All this talk about sneaker culture being dead has me pensive about what that means: What part of sneaker culture is actually *dead* to you?
A lot of y’all who follow me have been here for years have been around the block a few times. We ain’t youngsters. We’re probably mad at some of the sneaker stuff we see and we’re probably amazed at some of the others…things have definitely changed, but the culture *definitely* isn’t dead (see my last few posts).
There are a TON of things about today’s sneaker culture that are well and alive for me…I don’t think there’s been a better time to *really* be into sneakers. But it does make me think: what (about sneaker culture) has died for me? I created a bit of a list for myself...it's not exhaustive, nor is it final. These are GENERALIZED statements...but...:
- eBay was really the first domino for me…when they added that ‘authenticity guarantee’ a few years ago I was livid. Because I don’t need ANY of them dudes telling ME what is authentic.
- StockX is dead to me…but…that’s also because it was never really alive for me in the first place.
- Basketball retros are (mostly) dead to me.
- Selling in the used sneaker market is (mostly) dead to me.
- Quick flips (unless they're for massive amounts) are dead to me.
- Buying anything just because it's a ‘good deal’ is dead to me.
- Triple black and and triple white shoes are dead to me.
- The concept of a ‘grail’ is dead to me.
What about you? What has died for you?