Welcome to my first installment of the Evil Collector’s Blog. First off, let me introduce myself; my name is Abacus217, and I am a bonafide sneaker addict. I guess my earliest memory of this addiction started when I was in Junior High-school in 88, when my mother purchased my first “high-end” pair of sneakers; it was the royal blue suede Patrick Ewings with the reversible 33 strap. Before then I was just getting general released NIKES & Reeboks, but from that moment on, I was hooked to exclusive sneakers.

I grew up in a middle class family & I was fortunate enough to have great parents who made sure I had new clothes for the upcoming school year. Nothing too expensive because I had to work on their budget, but in most cases, the majority of the purchases were on sneakers. I can recall going into a frenzy when I was admitted into one of the better High-school’s in Queens, NY, not because it was a good school, but it was that I had a bigger budget to work with for my school shopping. I can recall my parents taking me down to Downtown Fulton Street, in Brooklyn, and they purchased 3 pairs of sneakers for me that day ( red suede NIKE Cortez, and 2 pairs of Air Force 1s). As time went on, sneakers sort of took a backseat because I started to focus on music-but I always had some nice kicks to rock.

It wasn’t until I graduated college, and found a permanent job, that I caught the urge to buy sneakers again. I started to search high and low for all the sneaker models I “slept-on” or couldn’t afford when I was younger. I started scouring Ebay to try to find these gems, and noticed that the prices were kind of high for discontinued models. I didn’t understand it at first because I thought that there wasn’t many people like myself, who loved sneakers so much. It wasn’t until I met my friend Dan, who started to introduce me to similar people who shared the same interests as I did when it came down to sneakers. He also introduced me to the NIKE SB line (skateboard sneaker line by NIKE), when he purchased the Orange Supreme Dunk Hi’s that were released on a cool Autumn day. I didn’t know about camp-outs, line-ups, nor have I ever entered a skateboard shop before that day. So like any fascinated person, I started to do my research on that specific line of NIKE’s, and decided to purchase my very first SB on Ebay (the “Vamps”-black leather/black suede/red swoosh). I loved that specific model due to the extra padding on the tongue for my wide foot to feel so comfortable. I became such an addict after that moment; I started to research on what, where, and when sneakers were being released throughout NYC. It became such a serious addiction that my paychecks were almost gone by payday, and I can’t even put a price on the the time & effort spent trying to hunt down the pairs I wanted.

Along my travels, I would also befriend a lot of sneaker addicts like myself , and do so many crazy things to get sneakers (for example like fighting, & skipping lines-I’m not proud of those moments but they are memorable). I also gained very useful knowledge on how to spot a fake pair of sneakers, and how shiest some of my peers were when it came down to making deals or trades.

It wasn’t until the Olympic pack (Gold dunk, silver af1, bronze air max 95), when I started to realize that if I purchased more than 1 pair, I could resell the extra one to pay off my pair, and/or make a profit off of the sale. I met a kid named, All-Day BK, who introduced me into selling and buying in bulk. Throughout the past few years, we have gone to different states, to do deals, and other sneaker related stuff. I started to network with suppliers, shop managers, employees, just to cop and resell-and in turn use the profits to purchase the pairs I always wanted. This has been my secondary income for the past 5 years (and unlike many who are doing it nowadays, I incorporated my company, KOI NYC, and I used my profits to start a better future for my family, because the fashion market is fickle-stack your bread up).

I never knew that sneaker collecting would become as big at it is today. It has allowed me to travel to different states (Sole Collector Miami, ISB in Ramapo & Atlantic City NJ, etc), and also different countries (Canada, Japan & China), to exhibit, showcase, and to hunt for sneakers. I’m proud to be an affiliate to the “Best Sneaker Store in the US”, Flight Club, and also be well respected by my peers. I’ve sold to many highly acclaimed rap stars, and actors, whom I thought I would never have spoken to, meet in person, or grow personal friendships with because of being a fair sneaker reseller. My addiction has truly benefited my lifestyle, and I’m glad that my mother was the start of it all (even though she’s tired of waiting for packages coming to the house while I’m at work, lol) !