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A '''sneakerhead''' is a [[person]] who owns multiple pairs of shoes as a form of collection and fashion. It is often manifested by the use of shoes primarily made for sports, such as tennis or basketball, as normal everyday clothing. The birth of sneakerhead culture came in the late 1980s and can be attributed to two major sources: [[basketball]] and [[hip hop]] music. The boom of signature basketball shoes in the late 1980s provided the sheer variety necessary for a collecting subculture, while the Hip-Hop movement gave the sneakers their street value as status symbols.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/14/AR2007011400451_2.html|publisher=The Washington Post|title=Sneakerheads love to show off shoes|accessdate=2008-01-19}}</ref>
==History==
The idea of a "sneaker" didn't come along until an American inventor, Charles Goodyear, patented the process for the vulcanization of rubber. While many believe that the first basketball shoe was the famous Converse All Stars (developed in 1917), they are mistaken. This belief is easily attained simply because it was one of the highest selling sneakers of the early sneaker generation. The Spalding company produced shoes specifically for the game of basketball as early as 1907, and an estate sale led shoe experts to believe that some of the earliest shoes were produced by Colchester Rubber Company of Colchester, Connecticut, which went out of business in 1893. Although there is no hard evidence suggesting this, the shoes were found only a few miles away from the birthplace of basketball, and 2 years after the game was invented.
By the early 1900's, sneakers were being produced by small rubber companies who specialized in the production of bicycle tires. U.S. Rubber, introduced Keds in 1916, about the same time that Converse was marketing its All Star. Other companies, including B.F. Goodrich and Spalding Co., were producing tennis shoes and smaller family-owned companies were manufacturing early cleated shoes. At first the market for sneakers was small and practically invisible, but after World War I, America turned to sports and athletes as a way to demonstrate moral fiber and patriotism. The market for sneakers grew steadily as young boys lined up to by sneakers endorsed by football player, Jim Thorpe and Converse All Stars endorsed by basketball player, Chuck Taylor.
As the 1920's and 1930's approached, these companies added traction, and also started marketing them for different sports. A huge breakthrough of this time was the seperation of designs for men and women. At this time, sneakers were used strictly for athletic events. When the olympics were revived, this attracted more fans not only to sports, but to sneakers as well.
The 1950's gave families more leisure time, and as the baby boom started, more families chose to dress their youth in sneakers as school dress codes relaxed. Hollywood also started mainstreaming sneakers with actors such as James Dean in his Jack Purcells in West Side Story. Sneaker sales soared to 600 million pairs a year in 1957, which lead leather shoe makers to say that "sneakers are bad for childrens feet." In which sneaker producers stated "sneakers cure the syndrome of Inhibited Feet."
In the early 1960's, sneakers were imported from Japan, but accounted for only a small portion of the market until Nike founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman began importing Tiger shoes under the name Blue Ribbon Sports.
In the 1970's sneakers led their own way as jogging quickly became popular and so did the necessity to have a pair of shoes for the occasion. Until this time, factories had been concerned with high production, but now the companies started to market their products as a lifestyle purpose. Soon there were shoes for football, jogging, basketball, running, - every sport needed its own shoe, and then you needed one pair just to wear.
By the 1980's, sneakers were everywhere, Woody Allen wore them to the ballet, Led Zeppelin wore them in their 1976 documentary, and Dustin Hoffman wore them while playing reporter Carl Bernstein in the movie All the President's Men. The shoes originally developed for sports became the mainstay for most people. Nike and Reebok were among the market leaders. Newer brands went in and out of fashion, and sneaker companies started shelling out major endorsements to players. One of, if not the largest endorsements, was to chicago player Michael Jordan, for a contract with nike to make his own signature line of shoes and apparel.
During the 1990's shoe companies perfected their fashion and marketing skills. Sports endorsements grew larger and marketing budgets went through the roof. Sneakers became a fashion statement, and definition of identity and personality rather than humble athletic aids.
==Specialties==
Often, sneakerheads started by buying shoes that are general releases, or just buying a pair of shoes that they thought were interesting. Some started by seeing a pair of shoes they wanted when they were a kid. If their interests increase over time, they have a potentially expensive hobby on their hands. Some begin to look for examples of everything. Others just look to collect all of the shoes of a particular set.
==Exclusive Shoes and Value==
Shoes that have the most value are usually exclusive. These shoes normally have some sort of theme, or they were made only in limited numbers. Many manufacturers since the 1980's have started releasing "exclusives" in an attempt to give consumers a chance to own rare shoes. On the same note, many think that the things that people do to get these exclusive shoes is outright ludacris, but sneakerheads see it as a way to get their own piece of the collection.
==References==
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* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J6H1R0 ''Sneaker Freaker''])
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F4TMFK ''Just for Kicks'']
* [http://www.sneakerhead.com/shoe-history-p4.html ''The Sneaker Era'']
* ''[[Sneaker Freaker]]'' magazine
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