MEET THE COLLECTOR: JAMES (FATHERS DAY EDITION)
Father's Day is near, and what better to way recognize the holiday than to celebrate sneaker dads? Meet James - a collector who's been in the game since 03 and who not only has a crazy rotation himself but his kids do as well.
WHAT INITIALLY STARTED YOUR LOVE FOR COLLECTING/SNEAKERS?
I think my initial start to collecting things was with toy ninja turtles. I had all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles except for Raphael. I was an only child, and I remember thinking it did not feel right to have an incomplete set of turtles. This eventually grew to other toys like Power Rangers and Pokémon cards. In 2001 I was in the 6th grade and had adopted that "collect 'em all" mentality to shoes. Once I collected a complete set of Air Jordans 1-23, I moved on to vintage Nike basketball and sports memorabilia.
TELL US ABOUT THE SHOES YOU CHOSE TO FEATURE. WHAT DO THEY MEAN TO YOU?
Reggie and Tim… Nike Air Total Max Uptempo and Nike Total Air Foamposite Max..
Both of these shoes feature full-length (total) zoom air soles. Originally released in 1997 and 1998, these two shoes set the tone for late 90s basketball! I remember having the OG pair in high school and people would gravitate to the shoe. They were either amazed by design or wondered how I got them early because they are rumored to be retro soon, according to Niketalk forums.
BEING THAT YOU HAVE TWO VERY YOUNG CHILDREN, WHEN DID YOU START COLLECTING BABY SHOES, AND WHY?
I remember having a huge collection of vintage basketball shoes, 30+ pairs of deadstock vintage Nike basketball shoes. I wanted to find the baby shoes to complete a set. Eventually, I began to run out of space. In 2010 I started looking for the smallest sizes possible to save space. Smaller boxes meant I could collect more baby shoes!
WHAT'S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU WOULD GIVE TO A CURRENT OR SOON-TO-BE #SNEAKERDAD?
If you didn't already start collecting before the baby, you would be broke! I'm just kidding, but seriously, my best advice is to buy/collect what you like or interest you!
WHAT STYLES ON OUR WEBSITE ARE YOU CURRENTLY FEELING?
No question, the Nike ACG line. As an avid ACG collector, atmos keeps a great selection of Nike ACG items in-store and online. The ACG styles on the website right now feature the logos from 96-01 with upgraded materials and modern design details.