SELECT Collections: Ken W.

As we’ve seen here in our SELECT Collections features, there are all sorts of collectors out there with all sorts of different tastes and approaches to the kind of stuff that they hunt down. While Air Jordans and LeBrons will always be a popular starting point, some individuals are more dedicated than others when it comes to the funds and legwork that they’re willing to pour in to cross off the rare and elusive items on their sneaker wishlists. While most of us just drool over photos of these high-priced and hard to find items from afar, there are those who go all in and pull out all the stops to get their hands on the kind of stuff that others can only daydream about owning.

Ken W. from Chicago dabbled in Jordans over the years, but the obsession bug didn’t bite him until a little later in life. Since then, he’s more than made up for lost time by putting together a stunning arsenal of the most coveted Air Jordan and Nike Basketball gems from the last few years. Being on the elder side of the sneakerhead demographic doesn’t make the infatuation any less fervent and it also means being set up in life and having the resources to go treasure hunting for rare sneaker gems. While he make take some ribbing from friends about keeping most of these conquests in deadstock condition, Ken looks at it like collecting art and doesn’t seem to bat an eye at prods from the “made to be worn” advocates.

In theory, it would be great to get a pair of Oregon Vs and wear them as beaters, but most people who track down a pair just aren’t going to do that and Ken isn’t afraid to admit it. Wearing all your shoes versus collecting deadstock pairs will always be a heated discussion, but you have to realize that for some people, it’s more about collecting than wearing. You don’t wear a piece of fine art or have a catch with a baseball signed by Mickey Mantle, so we need to just accept that there are all types of sneaker enthusiasts out there, and what’s really important is the love for the culture and not what people do with the shoes once they get them home.

Regardless of what he’s doing or not doing with his sneakers, there’s no question that Ken has amassed one of the more impressive collections around and we’ve got the highlights for you just ahead. In addition to just sharing his collection, he and some friends really went the extra mile by taking photos of the shoes in different spots all over Chicago, using well-known city landmarks, themed settings, and sneaker shops as the backdrops. There’s a jaw-dropping array of sneaker heat in the following pages, so get comfy and dig in for an all killer, no filler look at Ken W.’s amazing assortment, and stay tuned for more inside looks at the world’s top collections here on SN SELECT in 2014.

KEN W.

From:  Chicago, Illinois

Twitter/Instagram:  @kw21270

Approximately how many pairs of sneakers do you own?:  240

SN:  What was the first shoe you ever fell in love with?

Ken:  Jordan 5 Black/Metallic (original version).

SN:  What’s your favorite model of all time?

Ken:  The Jordan 4 is my favorite.

SN:  How many years have you been seriously collecting sneakers?

Ken:  I grew up when the Bulls were winning championships and just bought most Jordans when they released. It was not really a collection, but just wanted to have the latest Jordan. About 3 years ago is when I started seriously collecting.

SN:  What’s your favorite genre/category to collect?

Ken:  I love the basketball shoes and mostly the signature lines of Jordan, Lebron, KD and Kobe. My serious collecting began with any general release that came out that I loved which was mostly Jordan Retros. I started to look into more limited pairs and now my focus is mostly on PEs/samples and other limited shoes, and every so often a general release that I like.

SN:  How did you make that jump from buying the stuff that anybody can get in a store to the crazy rare samples and PEs?

Ken:  My collecting activities started getting crazy where I would be competing with others in my same shoe size in some of the sneaker Facebook groups, as well as eBay and other online sneaker sites that I found to be legitimate. Some of the sneakers I would see on eBay were crazy in terms of prices (anything over $1,000 I thought was crazy), but I saw the Eminem 2 and wanted it bad. I loved Eminem and Jordan, so it just made sense to me. It was the first shoe that I bought that was over $1,000, and I remembering feeling sick about it. The seller that sold me the Eminem 2s would get other rare shoes as well, and would often hit me up but he knew my reluctance to spend over $1,000.

I think my next big purchase was the black Friends and Family QUAI which I got from the seller who sold me the Eminem 2s. I started to focus less and less on the general releases, especially when they would continually be re-released, and instead went after the limited, rare pairs that were released, and the PEs that were never released. It was a difficult transition at first, but the quality of these limited (or never released) shoes was amazing, and I decided to make them my priority.

SN:  What was the first super rare pair you ever acquired and how did you get them?

Ken:  As I mentioned above, my first rare pair was the Eminem 2s. There were only 313 pairs released (313 was chosen because Eminem’s area code from Detroit is 313) and I purchased the pair off of eBay.

SN:  What’s the craziest thing you ever had to do to get a pair of shoes you wanted?

Ken:  Ahh, there are two purchases that come to mind that involved a lot of back and forth – not really crazy stuff, but a lot of discussions with the seller. My favorite pair of my collection is the Jordan UNC 4s. I fell in love with those shoes when I saw the first picture get released on Sneakernews and other sites. Then, a good friend of mine approached me and explained that he had a connection and might be able to get them to sell to him. Well, there was a lot of back and forth over 1-2 months because the seller did not want to ship the shoes.

