Sneaker junkies: The passion to wear sneakers

Manuel Lorenz

Thu, December 19, 2013 at 09:00

Christian Kopsch has around 80 of them, Felix Günther has worn them for as long as he can remember and Chris Gersch has bought the pair that the sports teacher he adored in elementary school wore: sneakers. The three people from Freiburg told us about their passion for sneakers.

Christian Kopsch (32)Founder of the internet platform Hiphopfreiburg.de

"There are different types of sneaker collectors: Some only buy limited editions, regardless of whether the shoes fit them or not. Others only buy cheap shoes and pay less attention to whether a model is ultra rare. Personally, I only buy shoes that I like, that fit, and that I will wear at some point. I've never had five to ten pairs of my sneakers on, so I'm still waiting for the right moment. The "Sneakerness" last March in Zurich was such a moment. So I inaugurated my Ronny Fieg shoes and was promptly approached by some kids: Oh, awesome! What are you wearing for cool shoes?

The Ronny Fieg shoes are my favorite sneakers: 1300s New Balance "Salmon Sole" created by the New York designer Ronny Fieg. They are dark and light blue and have a salmon-colored outer and inner sole. New Balance only sold them in the US at first; a few of them were then available in relevant sneaker shops in Europe. I bought it from a Dutch collector. They are probably my most expensive shoes. They cost me almost 300 euros.

I currently own around 80 pairs of sneakers. It varies a bit because I'm constantly buying new shoes and selling, swapping or giving away old ones that I no longer like. About half of them are from New Balance, especially the 576, 1300 and 1400 models. That's a tradition for me. I bought my first pair of New Balances in the mid 90's. I was 15 or 16 years old, found the sneakers super comfortable, but had no deeper interest in sneakers or even an awareness of collecting.Three or four years ago I started collecting limited editions, making sure that the Keeping shoes clean and not wearing white ones when going to concerts. Today, most of my shoes are in a shoe wall that I built especially for them in the hallway.”

Felix Gunther (27)Student

"I've been wearing sneakers for as long as I can remember. This may be due to the fact that my father is a determined wearer of sneakers – and that at 70! I myself will wear sneakers to the end of my days, even if I have an office job. Recently I bought a pair of men's shoes for 15 euros. They didn't go at all. Then I'd rather have a pair of nice sneakers that go with the suit. I currently have 16 pairs that I keep changing. I am not a collector who only has his shoes lying around at home. For me, a shoe is a commodity. It's been created to run in it. Making him a collector's item devalues ​​him. I only keep shoes in the closet that are really fucked up – like those Air Force 1s I used as festival shoes for a while. Even though they're really rockin', I would never throw them away. There are too many memories attached, to umpteen festivals and everything where things got dirty.

Up until three years ago, I only wore Air Force 1s. Then I got the funnel that there are other awesome Nikes out there too - most notably the Court Force and Dunk models. I like more subtle colors and try to spend a maximum of 50 euros. I found my favorite sneakers for 30 euros on Ebay: Limited Edition Court Force 1 made of dark brown suede, exactly my size and in the original packaging. My most expensive sneakers cost 150 euros and were a gift for my girlfriend: mouse-grey Nike Dunk, made entirely from one piece, also limited edition. As a child, I had a ritual. When I got new sneakers, they spent the first night on the bedside table next to me. I unpacked them and put them on the box. The next day I put them on for the first time. Today I do it differently: if I try on sneakers and I like them, I leave them on, pay for them and inaugurate them straight away.”

Chris Gersch (33)Event organizer and disc jockey

“The Nike Air Max 1 is a super nice shoe. My siblings gave me a custom pair of these for my 30th birthday. Yellow, blue, green. My DJ name is embroidered on the back. On the left "Funk", on the right "Messiah". Unfortunately, far too many 15-year-old girls are wearing this style these days. I mean: Nothing against 15-year-old girls, but I don't want to walk around in the same shoes as them. It all started for me in the late 80s. My parents took me to a sporting goods store; for the first time I was allowed to choose my own shoes for physical education. I chose the Adidas Stefan Edberg - not because I thought tennis was cool, but because I liked the shoes so much. White with turquoise and yellow stripes and the Edberg logo.Basketball came along when I was twelve and it was clear: Nike Air Jordans were needed. That wasn't possible because they cost 299 marks back then. So I just bought Nikes that looked something like that and spray-painted them black. That was cool until the paint on the creases flaked off. In 2000 I came to Freiburg to study. I met someone who told me: Hey, I ordered this and that sneakers in Portugal because they were still available in the old color combination with the old cut. And I thought to myself: there's someone else who is just as stupid as me. We goaded each other, digging up brands that not everyone knows – Saucony or Karhu, for example.

I wear all the shoes I buy and keep them all, even if I no longer wear them because I want to look at them again at some point. My parents have 15 pairs, 15 in my basement, and there are ten more in my apartment. I mainly have Nikes, a few Pumas, Asics and Adidas - I've always liked the ZX series. Funnily enough, these are all childhood stories. The gym teacher who I absolutely loved in elementary school had light blue and yellow ZX-8000 Cs. I would have given anything to own these shoes. But it cost 229 marks back then, and my parents said it wouldn't work at all. My favorite sneakers at the moment are Asics Gel Lyte III, re-shoes from 1991. I ordered them in England because they aren't available in Germany gave more. It was a very nice moment when I opened the box, saw them in real life and put them on and they fit. The special thing about them is that they don't have a tongue - Asics tried to replace this with an overlap system at the time. I doubt if that made sense - otherwise they would probably have continued with it. I'm always looking at what other sneakers are wearing - when I'm in another city, walking the streets, sitting in a café or going to a club. Discussions often arise about this.”

More:[Sneaker pictures: Michael Bamberger; Pictures Christian Kopsch and Felix Günther: Florian Forsbach; Picture Chris Gersch: Manuel Lorenz]