My wrecked sneaker
"My Wrecked Sneaker", a personal project, is an infamous hall of used sneakers, a series photographed with the same glamour and aesthetics from the advertising photography.
It doesn’t only show the unique design features of each model, but its wear gives it a unique personality, being in the end a portrait of its owner, who has good taste in choosing that pair but does not mind destroying their favorite sneakers through daily use.
Each sneaker also features a story of the owner with it.
Photos and text were minted as an NFT collection on Foundation.
Leo's Nike SB Zoom Classic
Out of the sneakers Leo had around 2010, the Nike SB Zoom Classic were the ones he enjoyed the most. "I loved the black leather and the combination of black midsole and gum outsole." But impeccable aesthetics would not last long as he does not remember a pair he would care taking much care of. On the opposite, the more he liked it, the more he would wear them.
The photographer from São Paulo, Brazil had the SBs for four or five years, wearing them on concerts, clicking several lifestyle photoshoots for streetwear brands or photographing nightclub parties, aside from running a ton of errands on them. "I had no car at the time, always relied on public transport and covered great distances on foot."
Leo always had fun observing the decay of his faithful pair of beaters along the time. The lining foam coming off, the seams coming loose, the leather drying out and cracking, the smooth out sole, the laces getting fuzzy, the dirt spots, that occasional chewing gum stuck to the sole. Paying attention to these details had him consider starting a photographic series. "I wanted to give my beaten up kicks a place of honor, capturing all these details with fancy lighting that made them look like starring an advertising campaign." And with his black leathered pair of SB Zoom Classic, the "My Wrecked Sneaker" was born.
As good old daily beaters with several years and a lot of ground logged through, these sneakers may have ended up on someone else's feet through donation but for sure reached immortality by being inspiration for the photo series they first starred.
Leo's Nike SB Zoom Classic minted as NFT on Foundation
Raul's blue adidas
Despite being the most wrecked sneaker of the collection, after the photo of the pair was taken, Raul has not returned my contact attempts for an interview and further elaboration of the text.
André's Nike Air Force 1 Mid '07 White
André had a special relation with his pair of Air Force 1, bought in 2010 when he was a graphic design intern in an advertising agency. It was the first collectible sneaker he could afford. The deejay, graffiti artist and graphic designer from São Paulo, Brazil recalls it brings him good memories of the time. "These AF1 were present at the beginning of my adult life. With them, I went to dubstep parties, street art shows and out to toy art shops."
Whenever he went out with them, the first thing coming back home was to clean them up. Then he started to use the sneakers as a daily beater and the pride of wearing it outgrew with time. "Both for the pride of having it as well as the aesthetics. I admired the yellowish sole and the leather creases that formed along with use." The pair was his companion for years to the point the sole became completely smooth out with holes that started to appear. "I gave them away along with other sneakers a few years ago but I deeply regretted it later."
André's Nike Air Force 1 minted as NFT on Foundation
Ronaldo’s adidas Spezial
In the history of this very pair of adidas Spezial, Ronaldo was the third owner. He bought it in 2004 from a friend, who in turn bought it from another friend. They were all fans of everything adidas. The graffiti artist from São Paulo, Brazil recounts the model as having a cool design, being sturdy and comfortable at the same time. "A curious fact that bonds me to this specific model is that it was released in the same year as I was born, 1979." The adidas Spezial was created as handball shoes beforehand but soon became popular daily beaters, purpose that served him very well. Two years went through beneath Ronaldo's feet - but who knows how old the Spezials actually were - and they were given the task of exclusive fellow companions in the graffiti gigs. "Those sneakers went through a lot of wandering, kicks on scaffolding, splashes of paint, sun and rain".
The sneakers endured more than a decade with Ronaldo. "Definitely die hard shoes with tons of stories with me and the other guys, being used to their exhaustion and partial disintegration", as he puts. Eventually he ended up retiring the pair. "I left them leaning on a light pole by the curb for someone to take away. Hopefully they served a fourth person likewise."
