South High students have many different hobbies and interests, one of those interests being sneakers. There are a couple of students in the community who collect sneakers and also sell them. Many of our “sneakerhead” students started their collections in middle school, like junior David Smith.

“I started collecting sneakers in 8th grade; I started because I thought it was cool,” said Smith.

Like Smith, some students have had up to three or four years to expand their collection, from ranges that start at 15 pairs and even go up to over 40.

“I have about 35 shoes. I like collecting shoes because it’s a way I can express myself, and it’s fun to add to my collection,” junior Gabe Holmes said.

There are many different types of shoes to collect, from Jordans to New Balance, and even Crocs. Junior Kori Jones has as many as 50 to 60 pairs of Crocs. She has all sorts of colors and textures, such as fuzzy Crocs, rainbow Crocs, and even platform Crocs.

“I collect Crocs because they are so comfortable; there are so many different types of Crocs, and I feel like in a way you can tell something about a person depending on what types of Crocs they wear,” Jones said.

All of our sneaker heads have one thing in common–their dream shoe. Kori’s dream shoe is Sza Crocs and senior Zeke Gould’s dream shoe is a pair of Travis Scott Dunks.

Gould has a significant variety of shoes, especially since he sells them. 

“The most popular shoe I sell is Jordan 4’s, I think a lot of people like them because they look cool,” he said. 

There are a variety of people and websites to get your sneakers, which were recommended by Parkway South’s shoe lovers, such as Stock X, Goat, Facebook MarketPlace, and even Instagram. You could even buy from South’s own sneaker plug, Zeke Gould. His Instagram is @314kickzz. Gould will be selling at upcoming conventions with Solve Cave Expo, and Sneaker Society.

Not only do our students value their sneaker collection, but suprisingly our teachers as well. English teacher Anton Ruiz, who gets excited about buying new pairs of shoes, and probably has too many,  said he finds collecting shoes as a way to connect with his students.

“I love talking  to my students about Stock X or Goat. It’s just an awesome way to connect us, and you can honestly do this to connect with anyone, because who doesn’t love shoes?” Ruiz said.

Ruiz explained how he really values the versatility of shoes.  

“My favorite sneakers are my Adidas Ultra Boost. They are comfy, they work as good dress-up shoes but also for casual. You can wear them while working out, you can wear them to look fancy so I really love them because they are so versatile,” he said.

Ruiz also says his coolest shoes are the multi-colored Kyrie 5s. 

“They are my favorite because they look like a rainbow!” he said.