I have a pair of 1987 OG Air Max 1’s. Most of you know the story about how I acquired them (if you need a refresher look at my story highlights).
Short version - I helped some dude sort through a storage unit in Hawaii FULL of completely deteriorated vintage shoes. He gave me the AM1’s for my trouble.
Once I opened the box, I was super excited that they were what I thought they were, but as soon as I pulled them out of the box - the midsole very literally turned into this sticky, gooey, chemically dust. In my hands. There wasn’t a sink around so I just wiped it all off on my shorts. It was gross. Think of the type of thing you think cancer is born from.
I brought that pair home and just wondered...wtf am I supposed to do with these now? The upper of a shoe...the outsole... and a big empty void. What were my options? I hit up my dude to see if he could do anything and over the course of a year or so we looked for an Air Max 1 Retro for the swap. It looks great, sure, but deep down, it kind of pains me to know that the 2012 release doesn’t have the same sized air unit as the OG. None of them do, in fact.
Nowadays, this shoe just sits in a grail box in my office. But...what’s the point of me owning it? Is it to look at once in a while? Is it just to say I own it? Is it to wonder what could have been? It’s kind of like those pairs that I loved as a kid...Penny II’s, Jordan VI’s...the pairs that *defined* my obsession. I’m just happy to have HAD my hands on them...I *made* my memories in those shoes, but I’m definitely not making any more in those pairs. That’s why I don’t own them.
Enter the physical (and digital) cards. I know...cards don’t go on your feet. Sure. But I’m kinda over owning everything. At this point I wear Waffles and ACGs far more than I wear anything a sneakerhead would be excited to see. I own digital versions of my sneaker history - they’re the hundreds of thousands of pics I’ve taken of shoes that I’ve owned and sold. Sure, I miss a few. Wish I kept a few. But they serve as a reminder to me. A reminder of what I was doing, what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be. And THAT. Tapping into THE MEMORY is what I’m striving for.