First up, could you please introduce yourself?

My name is Crippe Malmeby and I'm 40 years old, I live in Stockholm, Sweden. I'm married and I have two sons (potential sneakerheads ;-)). I work as a Category Manager/Buyer and in my free time I love to work out/do sports and I have a big passion for hip-hop music.

Living in the Stockholm area, have you had a chance to meet up with any local sneakerheads?

Well, back in the day we were a couple of guys meeting up for a beer and lining up outside of SNS (Sneakersnstuff) and Caliroots when it was hot in-store drops. Nowadays it's mainly via Social Media but we still try to meet now and then at Sneaker-swaps etc. Many of us are now around 40 years old with regular jobs and family so it's hard to find the time. The runner (90-s runner sneakers) community is not very big in Sweden though. Most heads and hype kids are into Dunks and Jordans but we're some people in Stockholm and Malmö that share the runner passion.

How many pairs do you currently have in your collection?

Counting my performance shoes (being an assiduous runner) I have about 100 pairs. I have tried to narrow it down a bit lately though. My "Sneaker shelf" is built for 80+ pairs and I try to have about 80 really nice pairs of sneakers that I rotate.

You seem to have a great variety of sneakers in your collection, any favourite brands? Perhaps a favourite model?

I have in the last couple of years tried to focus even more on the brands and models that I love the most. 

Asics and Diadora are by far the two brands that I'm most into but I also love MIG (Made in Germany) KangarROOS and the Swedish neighbour-brand Karhu.

My all-time favourite model has to be the Asics Gel-Lyte III. I still remember the feeling of trying them on for the first time and it was love at first sight with the split tongue and the shape (old shape aka Re-mastered shape).

When buying sneakers, do you usually do it in physical stores or online?

Well, I honestly loved buying sneakers in-store back in the day but unfortunately today there's no point for me to do that. I have one of the best retailers in the world basically around the corner in SNS (Sneakersnstuff) but the sneaker landscape has changed so much that the store itself today (in my opinion) is rather uninteresting. All sneakers that I'm interested in are either only released via raffle, dropped by retailers in Germany/UK/US/Japan or via Social Media communities such as Diadora Talk, Asics Addict and KangaROOS Talk. The only occasions I buy in-store are if it's an SNS Collab or SMU that I want.

Have you had a chance to purchase anything in 2023 so far? 

I haven't bought anything released in 2023 so far. I'm on paternity leave and have to hold tight to the money for now ;-). I was aiming for the Re-Mastered GEL-lyte III's by Ronnie Fieg but without success. Apart from those two releases, it has not been much that I have truly been into that has dropped yet. However, it's always the same when spring/summer comes there's always some great runner releasing. I recently managed to do a great deal on two pairs of MIG KangaROOS, which were released some years ago, with a German gentleman on FB (KangaROOS Talk). I always try to make some good deals on old pairs rather than just buy new pairs that are hyped and then fade in some months. All the pairs that I love the most have either been pairs that I REALLY REALLY wanted as soon as I saw the first images emerge (read GL 3 Koi's) or pairs that I have gone back and forth to look at during months/years and finally got a good deal on them long after the release date (read N9000 Skeletor).

Recently you started customizing your own Gel Lyte III, could you please let us know what the motivation behind it was? 

I had for some time been thinking about doing a custom on my all-white pair of Gel-Lyte III's and finally bought a pack of Angelus sneaker painting colours. It was a very fun project and very nice to be able to have some time over and to do creative stuff that you usually don't do. The inspiration was the best collaboration ever made in my opinion: Diadora N9000 x LimitEdition "Castellers". A pair I have realised I will probably never be able to buy for a decent price in my size. My custom is not comparable to Castellers at all being all in leather and therefore much "glossier" but I'm glad I finally did it.

Would you consider customizing more sneakers in the future?

Well, I'm not sure I will have the time when I'm back to work (paternity leave now) but who knows. It sure was fun! I will however always customize my Karhu Fusion II's in the way of having 7 made holes with flat laces in it.

Do you have a favourite pair in your collection?

I have three pairs that I truly love and that also have a story behind them.

Asics Gel-Lyte V x Ronnie Fieg "Volcano"
Back when these dropped I worked on weekends and unfortunately it dropped while I was working. I was at SNS the day before and was allowed to have a sneak peek at the pair (the golden years) and I fell in love with the shoe. It was so goddamn beautiful! I remained patient though and finally got a hold of them in good condition in my size 2-3 years later.

Asics Gel-Lyte III x AFEW "Koi"
2015 was maybe the best sneaker year in recent history with the 25th Anniversary of the Gel Lyte III. So many dope collabs were made. Koi was, in my opinion, the best of them all and when SNS announced which date it was released I had anxiety, I still worked on weekends and on the day before (Friday) we had a company party and then I had to start working on the Saturday at 12.00. The Koi's were released at 11.00. So, I went straight to the queue (around 01.00) and made sure I was the first one in line wearing my size. I was in total number 6 in the queue. It was such a hard night but with some good company and a folding chair to sleep in, I managed to grab a pair in my size and then start work an hour later with a heavy headache a.k.a. hungover.

Diadora V7000 x AFEW "The Cure" F&F

In the spring of 2017, me and my wife finally went to Japan on holiday. We both love Japanese history, culture, food and (me) sneaker shopping. We stayed the first week in Kyoto and then two weeks in Tokyo. I still remember the afternoon in Kyoto when we got back to the hotel and I started checking my phone. All of a sudden I screamed "it can't be true" and my wife thought something horrible had happened. What was happening was that I saw and realised that the Friends and Family Edition (50 pairs made ww) of the V7000 "Highly Addictive" called "The Cure" was set to release exclusively at Beams T in Tokyo while we were there. The day of the release arrived and me and my wife were standing in line on a sunny and humid morning outside of the store. We met up with Hiro aka @Yukigraphics and his girlfriend and some other very nice Japanese sneakerheads. Marco and Andy from the AFEW Team were there as well. In Japan (at least on this release) you queue to get a number and the number says in which order you place yourself (after everyone has drawn a number each).  I wasn't lucky and got a very high number but my wife (who's often lucky) managed to draw the number 9, which also happens to be my favourite number. As number 9 in line, my wife was able to get "The Cure" in my size. The whole holiday was very memorable but this occasion made it even more special for me and will always be something that I will never forget. 

Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to my fellow sneakerheads in Sweden:

Jonas W - @Wallacedidit

Jonas Å - @Jonas.a.sandqvist

Jimmy - @J_the_hoffa

Kristofer - @Kristoferboman

Michael - @Snkrmichael

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