2023-04-28 10:30:19
Sole Mates is a new column of Hypebeast regarding sneaker culture. In this series, we will ask the question “Why do you like sneakers?” to explore the deeper meaning beyond “Hype”. Sole Mates will unravel the origin story of each ‘Sneakerhead’ participant and let them tell why having a pair of sneakers is so important.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to buy a pair of shoes? I believe that every shoe fan has a cherished memory, but for Jerry, the protagonist of this issue of “Sole Mates”, this experience is “life-threatening”. While queuing up all night in Detroit to buy the Air Jordan 4 “Fear”, he and his friends encountered a black gangster trying to jump in line. The other party showed his weapon during the quarrel and shoving. Fortunately, the police and security appeared in time to avoid it. The situation developed in an uncontrollable direction.
After experiencing that incident, there are all subsequent stories of Jerry turning his hobby into a job. Whether working as a Reseller in the United States or now as one of the partners of Sneaker Con, “sneakers” have long been an inseparable part of Jerry’s life.
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As a shoe fan who loves basketball since he was a child, Jerry admits that he is also a “Zhan Hei” who was conquered by LeBron James’ performance on the field. Since LeBron led the Heat to defeat the Spurs in 2013, Jerry’s love for King James has finally become uncontrollable, and in his collection of all Nike LeBron series, there is another pair of Nike LeBron X Elite signed by LeBron. The field version is the most precious.
In this issue of “Sole Mates” column, Hypebeast chatted with Jerry regarding the significance of this pair of shoes purchased with huge sums of money to him, why he wanted to bring back a DMC sports car from the United States at any cost, and its importance to Jerry. The expectation of the future form of the Chinese sneaker exhibition.
Hypebeast: Let me introduce myself first!
Jerry: Hello, fans of Sole Mates, I am Jerry Jerry 5, a sneaker player and car enthusiast. I was a sneaker reseller when I was studying in the United States. After graduation, I joined the “Most Strong Sneaker Exhibition on the Surface” and became a partner of Sneaker Con. one of the people.
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How did you get to know and fall in love with sneaker culture? Remember what your first pair of sneakers were and how you got them?
I first fell in love with sneakers because of basketball. I watched and played basketball since I was a child, bought “Slam Dunk” magazine, flipped through the introduction pages of sneakers, and then talked with my friends regarding how powerful a pair of shoes is. Good Old Days. My first pair of sneakers was the adidas Crazy 8 in black and white and it was a lot of fun getting it. Because Yao Ming was in the Rockets, I liked Tracy McGrady very much at the time. The poster at home was him, and the shooting shouted “TMAC”. I also wanted to buy a pair of T-Mac sneakers as a reward for passing the exam. Once I passed the exam, I went to the adidas counter in the shopping mall near my home. As a result, there were no signature shoes of T-Mac, Arenas, and KG. Old Comey mightn’t take it anymore and forced me to wear Kobe’s shoes (laughs).
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As a basketball fan, what’s the one pair you’d most hate to wear in all of your basketball shoe collection?
It should be Yao Ming’s GU in the 2003 All-Star Game! Yao Ming was the first Chinese and Asian to stand in the NBA All-Star Game. The 2003 All-Star Game was also the last All-Star Game that Michael Jordan participated in before retiring. In order to pay tribute to MJ, Yao Ming proposed to Nike that he wanted to add some blue elements representing UNC to his All-Star boots, but he did not expect Nike to directly give a pair of North Carolina blue color shoes with large color blocks. It’s just that the North Carolina color scheme has nothing to do with the Rockets’ jerseys, so it was a bit awkward for the shoes to be worn on Chairman Yao’s feet. It is rumored that this incident was also one of the fuses for Yao Ming to leave Nike and switch to Reebok. So such a pair of shoes with a story, I have to win it with all my strength, because to some extent it represents a milestone in the history of Chinese basketball.
“Such a pair of shoes with a story, I have to win it with all my strength, because to some extent it represents a milestone in the history of Chinese basketball.”
When you were growing up, was there a sneaker release that left a deep impression on you?
Air Jordan 4 “Fear”, because this is a pair of shoes that I risked my life to buy all night. It is also from this pair of shoes that I have all the stories that I can turn my hobby into work. This pair of shoes has been very high since the pre-sale stage because of the secondary market premium. At that time, I participated in the sale of Villa in Detroit. There were dozens of people lining up outside the mall at 10 o’clock the night before. Everyone was still very orderly at night. But when it was regarding to go on sale at 8 o’clock the next morning, a group of black brothers came over and started to disrupt the line, trying to break open the door of the mall and squeeze in.
At that time, my good brother and I were in front of the queue, so naturally we were not used to them squeezing with them, until one of the other party picked up his clothes, showed his stuff, and yelled at me “Do you want some?” It was only following a while that I realized that the situation was wrong, but it was already too crowded to get out. Fortunately, the police and security guards started spraying pepper spray, and the crowd dispersed. We were also sprayed on our necks and hands indiscriminately.
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When did you start liking LeBron James and collecting LeBron sneakers? Which is your favorite generation of Nike LeBron?
