What's wrong with being a young "sneaker head"

I think a lot of the salt from old dudes (myself included, somewhat) is the nature of the beast.

I’m 32, and I really started to get into it when I was in 6th grade. So basically that goes back to 1994 where I was really cognizant of shoes.

For a lot of people, you got sneakers twice a year: before school and sometime in the spring or summer. Maybe another pair or two if you played ball or whatever. Most middle school age kids weren’t buying shoes every month. If you had a solid 5 pair rotation, you were doing big things. Sneakers meant more because there was a lot more that went into it. They had a story. I can remember when I was 13, cutting grass for 2 months during the spring so I could buy the white/Carolina blue patent leather Air force 1 mid’s ( from Legends in Patrick Henry Mall) and a DKNY shirt. I remember my first pair of air maxes (air trainer max 96) my dad bought me from A&N for 59.99 because he thought they were a good deal (plus it was spring and I needed shoes), then being thoroughly impressed when the bubble popped and we wrote Nike a note and sent them back, and they sent back another pair in a different colorway.

Another thing was the ubiquity and availability of shoes. There were only a few pair people lusted over, and you knew when shoes would come out. Thank the eastbay catalog for that. Most shoes came out in a few colorways, and they would be widely available, so there wasn’t all of this exclusive/limited edition stuff there is now. But once they were gone, that was pretty much it for that run of shoes. You’d wait for a new colorway or the new model for next year.

IMO, shoes from 90-2004 or so were just plain better designs than many of the shoes released today.

Nowadys, theres too much one-upmanship. I don’t even really blame it on the “younger” generation. I blame it on internet. Sites like NT and the like show adults that are into that have high quality pictures of insane shoes or collections and can (or can’t) afford it. When I was kid, having a pair of Jordan’s and Champion replica jersey meant you were doing it, because no one knew there was anything more. Now, with people knowing about PE’s, promos and special releases, difference between swingmans, authentics, pro cut jerseys, that old stuff just won’t compare.

Now with the over 30 sneaker crowd having jobs, stable income etc, it’s a matter of access instead of money. Who has time to wait in line overnight for a pair of sneakers? Young people. Especially now that it’s a activity that people share.

I’ve found that my interest in shoes ebbs and flows. Right now it’s back on; I’ve bought probably 5 pairs of shoes this calendar year (there were a few years I didn’t buy any kicks outside of my yearly grey New Balance 99x) because a lot of the stuff I liked when I was younger is coming back out, and some of the newer designs are flat out great.

As far as not "wasting money" on shoes, everybody wastes money on something. Expensive meals, clubs/going out, sound system, etc. I'm old enough to not worry about how the next man spends his dollars.

Buy what you like, and wear the crap out them. Once you start treating them like something more than shoes, it's over.

Man Nike SB crashed to the ground...there was a point people were willing to do anything to get some of the rarer ones...I remember begging and begging my dad for $500 for the unkles at 15

Had NTers dropping thousands for the supremes Paris and london sbs

This is probably the worst time to want these things. The new models are made of plastic, the retros are made of bus seats, msrp is a joke, designs are lazy and rely on a name or a gimmick to sell them, re releases of everything, the list goes on. If you want to waste money, go on ahead

^ I disagree to some extent. I think you're spot on if talking about limited edition shoes. MSRP is always gonna at least keep in step with inflation, as far as quality, errr, most aren't terrible considering.

But it seems like they're re releasing everything as a GR which is great for me, since I can 1) get the shoes I've liked for a long time 2) at a reasonable price 3) by just ordering them from one of multiple online sites where they are available.

flight huarache, huarache le, air max 98, 93, 95's, air max plus; there's so many re releases that have come out in the last 3 years I can't even keep up. I have to text my friend (who's a NT'er who has stayed deep into shoes) to be sure whether or not certain shoes I see on ebay are fake or if they got retroed.

A lot of really good designs have come out as well. I think roshes are a top 10 all time sneaker, with a very reasonable retail price and ridiculous comfort, made with solid materials. It's hard to compare a lot of sneakers that had the greatest sneaker designers' (Tinker Hatfield) influence to current designs. It's like saying NBA basketball sucks cuz MJ retired.

I think with all the different models and colorways of shoes they're producing now, a lot are going to be garbage, but a lot are good.

Plot twist: OP aint 14, just wanted to see how yall really feel.

"Like, I don't want to be a hype beast and I try to always buy what I like and ignore the hype, but it's super hard to"

Yeah when ever I make money, I put about 1/4 to sneakers, and the rest to save up. I am trying to set priorities, because I know that sneakers aren't the most important thing in the world

How do u make money?

I get irked when grown a_ss men refer to themselves as a grown a_ss man. Why don't you just call yourself an adult? Sound like a young a_ss child with that shh. That's that ghetto speak. "I'm a grown a_ss woman, you can't tell me nothin'" while doing some childish things.

OP tell ur squad the yeezy nonsense must stop.

And this fitting size 8.5 to 13 nonsense. A 14 year old kid who I let rake my leaves wants to buy a pair from me and that's what size he told me he wore.

We loved kicks in my middle school and high school but nobody was squeezing to make **** fit.