For some, the economy is doing great right now, so I knew it was time to jump into sneaker culture. This past weekend, I decided to officially become a sneakerhead, a hypebeast, a foot freak—whatever we’re calling them now. And the most obvious place for me to get started was naturally... Maplewood Mall?
For those unfamiliar with sneaker culture, it’s big business. Last year alone, the global sneaker market reached $94.1 billion. You could buy like, four dozen eggs for that much money! Buyers and sellers all over the world are constantly looking for the most rare, unique, and, above all else, extremely fresh footwear, which can fetch hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Apps like StockX, SNKRS, and GOAT have become online havens for collectors and dealers, and sneaker conventions are frequently held all over the country.
Which brings me to this sneaker show.
While Minneapolis has a handful of sneaker shops—Studiiyo23, Piff, Third Degree Heat—that specialize in fancy kicks, I made the choice to trek it out to Maplewood for the first-annual Just Imagine Sneaker and Fashion Fest. The event promised dozens of local vendors showing off the latest in art, fashion, accessories, and, obviously, sneakers.
Before heading out for the day, I take a look at the impressive lineup of sneakers that I already own: a pair of Nikes I got from DSW last summer, a pair of running shoes my in-laws got me for Christmas, and my checkerboard Vans slip-ons, worn exclusively while mowing the lawn.
But at this event, in order to fully embrace my new role as a sneakerhead, I am ready to drop some bands. Or at least, one band. My budget is (up to) one HUNDRED dollars for the right pair of kicks. Let’s begin!
Turns Out I’m Broke
Well, shit. A quick lap around to a few tables teaches me that I will not be getting any shoes—let alone fire kicks—in my price range.
The vibe is still cool, despite my financial shortcomings. Nearly 30 tables are set up in the lower corner of the mall, with local business owners spotlighting shoes, clothes, and jewelry. There’s also a double-dutch jump rope crew and a DJ pumping the sounds of my generation—Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan.
While I have absolutely no idea where to start, there are plenty of people here who are much more well-versed in the shoe game who may be able to get me on the right track.
David “Red” Frazier is the owner of Just Imagine, a sneaker and clothing store inside the mall. Frazier is the organizer of today’s event, and his shop just opened this past November. This is his second location, with the flagship Just Imagine located on Payne Avenue in St. Paul. Not only is he incredibly welcoming to me and everyone else in his store, shaking hands and thanking everyone for coming out to the event, but he also looks cool as hell.
“I always loved fashion as a kid, but I was raised in a lower poverty area so I didn’t really have a lot of the cool stuff,” he says. “As I got older, I grew really fond of fashion and started shopping in different stores, traveling to different states and seeing how they moved. Minnesota was pretty late on the fashion scene. It seemed like the East Coast and West Coast were getting everything first, and then we would get it like three to five years later. I wanted to change that, so I made my own concept.”
The store itself is stocked with racks of designer T-shirts, hoodies, and two-piece sets for men and women. And up front, by the register, are two floor-to-ceiling displays of incredible sneakers, all plastic wrapped to maintain their pristine condition.
Unlike my personal sneakerhead HQ, DSW, Frazier’s rotating stock of shoes is based on what he can find through sneaker sites or raffles, as well as what sneakers find him.
“Kids are always coming in with sneakers, trying to sell or get something new,” he says. “I’m looking for quality. A lot of Jordans up until this year were pretty iffy. I’ll take out the insole, look at the stitching. Sometimes I’ll take a blacklight to it so I can see if someone put a sock in the shoe. A lot of people are looking for deadstock, which means they’ve never been worn before. All the shoes I have are resale, so I wrap them to keep people from trying them on.”
While we’re talking, a family comes in with several boxes of shoes, clearly looking to make a sale.
“No Yeezys!” Frazier says to them emphatically, referring to the brand belonging to vocal Nazi Kanye "Ye" West. “It’s bad for marketing. Every time that guy opens his mouth, those go down in value.”
Frazier ultimately ends up buying two pairs of shoes from the family, including a pair of Rui Hachimura x Air Jordan 8 “Black Samurais.” That pair alone is valued at around $300, but Frazier is able to get the seller down to $150.
“I have never actually seen this shoe in my hand before,” he says. “And then it just fell into my hand.”
As for how he lands on a price, Frazier explains it in a way that puts Moneyball to shame.
“I have to look at the retail price of the shoe, then see how much stock there is out there,” he says. “Then I see how much they most recently sold for online. It’s a lot of mathematics, but it’s nice because now you can go online and figure it out. Back in my day you had to ask someone in the neighborhood who knew about shoes. The internet helps a lot.”