Ronaldo's adidas Spezial minted as NFT on Foundation
Renato's Nike Air Max 90 Infrared
Renato used to like his Nike Air Max so much in the 90s that when the model returned, he could not miss the chance. "I have to have another pair. To me, they are one of the coolest sneakers ever made". Graphic designer and owner of Storvo, a streetwear brand, Renato bought his Air Max 90 in a skate shop in São Paulo, Brazil around 2009. He remembers of a rainstorm that hit the city that day. "I was driving home with the sneakers in my trunk and it was pouring rain. The area I was going through started flooding, total traffic chaos. And I thought it would screw my sneakers", he recalls laughing.
After some initial use, he cleaned the sneakers for the first time and then gave up on it. "I won't be cleaning them all the time, let it get worn out and that's it". With time the pair got that wear and tear personality but time -- and humidity -- also brought it to an end. There fell another victim of hydrolysis, a chemical process where the sole made of polyurethane sometimes deteriorates, causing it to break down or even crumble. “I was so sad when I lost those sneakers”, he recalls. “I miss these Air Max so much today. I wish I had a pair of them again just to look at it”, he recalls with a mournful voice.
Renato's Nike Air Max 90 minted as NFT on Foundation
Jaime's Nike Air Yeezy 1 Net Tan
It was 2008 and the rapper and music producer Kanye West performed at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards wearing sneakers no one had ever seen before. The only recognizable element was Nike's distinguishable swoosh. That triggered Jaime to dig deeper into the sneaker culture. A year went by and after much mystery and tittle-tattle, Nike unveiled what was a partnership creation with the artist: The Air Yeezy. The launch date was set and Jaime went all-in. "There was a line in front of the now defunct Nike Sportswear store in Pinheiros", a neighborhood in São Paulo. "We spent the night there". It was one of the only four Brazilian stores to launch the model, all in the city.
Despite the great effort to buy this pair and the expensive price tag at the time, he didn't mind using it on a daily basis. "I wear all the sneakers I have, regardless if they are beaten up or brand new". Jaime points out some mud stains on the shoe's midsole and recalls it was the result of a concert that took place in a famous São Paulo horse racetrack: "it rained a lot on that day and there was mud everywhere." Other collectors were impressed by the wear and tear his pair have been subject to, given the importance of the model. "I used them a lot, no mercy. To me there's no drama about getting sneakers dirty." After several years with the Air Yeezy 1, he decided to put them for sale. "They were getting worn out and I didn't have that bond anymore. I felt I enjoyed having them a lot and it was time to pass the sneakers on".
Jaime's Nike Air Yeeezy 1 minted as NFT on Foundation
Bruno's Nike SB Dunk High Premium Mork & Mindy
The Nike Dunk High Premium was Bruno's favorite line as he already had 15 pairs of them. He bought the "Mork & Mindy" model in 2007 from a skate shop he was working at in Americana, a city two hours northwest of São Paulo, Brazil. He recalls the sneakers sat idle on display for several weeks after the launch. "No one wanted them, the color combination of red and silver was bizarre." They were based on a Robin Williams' extraterrestrial character from the American sitcom "Mork & Mindy". The price tag of these sneakers was worth half of his salary, but he decided to buy the relegated pair anyway. "I liked it a lot, my coworkers at the store thought I was retarded".
Soon after, Bruno quit that job and the occasional photography gigs became full time job. The costly red and silver kicks followed through lots of photo assignments, treated the the same way as his entire collection: he used it all on a daily basis with no mercy or distinction. "I liked to collect them but they would never sit on a shelf or in their boxes." On the contrary, he enjoyed that thrashed aesthetics. "Sneakers belong to the feet, they have to be used until the end of their useful life".
The final steps of that pair came around seven years later. One of the already unglued soles broke down and came off. "The rubber was dry with cracks all over, I saw that coming." The sneakers ended up thrown in a box until the day the "My Wrecked Sneaker" project brought them back to light. However, Bruno refused their return. "Don't ever think about mailing them back, throw it out!" He is not nostalgic about them, but thankful instead. "Rest in peace, thanks for so many steps given. They took me far, carried out the role given."
Bruno's Nike SB Dunk High Premium Mork & Mindy minted as NFT on Foundation
publication
The project was featured on SneakersBR magazine
