Cleveland's Sneaker Scene Hits Its Stride
by Jason Brill, Dillon Stewart | Feb. 25, 2020 | 5:00 PM
PHOTOGRAPHED BY KEVIN KOPANSKI
For sneakerheads, it’s not the eyes, but the shoes that are the windows to the soul.
Whether you’re a hypebeast who lives and dies with every Jordan or Yeezy release, a casual fan who only buys a new pair of checkered Vans every year or you’re waiting to find your grails (as in Holy; a pair of sought-after shoes), sneakerheads can come in all shapes and sizes — just like their collections. And our kicks can say a lot about us.
“I’ve seen this meme a lot of times: I make shoe contact before I make eye contact,” says sneaker collector and reseller Omar Madhun. “I catch myself doing it all the time.”
There could be any number of reasons why you peek: maybe it’s a pair you’ve never seen before or a new way to style something you own. Or maybe it’s to make sure you’re still on-trend.
But sneaker collecting is about community too. A simple, “Hey, nice Jordans,” between strangers can turn into a 30-minute conversation, a new Instagram friendship or someone to hang with the next time you’re both in line at Xhibition for a release.
Cleveland’s sneaker scene keeps growing — SneakerCon, which returns to the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland March 21, used to be in the relatively smaller Independence Fieldhouse. And as the scene expands, so does that web of likeminded friends.
“You have that camaraderie and relatability with other sneaker connoisseurs about why they like sneakers and the stories behind them,” says collector Saxx Booker.
As Spike Lee said in a 1989 Nike commercial, “It’s gotta be the shoes.”
Here, we talked to 10 Cleveland sneakerheads about their collections, grails and what their kicks mean to them.
Yohei Asada, 27
His Collection: About 200 pairs
“With shoes, you have multiple elements that really engage with all of your senses. This is about to sound weird, but smell is a huge part of it, which I enjoy. But visually, the way the light strikes the materials, the shine — whether it’s matte, satin — that’s really what draws me to a sneaker. It puts me in the mind of the person who came up with it.”
Archie Green, 34
His Grail: 2009 Nike Air Yeezy 1 “Blink”
“There were other rappers that had done sneaker endorsements. But for the most part, they hadn’t really had as much input into the design. Kanye took a lot of what he learned in art school and applied it to designing this sneaker. I was such a huge Kanye fan — still am — and this, to me, was like just another piece of ’Ye to have.”
Omar Madhun, 27
His Collection: 87 pairs
“I love hype. Sometimes I would prefer to be a little louder in the room and have the best shoe in the room. Another thing I look for in sneakers, too: How will it go with my ’fit? I start with my sneakers, then I go pick pieces to complement them. You can portray or show how you feel before even saying a word just by what you got on. You’ve got to buy what you like, wear what you like.”
Leon Boyd, 35
His Grail: 2007 Nike SB Air Zoom Dunkesto, Barcelona
“It’s red, white and blue, and it has the number 03 on the side. I graduated in 2003, it’s the year my daughter was born and my high school colors were red, white and blue. This shoe was meant for me. I have some crazy stuff in my collection, but all that could be sold. This is the one shoe I would not sell.”
Saxx Booker, 30
Her Collection: About 150 pairs
“I’ve always been around sneakers. I still actually have my first shoe, which was a Nike Cortez. My dad was really into Jordans and sneakers, so I was always wearing sneakers. Once I moved to New York, I really got into sneaker culture and waiting in line, camping out [for releases] and that type of thing.”
Danni Pusateri, 29
Her Collection: About 40 pairs
“My collection is a reflection of my own style. I like crazy, couture ones, but I also like the simpler ones you can wear every day. My favorite of all time is the Jordan 1. They’re the easiest for me to wear, they’re classic, super simple and comfortable.
I probably have 10-15 pairs of those alone. I’ll wear them out to the bars or clubs sometimes.”
Kevin Kramer, 43
His Collection: About 700 pairs
“I’ve been collecting since 1998. That was when I finally had a good job. It started off slow. You get into it and realize it’s this whole subculture. When LeBrons first came out, I was buying stuff real heavy. I used to come home every night to 30 boxes in front of my door. That’s when I knew, You’re in this now. I have more fun buying for my daughter now. I just wish I could get her to keep them cleaner.”
Destanie Rodriguez, 27
Her Grail: 2019 Custom Converse Chuck Taylor All Star
“I have pictures of me wearing my Chuck Taylors in Thailand. Whatever I have, I try to wear it out-of-state. It gives me a good story. Everyone knows me for drawing Snoopy, so [LeBron James’ barber Slick Nick] customized the Chuck Taylor logo into Charlie Brown’s face [on these shoes]. That’s my most prized possession right now.”
Jeremiah Widmer, 35
His Collection: 15 pairs
“My collection would be much larger if I didn’t have any offspring, but I do, and I work in radio. So, I’m like a sneaker collector on a budget. I love a nice, fresh pair of Jordans. It’s a way I can stand out and kind of be flashy without people being like, ‘Why is he doing that?’ I have a pair of Air Jordan Legacy 312s that are white and khaki. Those are what I call my ‘dress Js.’”
Anthony Ho, 32
His Grail: 2010 Air Jordan 1 “Banned”
“I grew up hating Michael Jordan. I was a Knicks fan. So I wasn’t into Jordans, but those black and red ones, the originals, always stood out to me. Now I have every reissue version, but my favorite is this special edition that came out in 2010. They put an ‘X’ on the back because he wasn’t allowed to wear them when they first came out. They were the only ones I ever wanted.”
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Dillon Stewart
Dillon Stewart is the editor of Cleveland Magazine. He studied web and magazine writing at Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and got his start as a Cleveland Magazine intern. His mission is to bring the storytelling, voice, beauty and quality of legacy print magazines into the digital age. He's always hungry for a great story about life in Northeast Ohio and beyond.
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