Sneaker Freak

Supreme Nike Dunk Hi SB, Supreme Dunk Low Dunk, Tokyo's, Paris's, London's and Pigeon's. For the average person, this list of names may not make much sense, but to those known as "sneaker heads," they are some of the highest sought-after sneakers, considered the Holy Grails of the business.

A sneaker head is a person who is obsessed with the making and or collecting of sneakers. There is a completely different world or underground movement going on in the sneaker-collecting business that is slowly but surely going mainstream.

For example, Nike has a skateboarding shoe that has become very popular even though the majority of the people who purchase these shoes will never skateboard.

In the past, Nike produced a new pair every few months, but since the boom in success and recent interest in these sneakers, they now produce a new pair every month.

Collecting has changed as a result, because newer shoes are not as rare since they are produced so often.

Chuan Dillard, an 18-year-old high school student from Diamond Bar, said he started collecting because his friends were doing it and it, but it's become an obsession now. He said his whole world revolves around sneakers.

With no job or income to support his addiction, he depends only his parents' weekly allowance. At times, he saves his entire weekly allowance of $50 a week and starves himself to save enough money to support his sneaker-collecting habit.

To some this might seem crazy but to others, it's the lifestyle of a young sneaker head. Mike Su, a 28-year-old business executive in New York said he became a sneaker head because it makes him feel unique. Because the shoes he sports are so rare, wearing them makes him feel more confident. Fueling his shoe addiction, Su buys a new pair of shoes every week so he can wear a different pair everyday.

His Holy Grails were a pair of sneakers that were part of the Nike Sib City series. The shoes were the N.Y.C Pigeons, valued over $2,000. The particular shoe is one of the most-hyped sneakers in New York City.

When the shoes were first released, muggings and shootings occurred outside of the stores. Su was one of the victims mugged for his newly-released pair. As he was on his way home from the store with his purchase, a group of 18- or 19-year-old kids recognized Su from the store, pulled out a pocket knife and told him to give up the shoes or else.

Without any hesitance, he gave up the shoes. The kids ran off and Su never saw those kids or his Pigeons again.

What would you have done in this case? Some sneaker heads say they would have put up a fight. Others say life is worth more than a pair of shoes. It all depends on how much of a sneaker head you are. As the sneaker wars rage on, one this is clear: Collecting these rare shoes is not an easy life.