Sole for soul: Meet India’s sneakerheads

A number of sneaker lovers in the country, with the help of meet-ups and their shared love for kicks, have helped bring about the sneaker culture into the mainstream
They happily camp out overnight to get their hands on the latest sneaker releases. They ditch friends’ trips to save up to fly overseas for a coveted pair. They are often glued to their computers to track the sneakers trending abroad. And yes, they often get laughed at for this madness. “My parents have given up on me,” shares Atul Sharma, a techie from Noida, who founded an Instagram account dedicated to sneaker lovers, and owns more than 100 pairs of sneakers. “Log toh haste hain, logon ka kya hai. Unhe apni normal zindagi se fursat mile tab samjhenge iss passion ko.” Atul belongs to a large band of sneaker lovers – called the sneakerheads – whose love for sneakers withstood the test of time. Simply put, a sneakerhead is a sneaker enthusiast who loves collecting and curating sneakers. Some of them recently spoke to us about how sneakers have captured the zeitgeist of the times we live in.

Nandith Jaisimha‘You can judge a man by his shoes’
Nandith Jaisimha, a filmmaker from Bangalore, tells us he’s been in the sneaker game for 15 years now. “I used to see my seniors in the basketball club wear these mad, crazy shoes and that’s when this shoe fetish started. It’s an obsession now as I’ve got around 140-150 pairs.” Joel Rudolf from Bangalore, when asked to trace back his love for sneakers, reminisces about his uncle who taught him to “judge a man by his shoes”. In fact, the love for sneakers runs in the family. Joel’s brother Jeffrey Stephen, a marine engineer, who spends half the year on the sea, once braved a long voyage to search for a pair of OG Jordan 1’s. “He would hunt for them at every port he would visit. It took him three months and nine ports to find them but it was a dream come true,” says Joel.

Jeffrey Stephen and James Thomas
‘Sneakers are our identity’
When it comes to defining their style, there’s no ambiguity as sneakers are always on top of the game. “We will imagine our entire outfit after our kicks. Sneakers to us are a symbol of who we are, what we represent,” says Jeffrey. Another sneakerhead from Banglore, Shivani Boruah, says that sneakers are a major part of her attire and personality. “I wear them to parties, to run errands, and to meetings. I can pair them with casual clothes, dresses, and saris or kurtas, too!” Shivani has acquired around 40 shoes. “I have three-four heels, too, but I never wear them,” she laughs.

Aditya Bhalla
‘60% of salary goes on sneakers’
Every obsession comes with a price tag. In case of sneakers, it’s often a big number. “When I was in school, the Reebok Iverson’s and T-Mac’s were in their prime. But I had to wait till I earned for myself to get these signature kicks,” says James Thomas, a Bangalore resident, who now has about 50 pairs. When it comes to his expenditure on sneakers, Atul sets the record straight. “60% of my salary is reserved for sneakers, and rest is for everything else,” he says. And like most sneakerheads in India, he has no qualms about it.

Atul Sharma
‘Meet-ups are the future’
A number of sneakerheads’ communities on social media and meet-ups are helping teleport the sneaker culture from a sub culture to the mainstream. Aditya Bhalla, a businessman from Delhi who owns about 120 pairs of sneakers, tells us that more people are turning up for these meet ups. “A lot of events are popping up these days and this year will probably have the most. The future of sneaker culture are these meet-ups where you make friends with people who share the same passion.” Atul reiterates, “I remember having 40-odd people coming to a meet-up in Delhi in 2017. Now it is all over India. Thousands of people are connected to each other.” Aditya is all the more happy that a lot of big launches are nowadays happening in India, too. “It is great because we don’t have to beg friends and family living abroad for the new launches.”

Bollywood’s sneakerheads
Ranbir Kapoor: In June this year, when Rishi Kapoor tweeted about his shock over a range of exorbitant sneakers at a store in New York, Twitterati couldn’t help but point out Ranbir Kapoor’s eclectic taste in shoes. The actor has one of the most enviable collection of shoes.

Sonam K Ahuja: In June this year, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja tweeted about her sneaker obsession being passed on to her by her husband and sneakerhead Anand Ahuja. In fact, on many occasions, the style diva has not shied away from ditching her heels in favour of kicks at red-carpet dos.

Sonam K Ahuja

Badshah: Badshah created a buzz in B-Town when he said in an interview that that he has close to 350-500 pairs of sneakers.

Badshah