Check out the original article from Philly.com, here.
For some more photos of the Shoetopia, check out this ATA post from the day of the event.
--
Saturday, hours before the Sixers halted history on their
home hardwood, the main concourse of the Wells Fargo Center was transformed into
the area’s largest shoe show.
Shoetopia, which originated in Washington D.C. and aims to
showcase the powerful, popular, and underground cultures of the sneaker game,
represented Philadelphia’s largest buy, sell, and trade sneaker show to date.
Dozens of vendors, and hundreds of self-proclaimed ‘sneaker
heads’ ignored the Saturday showers and converged on the arena, looking to
unite with those who shared the similar interest of sneakers.
The event, which is commonplace in sneaker culture, provides
everyday sneaker collectors with an otherwise unavailable showcase for their collection,
and offers the opportunity for all in attendance to buy, sell, or trade shoes
that they have acquired over the years.
Understanding its potential appeal to basketball fans, the
Sixers organization put their name on the event, and tied the ticketing
together; purchasing a ticket to the Shoetopia event granted one access to the
Sixers’ game that evening against the Pistons.
“I think the Sixers definitely underestimated us,” one of
the event’s organizers, Herschel Nauroz, told me over the backdrop of beats provided
by an in-house DJ.
“[The Sixers] were definitely underestimating how many
tickets we would sell, and how many people would show up,” he continued with a
laugh before detailing the partnership between the team and the event.
“The Sixers really helped us get it out there. By putting
their name on the event, it really adds to it,” Nauroz stated. “In return, we
helped them sell hundreds of tickets to a Sixers/Pistons game on a rainy
Saturday,” he proclaimed proudly.
He wasn’t exaggerating either. I was told by an associate in
the Sixers ticketing office that between pre-order and walk-up ticket sales,
the event had sold around 500 total tickets; 500 more potential people in the
Wells Fargo Center stands.
The event itself was sprawling, with people spread out all
over the main concourse. Some had tables, others set up shop on the floor, and
others still used the covered-up ketchup and mustard dispense tables as pseudo-display
stands.
Vendors varied in age and quantity of collection. Some were
trying to sell single pairs, while others had dozens to distribute.
There was an older gentlemen, probably in his late forties
or early fifties, although he wouldn’t tell me his exact age, tirelessly trying
to sell a single pair of Nike LeBron 9’s, and, when a pair of Nike KD VI’s
caught my eye and I asked ‘how much’ to a crowd of people, unsure who the
vendor was, a kid no older than 13 popped up to tell me that they were ‘$350,
but that he was open to negotiation.’
Shoetopia featured a lot of the rare footwear that you would
expect to see at a shoe show in today’s sneaker climate: There were Bel-Air 5’s,
Diamond Dunks, Fighter Jet Foams, Concord 11’s, and of course a pair of the
ever-rare Air Yeezy’s, which was being sold for $1,450.
“They deadstock?” a guy in a grey sweat suit asked of the
Yeezy’s, obviously trying to decide if they were worth the large chunk of
change.
“Worn 3 times, I un-deadstocked them myself,” the shoe’s
owner replied.
“$1,200,” the sweat-suited man offered after a moment of
consideration.
“Nah, sorry man, I can’t go any under $14,” the Vendor
responded, turning away over a grand for the coveted kicks, confident that
someone else would accept his asking price.
In this exchange, the virtue of the event was emphasized. No
one has to part with anything for less than they want to, but the amount of
rare, or otherwise unavailable shoes offers opportunity for those interested in
increasing their collection, or chasing their own personal white whale; otherwise
known as their ‘grail’ in sneaker-speak.
Shoetopia wasn’t just all about sneakers however. The event
also provided opportunity to entrepreneurs looking to expand. Small D.C.
start-ups like Laced Up Laces, and Detrapel had stands set up and were hoping
that Shoetopia’s exposure would help them catch on in a new market.
“We started in D.C., and our product is carried by over 40
vendors in that area,” Noah Clark, the founder of Laced Up Laces, told me.
Clark certainly had the platform for his product, with a
stand in front of hundreds of like-minded sneaker-enthusiasts.
After four full hours of vendors bouncing in and out of the
building, balancing boxes against their chest, the event began to die down. On
my way out, I asked one vendor who had been extremely active all afternoon,
what was so special, or unique, about the event.
“There is nothing like this around here man, it’s great.”
When pressed for further details he continued, “It’s great
being around so many other people that are as interested in the sneaker culture
as I am. Looking at all of these shoes, and hearing the stories of the people
that own them; it is just a unique experience, there should be more events like
it.”
The good vibes from the event carried over into the evening,
where the Sixers snapped a 26-game losing streak while defeating Detroit in
front of hundreds of people who spent their afternoon swapping shoes.
The sneaker community in Philadelphia is expansive, and it
is growing along with the game. Shoetopia
was the city’s largest sneaker show to date, but considering Shoetopia’s
success on a showery Saturday, it shouldn’t be the last.
No comments:
Post a Comment