5 years on NT- Backups for Days- Sacrificing Variety since day 1 - My Story

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Sep 28, 2004
It's been a long fun journey hanging around here. I could talk for days but I'll keep it short..
-never grew up around jordans or nikes. lived a typical childhood.. fast forward 20 years....
-Early 2005, I was on a quest for an all purpose shoe ie cross trainer. During the early 2005 calendar months Nike had just dropped what they called at the time, the nike air trainer restoration pack. My desire for some all purpose shoes and Nikes release of various cross trainers couldn't have happened at a better time.

First Four pickups back in 2005
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- I first picked up the lows. Then dug deeper at the whole history of cross trainers. After doing some research, the fun began and I went out looking for others.
-Found some gems in the 2000 air trainer 1 chlorophyll, then found some at1 low first takes, which had a great story of their own. Then finally an updated version of the original, a new technological marvel, the zoom trainer 1.

By march of 06 I had a nice foundation set in.
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A few years later, I was consumed in a phase where I "needed variety".
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As the years dragged on, I found a common theme. Day after day, month after month, I was going to a select few shoes for wear. I was buying and consuming all this crap around me and what I truly found happiness in were just a few core models. Some models/colorways just weren't filling the void I felt I had. I blame that on the fact the first few models I had just so happened to be some of the better quality shoes. If you start at a high level, thats all you really know. I also stopped picking up older models that weren't wearable. I'm strictly at a wear only phase.

My buying habits changed immediately back about 2 years ago to basically what we have today:
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I immediately had a fondness for the many bo jacksons out there. But not any Bo Jackson. For the majority, I had to go back to the 1997-2001 era of Retros for that og look and material feel.. The catching up on all these older releases left me on a relentless non stop search for these older gems. To be blunt, the recent stuff that is a majority out there is garbage in mostly all aspects.
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OG colorways struck a nerve with me. The search for them is never easy though. Before the 2009 Auburn sc trainers, you would have go to back almost a decade to find an original general release color.

A 2000 og colorway white grey ATIII (Bo's first sig. shoe), 2001 recently picked up regal blue OG c/w, a 2004 sc waterproof, three 2009 auburns (could never find the 98), a 98 royal blue, a 2001 'arizona', and two 99 infrareds round out the top shelve.

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-Medicine Ball trainers became a favorite. Two 2000 releases sit alongside a 2009 release. lastly a early 2000 white grey red basic themed AT III.
-My first nike cross trainer found a few new friends as I gathered up a few more 2004 air trainer 1 lows. They are the one and only air trainer 1 out there that doesnt paint chip
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My first pair of 2004 zoom trainers got me thinking. The shoe is just ideal for what I do and it thrives at providing comfort and cushioning. Do I really need anything else? In my eyes, the PERFECT SHOE. The stockpile is never ending with those. My trust in Nike is almost at a negative value with some of these newer models. I have no faith so I go back in time for some of these older releases and the hoarding begins.
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I knew I was onto something early on in 2005 with the first pair of 2000 air trainer 1s I had. The comfort was there. The quality was there. The story behind the shoe was there. Quickly you realize with subsequent releases of certain models/colorways, they are never going back to the good o'l days. I started searching these out and just not caring that I was accumulating what I was. 2 became 4. 4 became 6. now i sit around 8.

It doesnt just extend to the chlorophyll model however. 2000-2001 was quite the year for the air trainer 1 retro. Varsity Red colorway became a favorite. There was a michigan colorway that caught my eye and attention for 4 years before I could finally find my size, and of course the 2001 co.jp Safaris. Savier Trainers caught my eye late, like most of these shoes tend to, and I became fond of those. I'm always late to the party. Almost anything past 2003 is a no buy on an air trainer 1 front for me. quality is blah.

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Lastly some vintage trainers, running performance, running retros, and basketball shoes.
-2 lunar shoes for casual use (bottoming out is a no no for me).
-1990 air trainer high, 1991 bo jackson sig. model air trainer max, uconn uptempo retros (bought @ 50% off), classic white grey black swoosh look of an air 2 strong mid,
-your prototypical jordan III thrown in there.
-4 ultraflights remain a true favorite to this day for basketball..
-reebok classic casual.... brooks trance 5 and 6 runners. two asics runners.. and lastly the extent of my classic nike retro models.

cliffnotes:
found a early liking to a select few models... never steered too far away from those.. now today almost 4 models take up half of what I wear/own.

About midway through 2007, I got to thinking what would it be like to have a totally unique 'collection', about how much better it would look and 'seem'. But that didnt make me happy. bottom line, go with your gut instinct.. you like one pair more than others. buy the hell out of that model and stock pile . You're buying variety for who's sake? other people?

buying what you like youll never go wrong
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Damn, that's a lot of trainers
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!  Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing!
 
Awesome story Wally... Nothing wrong with being loyal to just one line of sneakers.  Props to you for just sticking with what you like.  
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EDIT ~ And for what its worth, I hold you responsible for some of the trainers in my collection... 
 
wally! love your story... it's so unique compared to most of us. i'd venture to guess that the average NT'er is more like me... grew up around jordans/nikes, but their parents couldn't afford them. so once they got older, they started buying retros and the love was reborn. you, on the other hand, were looking for a specific product to meet your needs at the time, and almost accidentally stumbled into this shoe culture. i love that. in a way, you probably have a better appreciation for the history, because you had to go back and research what most of us probably took for granted growing up.
 
Awesome stuff Wally! Ive always loved and respected your collection and taste for trainers.
 
amazing stuff man, lol those white cement ii's were a huge curveball, forgot you had that pair
 
amazing collection man! never saw a definitive collection of air trainers until i peeped this... stay strong and more air trainers to come!
 
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Before I clicked the thread, I placed an over under of 20 1/2 pairs of trainers. I picked under. Stupid me
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Amazing story, TimCity2000 said it perfectly.
 
Wally, your posts are very much appreciated. All the information your dropped in the running/training forum's trainer topic were great reads. To 5 more years!
 
I enjoy the love and the story...the trainer is one of my favorite shoes of all time.....and nice job on the "gentlemens pack" trainer, I also own a pair and its one of my favorites.....
 
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