My name is Julien Cheron and I’m 45. I come from France and I leave in Orléans which is a city next to Paris. I’m a married father of three. I have been working in the cigar industry for 13 years (which explains my concept air cigar). In that way I can mix two passions. I think I’ve always been a sneakers’ fan, for my birthday and Christmas, the gift was always  a pair of sneakers. When I was younger, since I used to play tennis and basketball, I noticed some pairs like Agassi, McEnroe and Jordan. But it was when I was 13/14 years old that I became addicted to sneakers. It was at the same time that i discovered hip-hop culture ( I used to do graffiti and to be DJ which gave me occasions to make French rap mixtapes and work with some groups). This accompanied me during my youth till 2000 when I opened my sneaker store in Clermont Ferrand (a city in the center of France) till 2005. 

I was selling hip-hop brands (Ecko, Fubu, phatfarm, Dada). After 2 years I was able to open a Nike trend account, it was the period when dunks were trending and I maybe had a little collection of 80 pairs of low Air Force. At that time it was my fetish pair with baggy pants, it was the top. 

My favorite brand without a doubt is Nike, my favorite model is the Air Max 1. I like huaraches, Air Max 180, Cortezes… I don’t remember which one was the first, but I remember during my 4th year of high school, I made a traineeship in a sport store and I was in love with a pair of Air max 1. My boss saw me every day watching the pair of Air Max 1 blue, decided to give it to me after the traineeship. I was too shy to put them on my feet. Even after 30 years, it’s still my favorite pair and I think I bought them 4 times.

my 3 favourite pairs this year are three air max 1 of course:

• Denham

• SKNRS Day

• Amsterdam

What do you plan on buying next?

I'm looking for an air max 1 master friends and family, like many of us but I'll settle for the classic master

If you could change one thing in the sneaker community, what would it be and why?

if all the kids could stop buying pairs just to sell them and earn €10. In my opinion, it kills the market.

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