Anything for kicks: Inside the secret world of sneakerheads in Mumbai

"Sneakerheads are not just those with a huge collection of sneakers. Every sneaker has a history behind its creation that increases its value beyond the price tag. You can have just one pair and still be a sneakerhead if you know the history of that sneaker," says Yash Anand, a designer and student from Mumbai. The 21-year-old discovered his ever-growing love for sneakers in May 2020 when he bought his first Adidas Yeezy inspired by the American rapper Kanye West and "has never looked back since".

Yash Anand's collection consists of 12 pairs, of which the Nike UNLV Dunk Low is his best loved one. Image courtesy: Yash Anand.

Nysha Joshi, another city-based sneakerhead and lawyer by profession, for whom every pair that she possesses is reflective of her life phases, echoes a similar sentiment. "It's about knowledge, passion and emotions. Sneakerheads can never see their sneakers just as shoes. They know about their pair inside out, from their history, to its evolution."

Like Anand and Joshi, a number of sneakerheads have developed a fascination for sneakers over the last few years. While it is the history of sneakers that intrigued some, for many, two main factors contributed to the passion - the growing popularity of street wear or grunge fashion and the increasing need for comfortable clothing. The influence of hip hop, indie rap and K-pop has boosted the sales of street wear, which commonly includes sneakers, and has encouraged fashion labels to explore them too. The Covid-19 pandemic further generated the need for comfort so that athletic apparel, of which sneakers are an inseparable element, began to be worn for non-athletic occasions.

Starting off from the Adidas Yeezy 350 Utility Black in 2019, Nysha Joshi's collection includes several from the Yeezy series, but, her most prized possession is the Nike UNC Off-White Jordan 1 designed by Virgil Abloh, a rare find. Image courtesy: Nysha Joshi

The trend is also a result of excessive exposure to social media handles of sneaker resellers, hypebeasts (those who collect every limited edition sneakers irrespective of the price), celebrity sneakerheads and Instagram influencers, which directly or indirectly lured in even those who were never really interested in sneakers beyond the basic Chuck Taylor All Stars or the Vans Old Skools.

According to sneakerheads, Nike's Air Jordan 1 collection, Dunks and the Adidas Yeezys are the most popular in India currently and that the demand for these have surged since the pandemic. "When I visited a Nike store in 2018 or 2019, I noticed Jordan 1 Lows on the shelf, and it's now very difficult to find one in any store," says Rahul Agarwal, whose passion for basketball and NBA matches led him into the world of sneakers in 2015. Through his Instagram feed, he indulged in heavy research about the Jordans and Kyries sneakers that had caught his attention.

For Shaureh Khan, it is not only important to find sneakers which tell a story through their design, but also the ones that carry a rich heritage on their shoulders. In picture: Khan with Jordan 1 Mid Diamond SE valued at around Rs 22,000 (left), Nike Dunk Low Dusty Olive worth Rs 32,000 (right)

For city-based Shaureh Khan too, the pandemic was about sourcing his first pair of sneakers. After a bitter experience with a fake purchase, for the 20-year-old entrepreneur, May 2021 was about striving to win exclusive sneakers on the Nike website, an endeavour that got him six pairs of the Air Jordan 1 High Shadow 2.0. Reselling the remaining five pairs earned him his first treasured sneaker just a few days later.

The hustle to get a coveted pair

The traditional method is to "cop" - a sneakerhead slang meaning ‘to obtain' - it directly from the website of the stores via raffles, a lottery system employed by the companies for which sneakerheads pay for a chance to win the pair at retail price. This might be an off-chance for some, while there are some who get lucky more than once. The other way is to line up outside the stores right when an exclusive drop is announced until the day of the release and try your luck in terms of stocks and sizes available at the two or three stores in Mumbai which release it.

Queuing up, waiting outside stores, requesting relatives abroad, or even physically going to a store in another city to track down a misplaced delivery box (as Anand did for his pair of Air Jordan 1 Shadow 2.0), are some of the ways or as sneakerheads call it "hustles" to get their ‘grails' - a slang which means the pair of sneakers one desires the most, irrespective of the model or price.

"I camped outside the Adidas store for an entire night for my first Yeezy, and luckily was the first one to cop that beauty. The feeling of holding your fresh pair of shoes is surreal. This feeling is no less than holding your newborn baby. All that wait, hustle and exhaustion is worth it. People treat their kicks as their most prized possession," says Joshi.

Some people also source their sneakers from resellers. Reselling is simply the process of obtaining an exclusive pair of sneakers from various sources and selling it at a price much higher than the retail value of the pair. Once a practice restricted to only a few people lured by the profits from the market, reselling has become a common practice these days with almost every other sneakerhead showing interest in the business side of their passion. The motto being to simply earn some profits from the increasing demand or to expand their collection of pairs from the money earned, for some.

Agarwal, who is a 20-year-old college student now, limits himself to sourcing only for friends and family for their resale value. "The entire objective is to expand my collection, as I am unwilling to spend much of my parents' money for this. I like to keep shoes for personal use rather than resell them always," he says.

