I’ve only just realised that my last post on the Air Max 1 "Curry" was my 10th article since starting the blog, I’ve never put myself out there as a writer, it was mainly an area for me to jot down my thoughts, away from drama, brands and social media and I’ve found writing very therapeutic, which has come as rather a surprise as before the blog I’d shudder with hate at picking up a pen or opening a word document.
I would like to add that it does help that the feedback has been positive, and I’ve enjoyed reading messages of those who like my style of writing and commitment to making the best content I possibly can, something I’ve always believed is a good word here and there doesn’t cost you anything and it’s good to support your mates, you’d be surprised at the effect it can have on someone’s day.
So anyway this is more of a personal recap of the start of May and my visit to Sneakerness.
May is always my favourite month because it’s my month of birth, the fabled time when the warrior of prophecy arrived to bring a new light to the land of footwear, but nah seriously I just like cards, cards and action figures, stuff that keeps me young and being around my friends and family is always fun, I like to drag it out as long as possible until everyone is sick of me but in reality it’s just nice to celebrate another year of not being totally useless.
This year I was invited to Zurich in Switzerland for Sneakerness AKA Europe’s largest and I’d like to say most professional event franchise, now since leaving my past business I’ve been getting a lot of work here and there on a consultancy tip, I’ve got 5+ years of knowledge when it comes to sneaker events and it seems people are eager to tap into that, but this is the first time in ages that I’ve been invited to sit on a panel talking shoes, It takes me a few questions to warm up but I quite enjoy it being honest and this was one of the reasons that Sergio and his team flew me out.
Now I’ve never been to Switzerland before, I wasn’t even sure where Zurich was on the map, all I could think was tax evasion and useful little army knives but damn, the place is beautiful! It’s all clean concrete, trams and old style houses surrounded by hills and mountains of lush green forest, honestly one of the best places I’ve visited, I even thought about moving for s split second before I realised there’s pretty much one sneaker store out there (Titolo) and I’d be very much lacking for work.
I stayed at the lovely Swissotel and after some confusion at the checkout I opened the door to my room, the bathroom and beds were clean and the shower powerful, that’s all I really care about when I stay at hotels so I can’t fault it, freshening up I got dressed and replaced the battery in my camera and made my way down to the event which was literally 2 minutes from my hotel, very good planning that, thanks.
So what was my thoughts on Sneakerness? Well it reflected the city it’s within, it’s clean, well put together and friendly never once was there any drama that sometimes underlies the U.K event and I’d put this down to Sneakerness being a business first then expanding into a community rather than the other way around which brings up its own issues later down the line, yes it’s a slower method to running a event but it pays off dividends in the long run, the event was split into 3 rooms, first a lobby area where the talks and bar was located, next the huge room which featured the sellers and brands and finally above it all was a balcony and chill area featuring a Supreme archive and another bar and seating area.
Everyone was happy to see me and the places was filled with old friends and new, blessed vibes all around, I enjoyed my talk sat on a Panel hosted by Kish with Julz and Matt both long-time event owners/hosts.
Something I know you guys will care about is what stock was on offer as this is a crucial part of the event, and I was pleasantly surprised by the spread of course there was a ton of SW 97’s and Off White and sellers stocking those left the event very happy with a few racks in there pockets but bar that you can really see the different tastes, trends and pairs that are popular outside of London for instance, 95’s, 90’s and Spiridon’s were in abundance and for a good price and these would usually be snapped up before most events even opened, again there was also a nice mix of TN’s and vintage, mostly small sizes but nice to see.
Supreme obviously does well in such an affluent country that’s restricted in terms of stores so this was moving hands super fast but also a first was a vintage Polo seller that had some classic items including the fabled Snow Beach all for what I consider good prices.
I moved myself around the event taking photos and recording a few clips for Size? and then dipped back to the hotel before being invited to a Friends and Family dinner, Lebanese food but the drink was flowing and was the perfect end to the day, everyone went out to a club but now being old I went back to the hotel and watched a few more episodes of Deep Space 9 before falling asleep surrounded by Egyptian cotton.
Winding down I won’t delve too much into Sunday I spent most of it in the pool or at the gym before heading down for a quick look at the event and to pick up a pair I had my eye one, dropped those back at the hotel and did a big fuck off circle of the city snapping photos and just taking it all in, got an early night as I had to be up at 4AM for my flight which ended up getting cancelled and just became a massive nightmare but your man sorted it all and I didn’t spoil my stay.
Take a look at the photos below and as always let me know your thoughts either through IG or my email, massive thanks to Sergio and the team for having me out and thanks to the crowd who listened to me drown on about footwear events, I hope you found it insightful.
Peace!