The resale prices on most of Frazier’s shoes in the store range between $200-$400, but he has some steep exceptions.
“The most expensive thing we have here is probably the Jordan 1 Retro Off-White,” he says. “The Virgil Abloh collab. We’ve got a size 14 that’s about $2,500. I’ve also got a pair of Black Cat Jordan 4s. Those are about $1,200.”
I consider offering up my Nike Court Vision Lows that I’ve been wearing for the past eight months (retail $68), but decide I’m outmatched and should move on.
$500 for a Shoebox?
While Frazier has turned his love of shoes into his main source of income, others at the event are just skilled shoe hobbyists.
Miguel Zagal, along with brothers Aldo and Bryan Rodriguez, sit behind a table packed with shoes and skateboard decks, talking shoes with passersby. Their online business, MN Steppas, has been a passion project for the three friends since they were in high school, and they have hopes of eventually turning it into a big business.
“I always wanted to own a pair of Jordans,” says Aldo, the most knowledgeable sneakerhead of the three. “So when I got my first paycheck, I went out and bought a pair of Jordan 4s. I bought those for like, $200. I wore them for a month or two, and then thought, ‘What if I can make some money on these?’ So I sold them for $300, and then just started building up from there.”
While the trio is definitely in the business of buying, selling, and trading shoes just like Frazier, they’re more focused on the friendship and fashion aspects.
“Aldo was a big sneakerhead in high school,” Zagal says. “He was always trading with our buddies and stuff. And like, we’re best friends and I know he’s passionate about it, so I started tagging along and popping up at local events with him.”
Behind their table is a wall of shoeboxes. While all of my shoeboxes have been transformed into Valentine’s Day card receptacles for my kids’ schools, Aldo explains that the boxes can be worth a lot more than the cardboard they’re printed on.
“Collectors want to have the original boxes,” he says. “If you don’t have the box, you’ll lose like $50-$100 in value right away.”
While I’m busy considering jumping into a shoe store dumpster like I’m mining for copper wire, Aldo picks up a furry green and red Nike with a strawberry embroidered near the heel.
“Some boxes are even more valuable," he says. "These right here [Nike SB Dunk, Strawberry Cough] have like a really special box. They’re worth an extra $400-$500 if you have that box with them.”
Seeing as how the boxes for these shoes alone are more than my total budget, I’m quickly accepting that today isn't my day to transform into a full-fledged hypebeast. Others, however, are willing to drop major cash.
An (Anonymous) Family Affair
A father and his two adult-seeming sons are carefully surveying the MN Steppas table. I can tell these dudes are serious about shoes, because all three are wearing extremely clean, very fancy sneakers that I have no clue about. They also refuse to tell me their names, which feels extremely normal and cool.
“These are Off-White Jordan 5s,” the dad of the crew explains. “They go for about $600.”
Despite their unwillingness to share their identities, the crew does inform me that they made the trip to today’s event from Forest Lake, and that it’s their first time visiting a shoe convention.
“They’re all too far away,” explains one of the sons. “I spend too much on shoes, so I’m too poor to fly anywhere.”
For this family, sneakers are meant to be worn.
“I’ve got about 55 pairs of shoes,” the dad continues. “I try to wear them all. It’s taken me about two-and-a-half years to build up my collection. I really started getting into it after my divorce.”
In an effort to break up the extremely awkward moment that papa has created for his children, I ask the other son about the bag he’s holding with a distinct Air Jordan box inside.
“These are the Jordan 4 Red Thunders,” he explains, opening the box for me like it’s the briefcase from Pulp Fiction. “I paid almost $500 for them today. I’ll probably wear them this week. Honestly, I just bought them to make them jealous.”
Though I’m always down for a good spite purchase, the proud father says that shoes have always been something that brought his family together.
“I got him a pair of shoes when he was little, and we’ve been looking for the same ones ever since,” he explains.
With that, my mystery sneakerhead fam rolls out, leaving me to ask the question: “Would I be a better father if I bought my nine-year-old $2,500 shoes?”
In the end, I decide to remain a mediocre father and walk away empty handed, happy to have gained the gift of knowledge. But for folks like Red, today’s event at Maplewood Mall is only the beginning of what he hopes is a Midwest sneaker empire.
“We got people here today who drove from North Dakota, Duluth. They say to me, ‘I wish we had a place like this in my neighborhood,’” he says proudly. “I want to franchise Just Imagine and bring this to different areas where they don’t have a lot of options [for sneaker shopping]. I wanted to do this event today because I want to show people that you can do something that you’re passionate about and that you love, and you can make money on it if you’re smart.”