Rahul Agarwal's grails are the Jordan 6 Travis Scott "Olive Green" and the Air Jordan 1 High "Mocha" from the 10-12 pairs in his collection. Image credit: Rahul Agarwal

For some within the community, who do not see sneakers as a commodity to be used for exploitation, the practice of reselling and profiting off sneakers goes against the ethics and principles of sneakerhead culture. According to them, the resellers who cop the pairs through multiple plugs and sources reduce the chances of purchasing it at a fair price for those hustling and saving up for months to purchase it. Not all resellers are sneakerheads or part of the culture; for them what matters is the business of it.

However, resellers disagree saying they are only catering to the growing demand and that is ethical as long as they are not duping customers or indulging in other malpractices.

For female sneakerheads, there are a different set of challenges that ultimately hinder their chances of copping sneakers as compared to males. The reason being limited stocks due to lesser demand for their sizes, usually UK 4 to UK 6, in a male dominated sphere.

"In any case, with sneakers being a male-ruled interest, there's a void for women sneaker enthusiasts in the community, as we get unsolicited mansplaining for putting forward our knowledge and interest in the sneaker society. The prevalence of resellers and their hired men in the queue also reduces our chances to buy them at retail price. Because the pairs are rare, we end up paying a hefty price," says Joshi.

What defines the sneaker culture here?

In addition to social events organised by some of the big players in the sneaker business in India, such as Superkicks, VegNonVeg and Mainstreet Marketplace, sneakerheads in Mumbai gather for community meet-ups on a smaller scale, sometimes intimate, and sometimes at the city's high-end clubs in Bandra and Khar. ‘SneakerHeads of Mumbai (Cult)' is one such Instagram group, managed by Anand and his friends, which brings together the sneaker lovers of Mumbai. The group meets up frequently over a period of one to two months.

These club gatherings, attended by at least 100 people, are mainly about making acquaintance with fellow sneakerheads in the city, talking about sneakers, flaunting one's own possessions, engaging in passionate and insightful talks that concern ‘shoe matters' and all-in-all socialising.

"Meetups in Mumbai are fantastic because they allow us to connect with people from all around the city. We party, play fun games, some resellers or Indian brands set up their stalls, and we mostly flaunt our shoes at gatherings. Most of the people I have met in such meetups are now my best friends, and I personally am looking forward to meeting more people," says Agarwal.

Yash Anand (Left), Rahul Agarwal in his Nike Air Jordan 1 "Mocha". Image courtesy: Anand and Agarwal

Any discussion about sneaker culture cannot take place in isolation of its political and social roots in the United States. Whether it is the urban youth from the Black community representing the street culture of the US or NBA player Michael Jordan's 1984 deal with Nike, which birthed the iconic Air Jordan series and the hip hop group RUN-D.M.C's 1986 collaboration with Adidas to drop the unlaced Superstar series, sneakers represent a history of assertion of identity amid marginalisation of vulnerable communities.

When Colin Kaepernick appeared in Nike's popular ‘Dream Crazy' commercial after taking a knee in protest during the national anthem at the 2016 National Football League games in the US, and when a New Balance public affairs chief made a statement suggesting support for the Trump administration's economic policies, the brands were condemned by sneaker lovers on either side of the political spectrum. Despite such occasional political involvement and attempts at standing for communities, it will not be wrong to say that the culture stems originally from and has always belonged to the people, who democratised it in terms of fashion and identity - from it the young kid donning a pair in the streets to the prominent personalities from the hip hop and basketball communities claiming their identities.

Does a similar sentiment about the intersection of fashion and society resonate with the sneakerhead community here? While members acknowledge the importance of every shoe's history, the culture here is more or less restricted to an individual's tryst with sneakers, fashion statements, and self-expression.

"Unlike in the US, the sneaker culture here is still at a nascent level, which makes it difficult to discuss political matters at a community level. There are groups who do that too, but it is at a very small level," says Anand.

Khan feels the "sneaker culture in India consists of a very esoteric community", which makes it extremely difficult to convey an idea to the general masses. "Although the sneaker community is extremely active in social movements, such as showing support for freedom of expression and the LGBTQ community," he adds.

Additionally, a question that may arise among many is how inclusive is the community of sneakerheads whose collection of shoes is often worth lakhs? If you are someone with profound knowledge and unwavering interest about sneakers, but have never held the shoes you desired for in real life, will it be easy enough to be a part of the community? Well, the sneakerheads say that the community welcomes all those with open arms who share the same love and interest.

"It all starts with one pair and every grind tells a story," says Anand. Similar to his belief, the sneakerheads this writer spoke to share a common idea that it's all about one's passion for sneakers and the knowledge of it. In Agarwal's words, no one will judge you on the basis of what shoes you are wearing as long as it's an original pair, but "bear in mind, if you are wearing fake shoes and sneakerheads notice it, you will have a difficult time in the community."

"All it takes for a person to get involved is to keep an eye on what's happening around them and in the sneaker scene and take some effort to step out of the house and meet people. If you have intense knowledge about sneakers then come and talk to us about them! One can just make artworks and play a key role in the community because it was always about just one thing - sneakers," says Khan.

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