When I first met Shoepreme, he had a lot of questions for me that I barely even knew. He’s always had a curious and inquisitive nature to him that I respected. The whole thing was confusing because at this time I don’t think he was sure what he wanted to do yet. He threw questions at me with rapid succession that didn’t seem to connect, which I gladly answered. I’ve seen him grow from “who is this guy?” Into one of the most popular sneaker resellers that has effectively utilized social media and technology to build an entity all his own. Nowadays, he still asks me a lot of questions but this time around he’s asking all the right ones.

WEKSOS: If someone asked you what you do, what would you tell them?

Shoepreme: I sell shoes.

WEKSOS: What lead you to this life? Or was this life lead to you?!

Shoepreme: I’ve like shoes since I was a little kid. I remember going over my Aunt’s house, grabbing the Eastbay catalog (pre-internet days haha), and sitting there for hours circling all the shoes I wanted. But It wasn’t until I was in High School that I could really afford all the shoes I wished to buy.

WEKSOS: The sneaker market has changed quite a bit in the past few years for better or for worse depending on who you ask… How do you think it has changed?

Shoepreme: For starters I think the market in itself has had a huge turnaround. For better or worse is based on the individuals still remaining in this so-called game.

One major change is in the amount of new releases we see…back in the day, there would be a new drop every 3 months or so that you would go out, lineup for (with enough money saved up), and buy. Even with how the economy is in today’s world, brands are consistently pushing out releases every month if not more often. It makes the shoe game less desirable for lack of a better word. The excitement you get when you buy a shoe now just isn’t the same.

It’s unrealistic to expect things to stay the same forever but one thing that I wish would’ve carried through is the culture. You now have kids that buy shoes due to peer pressure, if you will, out of fear of not having the coolest most hyped sneaker. Everyone buys the same shoes and wears the same clothes; there is no originality. There used to be a time when you camped out with your lawn chair (for shoes you actually wanted to wear because you liked them) and became best friends with the people in line with you, but it’s not like that anymore. That’s how this entire culture started, with the love of sneakers, and without that, what do we have?

I’ll bet anyone $100 that you’re guaranteed to find at least one camo cargo short having, snapback wearing “sneakerhead” in any of today’s campouts!

WEKSOS: Would you say the Shoepreme brand is your little way of carrying on that aspect of the culture? The philosophy behind the brand seems to put an emphasis on bringing people together… Whether through recognizing other “sneakerheads” through your logo hoodie or providing beanies for their camp outs. Yes?

Shoepreme: I’d like to think so. How cool would it be to know that everyone who purchased a product from you believes in the same things you do? That’s the ultimate goal! Getting people to buy in and connect with your brand on that level not only brings people together but helps tie them into why we all got into sneakers to begin with. One of my favorite shoe stores, that I personally support, is RIF.LA and that’s because I believe in what they’re all about, “Good People, Helping Good People.”

WEKSOS: That’s a good quote. I always hear people complaining about resellers prices. The way I see it, you’re providing a service and if someone wants it they will have to pay your premium. What do you think the biggest misconception about you or resellers (the real ones) in general are?

Shoepreme: There are a lot of people out there who may not like myself or resellers in general but there’s also a good amount that love what we do and appreciate the service we provide. Without us many wouldn’t have been able to get, their Holy Grail, that shoe they’ve been hunting years for but could never find.

I’m a big believer in price is what you pay and value’s what you get. You might find the same shoe from another seller at a lower cost but will you even get the shoes? Are they authentic? Does it take a month for them to ship? Customers pay more for peace of mind from people they trust.

If you look up the definition of “service” in the dictionary you’ll find this, “the supplying or supplier of utilities or commodities, required or demanded by the public.” It all boils down to supply and demand and at the end of the day I supply the demand.

WEKSOS: Do you think that a lot of the value has been lost in the sneaker industry? Some people think things aren’t exciting as they used to be and I tend to agree.

