I am a sneakerhead episode 157 - @Feeel
My name is Phil, im 38 and I live in a small village in Surrey about an hour south of London. I don’t remember what my first cool pair of trainers were but I do remember in the early 90s wanting the Persian Air Max BW’s more than anything (fingers crossed for a 30th anniversary pair next year). I didn’t really get into collecting shoes until the early 2000’s and it started out with an obsession for Adidas. Pairs of SL72s, Jeans or Gazelles were always a favourite of mine to start with. After seeing a pair of Running Supports in the EQT colourway on the Crooked Tongues forum I fell in love with runners. The Guidance and ZX9000 were always top of the pile for me.
Do you have any favorite brands?
New Balance. A few years of exclusively wearing adidas, I saw a pair of the Norse Project 670s. After buying the pair I started buying and wearing New Balance a whole lot more and soon the collection had outgrown everything else I owned. 998s and 997s to this day are still my favourite models. I just love the shape, quality of the craftsmanship that goes into the Made in UK and Made in USA pairs. The colabs, especially with Concepts are second-to-non in my opinion. Although NB are my favourite brand I love trainers from many other brands now, Nike, Ascis, Diadora and Sonras can be found at home!
My top three pairs in my collection (one of each brand) would definitely be the New Balance 997 Concepts “Rose”, Nike Air Max 1 Atmos Elephant and the Sonra Proto MGB. All amazing pairs for different reasons and all pairs I wear.
What do you plan on buying next?
The Air Max 3 Radian Red, these are looking like one of the best re-issues of this pair for a very long time. Really excited for them.
If you could change one thing in the sneaker community, what would it be and why?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change a whole lot. I'm lucky to be part of a great group called G1runners based up in Scotland. Really great people who love the culture of trainers and will always help each other out. The re-selling and hype elements are frustrating but there really isn’t anything that can be done. I think I’ve got to a stage now in my life that if I can’t get a pair, then its no big deal, there’s always another.
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