sneakers

   Paranoid that the availability of normal sneakers was fleeting, I began scraping every "mom and pop" store in the city
for old stock. I went to the library every day, screening the far ends of eBay for vintage Nikes. Before long, I had a large
collection of Air Jordans, Dunks, Air Force Is, and basically every other shoe that came out between 1979 and 1992. I also
found out that Nike frequently released many of the old models in Japan with colors that would never be acceptable here.
Japan again. Who would've seen it coming? Well, given my affinity for all things Japanese, I now wanted all the Japanese
retro models. I figured that would surely eliminate the risk of having the same sneakers as anyone here. Needless to say,
I acquired everything i set out to. By now, I've owned up to 1000 pairs.
   How did I acquire these sneakers, you ask? Well, My mother's father (who's pretty well off) figured that giving me a
bond of no less than $200 for every holiday and birthday would actually make up for not spending time with me. Those
bonds, along with any other money given to me by people who cared, comprised my life savings. Being an only child, I
never had to spend my own money. As a matter of fact, I wasn't allowed. This, along with my good sense, for the most part
prevented me from having all the latest, frivolous, piece of shit plastic rip-off, fad driven bullshit that came out over the
years, but I'm not complaining. Anyway, when I turned 18, I chose to keep everything in a safe in my house. I don't trust
banks. Your money isn't there. If everyone wanted to take their money out at once, they couldn't. Think about that.
Anyway, it was that very cash that funded my film equipment, sneaker collection, and living expenses.
   Before I could blink, sneaker collecting became a huge fad- and guess who was on top of the game... In the fall of 2004,
I decided to turn over my investments and wound up making an average of three times the amount I paid for each
sneaker per sale. When the trends catch up to me, I move on. Turning over the fluff financed this computer, my custom
surfboards and my guitar collection. That's right, another collection begins. I still have about 100 pairs of really cool
vintage stuff that I wear, which also serves as my financial cushion. I buy and sell in small quantities now, and basically
use the "sneaker engine" to fund the music project. I hope you enjoy it.
   So, no complaints, no regrets. Just another success. Now I just need someone to give me a ton of money for at least
one of the things that I do so I can purchase a house for Anna and I and never have to worry about making money again.
Then, I can truly flourish artistically. I am currently taking offers.


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			Between 1994 and 1998 I wore nothing but skate shoes. By the end of those four years, the shoes became more complicated and less practical. I decided to try the mainstream market for a solid pair of sneakers to skate in. Well, alot had changed. you could no longer find sneakers that looked like sneakers. I came across all kinds of futuristic, crap from hell that I wouldnt be caught dead wearing. What happened to the flat bottom, puffy high tops of thre 1980's? Apparently, they were extinct. In the spring of '98, I was skating by Washington Square Park, and found an old pair of 1985, white/red Converse high tops. I held them to the soles of my crumbling skate shoes and saw that they were just my size. Perfect...normal shoes. I took them home and triple washed them, and from then on, wore them every day. In 1999, the Nike Air Jordan IV was re-released. I saw someone on fourth avenue with them, and knew I had to have them. I called many stores, but they were all sold out. That's when a friend of mine told me about eBay...