TBH…my head has been nowhere near sneakers since that news out of Texas…hard for me to focus. If you got friends who are parents of little kids - check up on them. And if you’re a parent and just want to vent about it - DM me - I’m here to share the burden.
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A few people asked me what I thought about that Zadeh Kicks thing and I don’t really know anything about this dude other than what I’m seeing all over social media. I looked at his IG and…111k followers for sale pics of new releases? I mean..
I know it’d be easy for me to say ‘y’all shoulda known better’, but that would serve no one. Anyone with these types of promises (ie: ‘pre-orders!’ or ‘retail or bust!’ or ‘100% authentic!’ or ‘early pairs’ or ‘we all look out for one another in this PAID community’)…they ALL remind me of the grifter class. These are people looking to capitalize off of our impulses.
Where we see nostalgia and stories and inspiration, the grifter sees dollar signs.
Obviously, the sneaker market has exploded over the past few years…but a lot of the dudes who I knew before it became mainstream are in a similar boat as me - we don’t know these people. We don’t care about these people. We make the sneaker world work for us however it fits into our lives. We don’t make promises, we don’t charge for info, we just do what we do. Because we like it. And we want others to like it, too.
I wanted to say ‘ya’ll shoulda known better’, but the truth is, I also got caught up with some stuff like this a few years back and I DEFINITELY should have known better. I still ain't collected. it DEFINITELY ain’t my place to throw salt in anyones wound. Shoutout to guys like @corgishoe and @digglahhh and @kooth23tn and @ogkwoods for always dropping game. I feel especially bad for the kids who simply didn’t know any better and lost their money.
Stuff like this makes the market look bad, and I'm ok with that…because I’m not here for the market…I’m here for the shoes. And…again…truthfully…I feel a slight bit happy when grifters are shaken out…it sucks that people lost money, but hopefully it opens up some eyes…
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If you've been affected by and of this, feel free to lmk.