Comments on: I'm doing fine with my shoes right now...

I'm doing fine with my shoes right now...

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:34:20 -0800

Sneakers: A Short Film Meditation on International Shoe Culture

Topi Tateishi is a half finnish, half japanese urban dancer and owner of a small sneaker store in Helsinki. He got into sneaker culture through urban dance as he started as a young b-boy 18 years ago and he has been dancing ever since. Sneakers mean the world to him and sometimes they can even replace the significant other. By the end of the movie a whole world of sneaker and urban dance culture has been revealed through a pair of Topi's shoes.

By: empyrean

empyrean — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:51:56 -0800

Back in elementary and middle school, I spent every dime I could on shoes. When I lived in the Middle East I'd buy knockoffs and paid twice as much for the real versions. Jordans, Nike Airs, Reebok Pumps. I feel like I can somewhat tangentially relate to the phenomenon. Now I just wish I still got an allowance. Hmm. My first thought at the first link was that, finally, a belated post about Robert Redford! Need more coffee.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:08:57 -0800

My introduction to the crazy world of sneaker freakers was through the blue. I've come to terms with other people's collecting habits, after realizing I have more music than I can easily recall. I was looking for something else in storage and came across a few boxes of CDs I hadn't been able to shelve yet, and I remembered them on sight, but hadn't really thought of them until then. Since then, my wife's need to purchase every Sims expansion and version that is available seems like very small beans. Sneakers? Sure, why not?

By: bonobothegreat

bonobothegreat — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:27:22 -0800

The West Coast foot-in-sneaker thread is closed, so this goes here.

By: Shebear

Shebear — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:48:34 -0800

Aww, Topi will eventually find someone - lots of girls would be attracted to his passion for shoes (this coming from someone who just got a HOT new pair of high tops this weekend).

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:12:30 -0800

Sorry, but I had to stop watching when he demonstrated how to evoke sadness through the medium of urban dance. A bloke I know, Kerso, is pretty well known in casual circles for his amazing collection of trainers (just don't call him a collector!)

By: ws

ws — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:18:53 -0800

My name is Warner Brandis. My voice is my passport. Please verify me.

By: mcstayinskool

mcstayinskool — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:10:19 -0800

Before everyone pipes in with their favorite quote from that other Sneakers movie, go check out my Setec Astronomy AskMeFi thread from a while back for your fix.

By: snofoam

snofoam — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:43:22 -0800

Nice. Also, for sneaker lovers, i highly recommend this book.

By: awfurby

awfurby — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:21:03 -0800

One of the great things about living in Hong Kong is being able to visit Fa Yuen Street, aka Sneaker Street - there are an amazing number of shops all selling sneakers. Often the shops have multiple locations to make sure they don't miss any of the passing foot traffic (and there's a lot of people crammed in there!). When I first came to HK I have to admit I went a little (not a lot) crazy buying some very cool sneakers. Of course in typical f*cked up HK style, the street is about to be Urban Renewed out of existence and a lame shopping mall put in its place. So if you able to get to HK anytime soon, make sure you visit Fa Yuen Street and pick up a pair of sneakers.