I am a sneakerhead episode 183 - @ollenoppa
First of all, could you please introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Florian Veit Lauterbach and I'm 38 years old. Me, my wife and our 7-year-old son are living in Dortmund, Germany. You will know the city of Borussia Dortmund and the most beautiful stadium in the world. That's at least what the New York Times once said. I'm working as a deputy branch manager for a big supermarket company. Furthermore, I'm a member of the "Ruhrpott Sneakerstammtisch". A regular table of around 30 guys and girls sharing their love for sneakers, fashion, and beer of course.
For how long have you been collecting sneakers, do you remember what your first proper pair were?
Can't tell exactly when it started. I guess I was around 14 years old when sneakers got really interesting for me. There was a guy at our school who always had the newest pairs. Today I would say it was the Nike Air Max 97 "Silver Bullet" that caught my attention at first but I never owned a pair of them. The first proper pair I bought was a white AM90 with some black accents. Besides the adidas Samba, the AM1 and the AM90 were my biggest love in my youth. I also had some BWs but it was difficult to wear them where I grew up without people thinking you were one of these "Gabber guys". The Samba was the perfect model for a guy who loves to play football a lot. I don't know how many pairs of it I've beaten to death at the pitch or in moshpits.
By the way the first pair of shoes I really wanted and I begged my parents to buy weren't sneakers. It was Dr. Marten's boots. Having my roots in the Punk-, Hardcore- and Metal-scene I just needed a pair of them. I still own it but nowadays I'm only wearing it when I go fishing.
You seem to only collect New Balances, why is that?
In 2012 it started that I got really pissed with the lack of quality that Nike provides. I'm doing 30 to 40 kilometers per day at work and so I need shoes that don't fall apart after 2 months. So I started searching for something that would hold longer than this. At the same time, I got into this social media thing I refused to do before. I found some sneaker-related groups on Facebook and so I began to get in touch with other brands than adidas and Nike. I tried Asics but recognized quickly that Gel was too soft for me. One day I read about the factories of New Balance in Flimby and the US. I Didn't know before there was a big company still producing shoes outside of Asia. This was really interesting for me. Here in Dortmund most people only know the 574 and so I did. I guess even today a lot of people here associate New Balance with fascists. Pretty difficult for a guy who lost his hair at the age of 20.
In 2013 my wife got pregnant and I thought this would be the end of collecting sneakers for me. So I was in need of quality more than ever. That was the point I gave a shit about what people could think of me. I'm not a fascist or am dealing with other isms in general. The people around me are knowing this. One day we were in Essen a city near Dortmund. At this time there was the store "Solehunters" and I stumbled over a pair of 577s for 100€. It was the M577OOK. I bought them and I loved them the moment I wore them for the first time. I began to read more and more about the history of New Balance and started to connect with other NB enthusiasts and employees. For me, it's still some kind of romantic that I can talk to guys and girls working at the factory in Flimby and even get in contact with designers of New Balance.
Somehow I figured out being a dad doesn't mean that I have to stop buying more sneakers than I really need and so my collection nowadays is bigger than it ever was. Even I threw away around 30 pairs of AM1s and AM90s when we relocated for the last time some years ago.
I love the vibe the New Balance community has. There are some really cool guys and girls all around the world. Helping and taking care of each other is a really important point and a thing I never experienced before in the Punk- and Hardcore-scene for example. Ok, I have to admit it slightly changed when the hype came to New Balance two years ago. Sometimes it's annoying to see people you can tell are only there because of hype without having any interest in the history of NB. At the same time, it's getting more and more difficult to get your hands on a pair, but I won't let circumstances like this destroy my passion. I'm still sticking to my own rule: "I get a pair from a store or I have bad luck and will try it for the next pair that I'm interested in." That's why I never cry about resale prices.
This is by the way what I'm always telling them so-called OGs and newbies at the same time when they get pissed of by something. "It's all about your passion. Don't care about what others are doing or thinking."
Do you have any favourite NB models? Perhaps even releases?
There are some models I really like. The 576, 577, and the 991 at the MiUK site for example. At the MiUSA site, I have to mention all 990 versions and the 998 which takes the biggest part of my collection. Unfortunately, I came too late to the party so I missed out on the golden years of all these great MiUK collaborations.
Oh, and before I forget it: I love every silhouette with a V3-sole. Maybe the most comfortable of them all.
I'd love to hear your opinion on the upcoming M990V6, how do you rate them?
The M990V6 is a must-have for me. I like the evolution of the 990. Ok, I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of the V2 but all other versions are really great on feet. It's really hard to imagine that New Balance was able to top the comfort of the V3 and V5 but I assume they have done. Furthermore, I think it will bring a lot of new people to New Balance as the V5 did. Just look how many Nike fans are owning a pair of them and are wearing them on heavy rotation.
Do you currently have anything on your radar?
To be honest I'll be slowing down a little bit over the next year. I figured out it makes not much sense to buy more and more pairs without having time to wear them all properly. I never sold a pair and I guess I'll never do so my collection is growing since 2014.
For 2021 there's only one more pair I'm aiming at and this is the M990VS4. I also would like to get my hands on the M1700JP and the 1591 that unfortunately got no release here in Europe. Time will show if I will get them.
The only must-have I got on my mind for 2022 is the V6 right now.
What is your all-time grail?
I really don't like the term "grail". I'm not religious but I think it should only be used in this context or when you're talking about Indiana Jones. Other reasons are: I'm not a guy who is hunting sneakers at secondary markets and I never paid over retail price and refuse to do it in the future. So it makes no sense to me to think about it. But of course, there are pairs that always come to my mind when someone is asking me about them.
These are the Frontline Shop x NB M576FLBG and those Thomas i Punkt 577s.
Make sure to follow Florian on Instagram: