Khaled Jordans or Zion Jordan Lows months before coming out. Actually, nvm…
  • To see Dennis Rodman in the flesh on stage was amazing. The people in the crowd littered chants of his nickname “The Worm” as he entered the stage.
  • The funniest part of Dennis Rodman being on stage was the fact they picked a kid to go on stage that needed to sing to get a pair of autographed sneakers from him. Instead of singing with Dennis, the kid breaks out in a full mariachi song and the crowd proceeds to rock out and dance while he is singing. He got the autographed shoes.
  • I finally got these Skepta Tailwind Air Maxes after looking for years. Finding a rare pair of shoes you have been looking for for years is what I imagine Indiana Jones felt after finding the Holy Grail or after Dory found Nemo. It’s a unique joy that is fleeting but satiates that part of your brain that represents nostalgia of an era and the memories you have generated yourself when it comes to that physical product.
  • Trying to explain the appeal of sneakers and the community based around them to any regular person sounds like a drug addict trying to give credence to their habit.  
  • I am not certain if Sneaker Con is a reflection of our gluttonous (including me) appetite for always buying things in America, but it certainly represents the rich community that we build around the products we buy. Do we scold the incessant purchasing of products we don’t need or praise the diverse and active community based around these products? My best friend informed me that he was taking his father and little brother to Sneaker Con.  It is very rare that men of different ages have an experience experience or community that can bring them together. Maybe sports and money, but now sneakers have become one of the threads that can connect generations to each other and give them a meeting ground to bond with each other. And isn’t that the truest essence of community?