I fell in love with LeBron following watching a documentary regarding him in 2013 following he reversed and won the Spurs. Extreme” pushed me to the opposite of Lao Zhan (laughs). But it was only following his own playing was repeatedly rejected by the school team, and following seeing LeBron’s growth process, he realized that it turned out that it was so difficult to achieve stable output from a small city to a well-established body for ten years. I (born in Guiyang and growing up in Guiyang) have realized how powerful it is to put my own city on my shoulders, strive to do my best, and then influence more people!
My favorite pair of Nike LeBron boots is the LeBron 10 Elite. Although Nike uses the most cutting-edge technology in LeBron’s signature shoes every year, the balance, stability and sense of technology of the LeBron 10 are unprecedented in my opinion.
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Of all your LeBron collections, which ones are the most meaningful to you? Why?
This pair of LeBron 10 Elite game off-field version autographed is the first pair I own and the only pair of LeBron GU autographed, because the price is really expensive, and now it is even more expensive! From the first day of selling shoes, it was my dream to actually own a pair of LeBron race wear autograph, it took me 6 years to actually find this pair of shoes that I like and the price is right, so for me, it is It is a record of my staged achievements, and also the fulfillment of my original intention of playing shoes.
Dodo/Hypebeast
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When receiving these autographed versions, are there any interesting things that you can share with you?
Let’s talk regarding this pair of Kyrie Irving PE of LeBron 8 Low. Many people may have never seen it. It is said that Nike made 6 pairs of this shoe for Kyrie. He gave it to a friend around him, but the friend sold the shoe. It came to me following setbacks. It is special because I happened to be studying in Michigan during LeBron’s Cavaliers 2.0 period, so I went to Cleveland to watch the game twice in three days. I not only witnessed the miracle of the 1:3 reversal of the Cavaliers in 2016, but also the first ring awards ceremony in the 2017 season. Witnessed the coronation of knight generals!
At that time, every time I went to the Cavaliers home court to watch the game, I would buy tickets for the player tunnel, and then bring a golden marker and this pair of shoes, imagining that when LeBron and Kyrie came out to warm up, they would be able to look up at this pair. shoes, and then signed a person with one foot, but they ran in and out every game, and they didn’t even look up at us, so they were very hurt (laughs).
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Why do you want to buy a DMC sports car in “Back to the Future”, what kind of feelings and interesting things are behind it?
I believe that Air Mag is the dream shoe of many shoe dogs. After I finally found a pair of Air Mag that I can put on my feet, I started to look for this Delorean to match my Air Mag. After two years of searching, it turned out that because this car was too niche and had a short life cycle, no one had ever bought this car back to China. Later, following seeing someone else’s Delorean time machine at the Sneaker Con Los Angeles station in 2019, I started my long journey of finding a car and transporting it. After 4 or 5 times when the price might not be negotiated, or the quality was particularly poor, I finally found the 1983 DMC-12 that I brought back to China on eBay. Half a year following I bought it, I submitted it to the exhibition for approval. It was transported back to the country in the form of , and my dream of “the only one in the country” was fulfilled.
Will there be any modification and reconstruction for this car in the future?
It was originally planned to restore it to the appearance of the “time machine” in “Back to the Future” before the SneakerCon exhibition, but following 3D modeling, it was found that the implementation was very difficult, and the transformation cycle was very long, which was a very complicated and cumbersome process . Considering that the approval time of the car is approaching, and it will eventually be restored, so at present, only some simple modification and painting will be done for it.
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After experiencing sneaker exhibitions in various cities, what do you think are the main differences in sneaker culture at home and abroad?
There are still quite a few differences. I hope that in the future, more brands, IPs, and artists can open their minds together with us, from the perspective of young people, give them what they really want, cooperate with their favorite brands, and bring them closer contact The blogger, who sells limited products that can only be seen here in the world, and then leaves an exclusive memory for shoe fans. We still want to focus on an immersive experience. This is why we spend a lot of time communicating with every individual exhibitor, exhibiting brand, sponsor, blogger media, star shoe toe, and artist in each exhibition. Although it may not be in place at one time, we are also people who come out of the night queue and stand with the toe caps outside the store, so we hope to speak out on behalf of every Sneakerhead.
“I sincerely hope that more independent sneaker brands can stand out in this wave, but apart from making money, the most important thing is to be able to settle down and become a brand with a real culture, story, and community. This will truly become a part of the sneaker culture in the future.”
Looking at the mainland, many independent sneaker designs have been born in the past two years. What do you think of this phenomenon?
I am very excited regarding this, the exhibition is like a sneaker history book that is constantly being edited, we are like witnesses and writers, from the full Air Jordan in 2013/14, to the beginning of adidas Yeezy in 2015/16 and Nike/ Jordan’s various joint names are evenly divided, and from the “Barb” in 2019, and the explosion of sneaker care brands, to the so-called “first year of independent sneaker brands” this year, I sincerely hope that more independent sneaker brands can be here. Standing out in a wave of waves, but besides making money, the most important thing is to be able to settle down and become a brand with a real culture, a story, and a community, so that it will truly become a part of the sneaker culture in the future .
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