We finally agreed on a price but he wanted to hang on to the shoes until the semester was over. During those months that he kept them, he was getting hit up by people from everywhere including overseas who were offering a lot more than I could afford. It was so stressful because he would tell my friend about it, and we both had some serious doubts that the deal would ever take place. But to his credit, he kept his word with my friend and sold him the shoes, and my friend kept his word to me and sold them to me, and, for a price a lot lower than what other people were paying for them.

Another top pair in my collection is the Lebron Miami Night Highs. The process of getting that pair was a lot shorter than with the UNC4s, but still involved some stress. When I saw a picture of the shoes online, I asked one of my friends who often purchases limited PEs if he could get that pair. He basically told me that it was never going to happen and casually mentioned the person’s name who had the shoes.

As it turned out, I had built up a number of different relationships with people, and, although my friend only mentioned the first name of the guy who might have the shoes, I took a chance and reached out to someone with that same name that I knew had limited shoes. It turned out that he did have access to them, and after some negotiation, I was able to purchase them! Needless to say, I could not wait to send a pic of the shoes to my friend who said I would never get them.

SN:  What’s the most you’ve ever spent on a pair and what was the shoe?

Ken:  Ehhh, I hate talking prices that I paid because I know they are insane and most people would not spend that much. It was probably the cash plus trade deal that I made for the Jordan Georgetown 4s. My three favorite College pairs are the UNC 4s, Oregon 4s and Georgetown 4s.

I had two of them, and was willing to pay a little more to get the Georgetown 4s. As it turned out, I negotiated a better deal than what I heard other people paid for their pairs, but it still was a lot of money.

SN:  What’s the crown jewel of your collection – the one centerpiece that you hold above all the rest?

Ken:  That would have to be the UNC 4. Not only because of the design and colorway, but because North Carolina is my birth state, and also because of the stress and long, drawn out process that it took to get that pair.

SN:  What’s your ultimate grail that’s missing from your collection – the one shoe at the top of your wish list if you could get your hands on it?

Ken:  Eminem 4s. I offered an obscene amount of money for a pair that was on eBay (the seller that sold me my Eminem 2s was the one who had these), and the seller had an offer of over $3,000

more than what I had offered. I am actually glad I did not spend that much on the shoe, but it is still my top pair that I want that is missing from my collection.

SN:  Have you ever had buyer’s remorse on a major purchase, where you put in a ton of work or money for a shoe and later ended up wondering what you were thinking?

Ken:  Well, camping out for the White/Cement Jordan 4s back in February, 2012 was one of the coldest nights that winter in Chicago, and I realized later I could have spent about $30 bucks more than retail and got the shoes. I would never do that again for a general release.

SN:  What percentage of your collection is worn and how much is deadstock?

Ken:  I would say 2% of my shoes are worn, and 98% are deadstock. My Chicago sneaker family (my SUS brothers in an online group called Shoecago United Sole) loves to give me a hard time about not wearing my shoes, but to me these shoes are pieces of art. I love wearing the shoes I mentioned above, but I get geeked up whenever I look at my collection of PEs/samples and see how perfect all the shoes look (no creases, no dirty soles, etc.). When I get a table at a sneaker event and start to open all the shoes, seeing the shoes in pristine condition reminds me of when I first got them. Some people keep their shoes deadstock to resell at a higher price. I have not sold any of my PEs or samples since I started collecting seriously three years ago.

The point I hear most is that shoes are made to be worn. That’s a pretty convincing argument. All I can say is what I said earlier, my rare/limited shoes are pieces of art to me, and I prefer to keep them in mint condition. That being said, I love it when people wear their shoes that are so limited. I am in a few sneaker groups (Shoecago United Sole, Chillbacknkickit, 23/06 and Property of Nike Not for Resale) filled with people that have PEs just like me, and many of them are posting pictures of them wearing their shoes—granted, some just take a pic so they can post it on FB or IG, but many wear their shoes a lot, and I love seeing that.

SN:  What are a few shoes that are heavy in your current rotation?

Ken:  I have been teased about how much I used to wear my Jordan 4 Lightnings, so now I rotate with Tiffany SBs, the Doernbecher 4, a Lebron 10 PE, a Christmas Hyperfuse PE, and some Jordan 4s like the Military Blue, Bred, and Fire Red. I also like the different Janoski florals and wear those a lot.

SN:  What’s the most recent pair you’ve picked up?

Ken:  Over the last month I completed my What the Collection with the purchase of the What the Dunks and What the Kobe 7s. I also have been able to pick up the Kobe 1-4 Preludes. But my most recent pick is one that I got very lucky with, and one of my

favorite pairs – I was able to get the Oregon 5s, and these green buttery smooth suede sneakers with the duck on the back and the padded insole show how Jordan/Tinker can still amaze the sneaker community with a pair of kicks!

SN:  What are some upcoming releases that are on your radar?

Ken:  There are a few sneakers that I am hoping to pick up over the next month. I would love to grab the Kobe 5-8 Preludes to complete my pack. Nike pulled a genius move with these Preludes because they have me hooked on releases for 8 consecutive

weeks! I also love the Black History Month pairs that Nike makes, and I am sure the All Star shoes will be crazy. I remember last year February was nuts with all of the Area 72 shoes and BHM shoes, and I am guessing Nike won’t disappoint us this year.