First of all, could you please introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Kathrine Marie Rasmussen and I am the store manager of Rezet Sneaker Store in Aarhus, Denmark. I am originally from Aalborg but moved to Aarhus about three years ago. I have been working at a lot of different stores for the past six years including Moss Copenhagen, Han Kjøbenhavn, and finally Rezet. I started as a trainee at Rezet in 2019 and moved my way up to become store manager as of today.
My shoe collection did not really begin prior to me working at Rezet. Suddenly I was around people who had a huge passion for the community, bigger than I have ever seen before, which naturally got my attention. During my trainee period, I was taught a lot about the build-up of shoes and the difference in leather which just grew my attention even further.

My collection quickly took off, as I am not the type of person who throws out, or resells, my sneakers. I am ALWAYS confident that the shoes I might not wear today, will work out perfectly for an outfit in the future. Which is the reason my collection is now around 40-50 pairs after only three years.

Do you have favourite pairs in your collection, perhaps even a favourite brand?

I bought my first “proper” pair of shoes about 5-6 years ago. It was a pair of red suede Air Force 1 with gumsole. I will never get rid of those. My Jordan 1 Fearless also has a special place in my heart. I have only worn them a handful of times, but it was my first time ever where I had to pay more than retail because I really needed them. They are just sitting on the shelf at home, looking stunning with the beautiful lacquered leather. Besides those, I have my DNA Air Max 1, as I have always had a special love for the 1’s silhouette. I even loved them a bit too much for a period of time so unfortunately they are completely beaten up now. But that just shows, that I really appreciated them, compared to the rest of my collection.

However, after a few years in the game, I really started to love both New Balance and ASICS. ASICS mostly cause my final exam was about them, where I had to dig into the smallest details on how great quality they provide for their customers for a reasonable price. And New Balance just truly understands how to make an insane quality with timeless models, in a way no other brands can compare to in my opinion.

Do you buy all your sneakers at Rezet, or do you have any go-to websites, Instagram accounts, or even physical stores?
I buy stuff from a lot of different places. But the majority of my collection is bought at Rezet - Gotta represent!
Besides Rezet, I buy most of my stuff on the SNKRS app, Sivasdescalzo, Maha, and Patta. I fell in love with Maha and Patta when my boyfriend and I visited Amsterdam a few years ago, and ever since I have tried my best to show support of their crazy cool concepts. They are both very extraordinary in their service and handling of personal sales, which is something I am a huge fan of. If I could choose, you would not even be able to buy sneakers online. The feeling of walking into a store and experiencing the atmosphere, selection of sneakers, and staff is the greatest part of the sneaker community.

What is your favourite pickup of 2021 so far?

My favourite pickup of 2021 is definitely the Salomon XT-6 FT. The quality of them can attract any sneaker enthusiast, who would also like to take care of their feet. I wish I was able to say the recently released Nike x Patta collaboration. Sidenote, orange, and light blue are my favourite colours, even though it is a bit lame to have a favourite colour at the age of 25. I have to admit if you release shoes in either colour, I am sold. If anyone is selling in my size, please let me know.

What’s your opinion on the sneaker community as of today?

I think in general the sneaker community has become more inclusive. This is not a problem for the stores, but as consumers, it has become a huge problem to be able to cop the shoes you’d like to rock, without having to pay sky-high prices. I miss the good old days where it was cool to rock something because you had been queuing for it, or browsed the entire internet to find that exclusive pair that people would appreciate when you were walking down the street. If you have anything limited these days, the first thing that comes to mind is that you are one of those idiots who spend x4 retail on them.

Do you think the community has become more acceptable towards women, or is it still very separated?

To be honest with you, it is tough being a woman. Luckily I am a size EU39, so I am somewhat in-between as I can wear men’s EU40 with only slight room in them. Therefore, I can’t complain about the issue, in the same way as girls with smaller feet can. For women with smaller sizes, we luckily have a bunch of great spokeswomen on social media who are trying to persuade brands like Nike, in order for them to release stuff for everyone. I would also like to compliment the brands that work so hard to get women more included in the sneaker community, such as Naked and Maha, who use all their resources to create a business that is based around women, as well as working hard for the fact that women should be as included as men.

Is there anything you would like to change within the community?

My biggest personal problem is definitely resellers. There are far too many people out there who only buy shoes in order to make money off them. Even though they do it fair and square, it is so unfortunate that the good old days with camping outside stores to wait for something you would like to wear is over. I think people tend to forget that brands have a fixed cost based on materials, cost of sales, etc. so WHY should you go out and pay a bunch of extra money for a pair just because some dude came 3 minutes before you. I would love that at every release, customers were forced to put on the shoes, so they were unable to resell them after.
For my work, my biggest issue is definitely that people tend to forget why a shoe has been given a specific retail price. Some people expect a €100 shoe to last as long as a €220 if you only purchase one pair and wear them till they are beaten up. Some even think that you can wear a pair of sneakers every single day for 1-2 years without having any issues with them. You would never do the same with jeans or t-shirts simply because you know the materials won’t last. And clothing doesn’t even have to support your body weight in the same way as sneakers should. So I wish consumers would get a better understanding of this.

Blessed that you wanted to hear my story, thanks again. Stay happy and safe.

Make sure to follow Kathrine on Instagram: