I am a sneakerhead episode 173 - @Mattiamomy
First of all, could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Mattia Momentè, I'm 33 years old and I live in a small town not so far from Venice but way too far from any sneakers store. I'm a high school teacher in the morning, and a graphic designer and WordPress developer for the rest of the day. I love Japan and food :D
You seem to have a great variety of sneakers on your Instagram, but do you have any favourite brands? Perhaps a favourite model and release as well?
Like in many other sneakers tales everything started with Nike back in 2007/2008. Over time I fell in love with a lot of other brands like Asics, Diadora, Puma, New Balance, and many more. I'm not the kind of collector that focuses only on one brand. I look at and tend to like shapes, regardless of brands.
Choosing a specific shoe model is quite difficult but there are a few that reminds me of happy moments and good vibes. My favorite Nike shoe ever, without second thoughts, is the Nike Air Flow Voltage Cherry CW. In the second place, I would definitely put a pair of Nike Mayfly Bowerman Series, for the model itself but also for the way it embodied the "Move to Zero" concept. And a special mention goes to the Puma Blaze of Glory in my collection. I think I have 10 or 12 pairs. To me, that's one of the best Pumas ever, very comfortable and super easy to wear with any outfit.
I'm also very fond of the Nike x Off White "The Ten", of which I attended the first 5 models release in Milan. That's one of those moments I will always remember, not much for the shoes but for the people. Coming from a small town, that to me was one of the first times I met a lot of other collectors I knew from Facebook groups, and that I regularly used to chat with. Great times, great people, and some nice shoes.
I hope in an Air Max 96 II Mystic Teal release too this year, being the anniversary. From the leaks I read, it seems it might actually happen in the next two months.
On your last Instagram post, you featured four 991s, which of them is your favourite?
The ones I like the most are probably the Slam Jam 991. I really don't know why they are so underrated. The materials are very good and unusual for a pair of NB, and the colorway is easy to wear and match (even if the 3M parts are very bright!). The others three pairs in the photo are really nice too, but still underrated. Unfortunately, I had to pay resell price for the Patta ones... Anyway, shout out to the Slam Jam team (both stores and outlets) because they are always very kind and friendly. The SJ headquarters, which are the closest store to me (200km XD) is the store I visit the most.
Were you able to cop all of your sneakers for retail except the Patta 991? If not, where did you get them?
I've bought most of my shoes for retail price but in the last two years, I've also had to rely on resell platforms like StockX, Klekt, or Depop. Usually, I'm very lucky on raffles on sneakers websites, but no so lucky on the SNKRS app. I have no desire to owing all the shoes, I'm happy to have what I can.
What's your take on the community, has someone ever helped you out with a release?
Community is everything for me in the sneakers game. I'm in a lot of Facebook and WhatsApp/Telegram groups with people I meet online. Some of them have become family and I always keep them in mind. We help each other a lot, I can always find someone available to help me out, and in return, I'm always up to do the same with others. It doesn't matter what the resell price is, this is family!
Make sure to follow Mattia on Instagram: