Amateur Golfer, Amateur Sneakerhead, Expert Enthusiast

Ever since I can remember, I have had a huge fondness for shoes. Growing up, I was drawn into the world of basketball by collecting basketball cards with my friends. We would spend hours trading cards and deciding which card in our collection was the best (usually a Michael Jordan card, to be honest). As time went on, we would slowly graduate into watching basketball, playing basketball, and finally, buying basketball shoes. Michael Jordan’s awesome movie Space Jam released back in 1995, and needless to say, it hooked us all and made us addicts. His shoes in that movie were spectacular, and I thought owning a pair was nearly impossible and ultimately, an never-to-be-fulfilled fantasy. How could a young elementary school student afford such a pair? I begged and begged, but with the ridiculously expensive market price, my parents refused to budge. This applied to all Air Jordan sneakers; I was instead relegated to wearing lesser Nikes, such as factory or outlet models, while some of my friends would brag loudly about their latest expensive pick-up. Nevertheless, my love for Air Jordan shoes remained strong, and lesser Nike or not, my shoes were still Nike to me.

Let us flash forward to the year 2009. Wayne, now a working young professional fresh out of college, is able to not only fulfill his dream of owning a pair of the coveted shoes from the movie, but to even surpass his expectations and become a shoe collector. Granted, it is pretty tough to collect shoes and be a so-called “sneakerhead.” Money does not come by easily, and obtaining some of the rarer shoes involves not only spending money, but hours of research, shopping, and camping out at midnight. It is indeed a blessing to be able to afford what I can and still live quite comfortably, and most importantly, it is a blessing to finally be able to satisfy my inner child. The Wayne of young could only stare and dream; now, he is able to wear his Space Jams with pride and happiness.

After many, many years, I now own a pair!

My tastes now have progressed beyond Air Jordans. While they make up the bulk of my collection, I do have many pairs of Converses, Adidas, Reeboks, Nike Skateboarding, and other brands. Regardless, my love for Jordans and tasteful shoes remains strong, and I have only young Wayne to thank for that. Again, there are some things that never change, and my love for kicks will forever be a part of who I am.