Celtkicks: Inside Sneaker Con New York

I love sneakers, and I’ve been called a sneaker-head, but I learned this past weekend that I’m nowhere near the sneaker-head that has come to define the recent explosion in sneaker collecting.

I am to true sneaker-heads what the occasional pot smoker is to Charlie Sheen.  I love my kicks, and I can’t resist impulse purchases when I see something I like.  But I wear my sneakers, and I’m not going out of my way to buy a pair of game-worn Kevin Garnett Nike Flightposites from his Minnesota days so I can put them up on some shelf somewhere (though I do still own an original pair of Flightposites).

So when I walked into Sneaker Con New York, I was smacked in the face with the Wall Street trading-floor madness.  I’d never been to one of these before, and the organized confusion of it all was overwhelming.

People were buying, selling and bartering never-worn sneakers, clearly worn sneakers, sneakers that definitely didn’t look like sneakers, and sneakers that had a snarky nostalgia to them.  Some cost thousands.  Some cost a lot less.

Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks was there for an autograph signing, and then he was off to peruse the goods… focusing only on the available Adidas  (he’s an Adidas athlete, and Adidas was a sponsor), with the lone exception of a pair of Patrick Ewings that were sold once upon a time (no one had his size 14’s in stock, so he left without them).

This is not an event for the faint of heart.  If you’ve wondered about going to one thinking some mild-mannered type with a shoe horn will fetch you a few different sizes, you’re way off.  This is for the hardcore sneaker-head who is there on a mission.  If that’s you, and you want to check out some upcoming events, head over to their website.  The next event is in Charlotte on December 8.

Below is a photo gallery of some of the shoes and shirts from Sneaker Con. The only really nice recent signature Celtics shoe was a pair of “That Guy” Jordan 13 PE’s.