Sneaker Culture?

What ever happened to sneaker culture? Admitting that you were a sneakerhead, without having to proclaim it every chance possible. Where did the actual love go? Was it lost when the word "collecting" was replaced with competition? Or is it a question of personal loss and the aloofness for pursuing a passion? Are there two sides of it?

The manufacturers and marketing teams are to blame but some would argue that the consumer is the real "problem". If there weren't such a demand for the product, releases would be more limited, and the actual quality of the product would improve. So what changed between the release of the Jordan I (that was called ugly by Jordan himself initially) and now, when people will campout for a shoe that they know virtually nothing about? Or in the present and foreseeable future, when people will spend entire paychecks on an overpriced sneaker with sub par quality and is irrelevant to it's actual intended function, just because Hypebeast.com says that it has a nice colorway?

Or is the blame to be placed on those who are retiring from "the game". Those who allowed their "love" to be tainted by the new breed of consumer entering the arena. The consumer who was in it solely for the "status symbol" that came with it or, because it just isn't acceptable to have a 10 deep t-shirt, g-shock, and some streetwear keychain to hang from your belt loop but, no pink box sbs? How can "retirees" expect the culture not to decline when there is no one there to remain true to the actual "game"?

"Sneaker culture" is a mess. What was once a hobby shared by few has turned into a carnival filled with Money hungry CEO's, Teenagers guilty of projection running around pointing out and showcasing "hypebeasts", Sneakerheads in denial of their rejected titled, "Retiree's" and those on a "holier than thou" tip atop pedestals in their cracked and yellowed OG's, and people like myself who hate sneakerheads, like themselves.

I've no actual "solution" to this problem that isn't really a problem but, just words as always. Really it's just been on my mind for the past few weeks or so when I've been literally giving away (or selling) sneakers (13 pairs so far) because it seems pretentious to have a closet filled with 40+ pairs when a lot of them don't get much wear. A year ago my Mom called it disgusting and I had to laugh at her because, she just didn't get it. How important it was to have my grails just sitting in the dark closet, to be seen maybe once every two months. Silly woman...Yet, here we are a little bit over a year later, getting rid of shoes by the day so that I won't feel guilty when I purchase more. It's still disgusting, just slightly easier to stomach for my Mom.


So Folks, these are the shoes that will make the trip. The rest are either sitting pretty on someone else's feet or are waiting patiently in their boxes for the next three months until I return.