I am a sneakerhead episode 172 - @Labizboue
My name is Benjamin, 27 years old. I am French and currently live on the east side of France. I am a mechanical engineer and started collecting shoes 6 years ago. You may say that I am a "new" sneaker collector, which is the case, and I will explain to you why. When I was young I was in love with sneakers, I remember when I went to Italy every year with my family, I used to find some pairs that you didn't see that much in France. From the age of 17 to 22yo, I went to military schools, we had uniforms all day so I didn't really buy shoes anymore. When I left my military school, the passion came back.
You mentioned that you are somewhat "new" to the sneaker community. What's your opinion on the community in general?
Well, there are two types of people in the sneakers community now. On one hand, you have people who are collecting and wearing shoes for the passion, and on the other hand, people who are just in this game to make money. I admit I sometimes try raffles on "big" pairs to maybe resell them, and buy a pair that I really want. These past few years, people have discovered that they can make a lot of money with pairs and even if you don't care about them, you just try to buy them. This thing gives fewer chances to people who really want to wear the shoes. That frustrates a lot of people.
Nowadays, it is kind of complicated to buy GRs because everybody tries to buy shoes even if they will gain 10/20 euros. The prices of pairs have generally increased, even with brands like NB that were affordable in the past. 5 years ago it was ridiculous to pay 250/300e for a pair, now it's normal to pay 800+ for a pair that is not even limited.
But you still have passionate people in this game, who are buying pairs that people don't even care about and they are happy with them.
Definitely! You seem to have a great variety of sneakers on your Instagram account, but what is your favorite brand?
My favorite brand is definitely Nike. I really like the design, it looks very aggressive, especially on AM90. But to be honest I am very disappointed with the recent pairs Nike released. Except on the AM90 (AM III), the quality check is very bad and the materials/plastics look cheap. So, except if I see a nice colorway on a new release, I would rather buy old pairs…
Even if I have a lot of Nike pairs, I really like to have pairs from other brands. I am currently in love with the new "ZX series" by adidas. They managed to update old models from the 90s.
I also really like Diadora, Reebok, and NB for the quality of the materials. They are light years away from what Nike currently do in term of quality.
What's your current top three in your collection?
Wow top 3 this is a difficult question ahah I would say :
top 3: Diadora Castellers
top 2: Diadora Correfocs
top 1: Air max 90 Dizze Rascal / Air max 90 KAWS ... I can't really decide ahah
All of these pairs especially for the quality and the colorways.
But certainly soon, another pair will take 1st place. You know that for a lot of Nike lovers, the absolute grail is the Nike Mag. But not for me.
I am a real fan of "Alien", you know the movie… I am a big fan since I was a kid, I have a lot of figures that cost a lot ahah. In the coming months, I will buy the Reebok Alien stomper high, originally released in 2016… I took an L on the drop. This is the pair that Ripley is wearing during the second movie at the end when she fought Alien Queen. It means a lot to me.
Did you find a private person that sells them or is it through a 2nd market platform?
I found someone on a FB group who has 2 pairs in my size, he told me that he could have sell one, and overnight he never answers my messages even if he still sees them.. strange.
There are not that many pairs on the market, it is limited to 426 pairs, as the first alien in the movie has been discovered on the planet LV-426. On eBay people are asking too much so I will certainly buy them on a market platform like StockX.
If you could choose one pair to wear for the entirety of 2021, which would it be and why?
I would choose the Air Max 90 Infrared, this pair is very comfy and you can wear them with almost everything.
Make sure to follow Benjamin on Instagram: