If you have a passion for collecting rare or exclusive footwear, you're probably all too familiar with catching yourself developing some strong emotional ties for certain pairs from your collection.
In the monthly Kickin' the Door Blog series, we welcome fellow Rotterdam-based sneaker aficionados and footwear connoisseurs to share the Top 3 sneakers from their collection and let us in on the stories that make them so special.
JAHRELL @Jahenasir
For the 26th edition of the Kickin’ the Door series, we are joined by Jahrell.
He is a 19-year-old student at the University of Rotterdam, studying for a Bachelor's degree in International Business, while also studying Japanese. From the moment that he bought his first pair of Jordans, he was completely sold on the sneaker game and is convinced that he’ll be buried in his J’s!
We are curious - What are Jahrell's Top 3 sneakers from his collection and more importantly, what are the stories behind them?
#3
Nike Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Hyper Royal'
(Released in 2021)
I was always trying to get sneakers for retail on the SNKRS app and was never successful until the “Hyper Royals” came out. I wasn’t even that excited, because I lost hope in getting sneakers through the SNKRS app, but I still tried to get them. I had set up an alarm and got in the queue for the Hyper Royals. While I was in the queue, I went back to sleep because I didn’t feel like waiting for 15 minutes just to be met with disappointment. By the time I woke up a couple of hours later, I just went on with my day until I checked my notifications and saw that I won, I was flabbergasted and very happy that I won this sneaker, and I still am.
#2
Nike Air Jordan 1 Retro High 'Turbo Green'
(Released in 2019)
This Jordan 1 Retro “Turbo Green” is the second sneaker that I bought for resell. In the past, I used StockX a lot, but by the time I had an eye on this sneaker Restocks was also available in the Netherlands. I was searching for this sneaker in my size for a very long time while hoping that I would get it for a fair price. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it at the time.
A couple of months later, I received a message that the shoe was finally available in my size. I told everyone in my surroundings that I would buy this sneaker no matter what, but I couldn’t afford the sneaker at the time, so I let go of it. Christmas came around and my mom was teasing me, saying: “You don’t have enough money to buy them?”. I ignored her question at the time but was later surprised by the fact that the last remaining pair was bought by my mother and grandmother as a Christmas surprise for me, hence the reason why these shoes are so special to me.
#1
Nike Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Pure Money'
(Released in 2006/2017)
The reason I chose the Jordan 4 Retro “Pure Money” is because this shoe has an amazing combination of modern and vintage looks. They are a beautiful addition to my collection. It was the third sneaker I ever bought, but the first sneaker I got for a resell price. Back in 2019, this sneaker was maybe 50% over the retail price, nowadays it’s worth €800+. This sneaker is special to me because it’s an eye-catcher and it fits very well with every outfit.
HONORABLE MENTION
Nike x Travis Scott Air Jordan 6 'British Khaki'
(Released in 2021)
This one’s my honorable mention because it's my first collaboration shoe and also one of my most worn sneakers besides the Pure Money’s and Jordan 1 'Bones'. Travis Scott was a trendsetter at the time with his Mcdonald's collaborations etc. Not a fan of Mcdonald's, so I skipped the Travis Scott x Mac Donald’s collab. Then I saw this sneaker and was like ”I missed the Travis Jordan 1’s so I gotta win this one”. I lost, but I bought them not that expensive for resell later on.
