1998 – I spent some time debating on exactly where to start…I was listening to ‘The Business of Hype’ the other day by @jeffstaple and he had @louiswcolon3 of FILA on and Lou was talking about how he grew up at a time when there weren’t really ‘sneakerheads’, there were just people who were into shoes. I think Lou and I are about the same age and I could totally relate. I was always into shoes.
I first got into shoes like heavy when I realized I could actually afford some of them…I used to study ‘Slam’ and ‘The Source’ and saw all kinds of dope shoes I wanted to get my hands on. My sophomore year of high school was when I began working and had some disposable income…I was a busboy at a restaurant and worked off of tips – I’d make anywhere from $40-$100 a night and at that time it was a lot of money. My best friend and I worked together, and we used to talk about all the stuff we’d buy after each shift and eventually I purchased a pair of shoes with my own money…it was a pair of Nike Air Max Penny II’s that I found at the Folsom Nike Outlet for $70-80 (still one of my favorite shoes to this day). Shortly after that, I purchased some FILA Grant Hill IV’s, Reebok Answer II’s, some random Barkley Maxes, and some Jumpman Pro’s cuz I played a lot of basketball in high school… above is a pic of me (on the left) on graduation day – to which I wore my Penny II’s.
I bought a few more pairs that summer before heading to college that September…I copped a pair of Obsidian XII’s with my good friend and had about 10 pairs of shoes in my dorm room closet, which, believe it or not – was odd. People used to comment on the fact that I had so many shoes (even back then) and even when it was only 10 pairs.
And…on top of those 10 pairs, in my Freshman year at UCSC I started skating again, so I bought some skate shoes – Etnies, ESs, Emericas, DCs and DVSs, even though I spent the majority of my free time playing basketball.