Shoepreme: Most definitely. We already know which shoes are releasing for Fall/Winter ’12 thanks to the world wide web. That’s like your parents posting a picture on the fridge of the Christmas present they’re getting you six months in advance. How exciting is that? Yeah, you’ll still be happy and grateful you got it but there’s no thrill. The experience isn’t the same. That’s why this past year I decided to do the Shoepreme Mystery Box! Haha. It was a crazy idea but to this day I still get emails from people asking me if they can purchase one. For those who aren’t familiar, customers were able to send in any amount of money they chose and all they were guaranteed was a pair of shoes in their size. They had no idea what they heck they were going to get but they trusted me and for those that took the risk of sending hundreds of dollars I made sure that they got taken care of. The whole point of that little project was to bring back the fun and excitement when purchasing a pair of sneakers.

WEKSOS: That is pretty cool, that’s something traditionally done with clothing brands that you applied to your gig. What else sets you apart from the other resellers?

Shoepreme: I just like having fun with it. It’s more than selling shoes, it’s the people you meet and the relationships you build along the way. One of the things that I hate about selling shoes online is not being able to meet every customer and that’s why I so badly want to open a brick and mortar store. I’m not sure if I fully answered your question but I’m not in business to compete against other resellers/stores, my goal is to have as much fun as possible selling shoes and meeting dope people!

WEKSOS: What are your plans for the Shoepreme brick & Mortar store? Would you have actual accounts or continue to resell and carry Shoepreme goods?

Shoepreme: When the opportunity presents itself I have a lot in store! A consignment shop would be ideal because not only will it provide the online store with a better selection and more product but I’d be able to help people get paid! That’s important to me and it feels good too. My vision is for Shoepreme to be a one stop sneaker shop. Beyond providing rare shoes I’d like to cater to what my customer might want but find somewhere else and buy. I’ve been working on developing the brand side of things with clothing, accessories, etc now so that when the time comes to open up shop everything is in place and ready to go.

WEKSOS: Do you think the future of sneaker culture lies within what these companies decide to release, how rare it is, how much it is, how it’s designed? Or do you think the future lies within the attitudes of people that make up sneaker culture?

Shoepreme: I would say both. A lot of people these days are complaining about the quality of recent retros (despite the minor price bumps) and yet they continue to buy instead of saving up a little more cash for older releases with better materials. Remember kids…quality over quantity! Companies will always control what’s releasing, how often a shoe’s retro’d, price, quantities, etc., but ultimately it’s up to the individual to decide what they really like and care enough about to spend their hard earned money on.

If YOU buy what YOU like, the future of sneaker culture will be just fine!

WEKSOS: If you had one piece of advice to kids out there wanting to do their own thing that you wish you knew when you started… What would you tell them?

Shoepreme: If I could give one piece of advice to anyone, especially younger kids, it would be to do something that you’re passionate about. You constantly hear people telling you to go to school and get a good job that makes a lot of money but you never hear anyone say do what makes you happy. Finding something you love to do is more important than anything else. Johnny Cupcakes said it best, “Real success is having fun doing what you love.” Last but not least, make sure you work hard, have fun, and go get it!

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the Concords, these are the shoes that caused mass hysteria around the country.

According to Shoepreme… Tinker Hatfield originally designed this to be a dressier shoe that would perform well and not look like an Alien lifeform.

This is obviously a genius idea, first run sold out and second run is steadily getting there.

Shoepreme did these initially as a fun flip but now people keep wanting Box logo everything. It works though, obviously.

He recently did these ‘Camp Out’ beanies for when you are in line.

He will be selling these at SF WEKFEST. These plate frames are exclusive to Nike Employee’s.

These are awesome. He bought actual Jordan shorts and used the cement print fabric for these pocket tee’s.

His labels look like a Nike box!

He might take custom orders for these size shirts. This one was made especially for Franalations.

Photos: Jose Ontiveros

Words: Minister