According to the Urban Dictionary, a Sneakerhead is 1. A person who collects limited, rare, OG, or flat out exclusive kicks. Usually the collection consists of Jordans or Dunks. 2. A person with background knowledge of certain sneakers.
Jim Malloy, half of the creative duo behind Bunky Boutique, is a bona fide Sneakerhead -- a title he'll halfway tolerate.
What he won't accept is being called a sneaker expert.
"Expert sounds obnoxious," says Jim. " I think it's like any other subculture, you just get immersed in it."
He will also get embarrassed if you stare too long at his his insane collection of Limited release special edition sneakers, some of which are one of only 200 pairs in the world.
More on Sneakerheads and Jim Malloy's collection after the jump.
But it is true that he knows more than the average person about fancy sneakers (he has more than 300 pairs). Most are the likes of Nike, Adidas, Puma and Converse and not a single pair are regular ol' kicks. These babies are top of the line, many of them from special stores in China, Japan and Europe. These are the kind of pimp treads collectors scour blogs such as Nice Kicks watching for the next great pair to drop (or be released) and will pay dearly for on secondary market sites like eBay.
Recalling his first crush on a pair of Air Jordan Ones, a gift from his dad at the age of 14, Jim says " I just kind of flipped."
Since then, it's been an addiction he can't seem to break.
Sporting chocolate bunnies, luchadores and everything in between these sneakers are size 13 pieces of art. Many behemoth companies such as Nike collaborate with artists, clothing and furniture designers to continually produce sneakers that stay fresh, culturally relevant and highly collectible, keeping connoisseurs like Jim constantly on the look out for the rarest of the rare.
"Its really all about the hunt" says Jim.
Spoken like a true Sneakerhead.
