I am a sneakerhead episode 210 - @pat.rik.85
First up, could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Patrik, I‘m 38 years old and I live in a small village in the middle of Germany. I work in Public Administration at a German university.
In my spare time, I like to photograph, take a ride on my mountain bike or be around my friends and family.
For how long have you been a sneakerhead, do you remember what your first pair of sneakers that you really cared about was?
I would call myself a real sneakerhead since maybe around 2017. I started buying some Made in USA 997s and then dug deeper to see what else is on the market. And through the pandemic, I got even more time to check out what’s on the market.
But the very first pair I cared about was an all-black Nike Cortez which I got when I was around 15 years old. It was at that time in school when you either were an Adidas Superstar type or the Nike Cortez type. I loved that pair. I mean, you can’t go wrong with an all-black pair of sneakers but that Nike Cortez full leather was beyond everything to me. Unfortunately, I don’t own that pair anymore. It was beaten to hell and back, the sole came off and it even got a hole in the toebox.
How many pairs do you currently have? Are you planning on keeping that number steady or growing/decreasing it?
Right now I‘m at about one hundred pairs. I‘d like to stay around this number but I guess that won‘t be easy as good pairs are constantly releasing. There are some pairs in my collection that I‘m willing to let go for a newer pickup but especially my older Asics I will probably never sell.
So maybe I have to let go of pairs I actually don’t plan to let go or I just need more space. :D
You seem to have a great variety of sneakers in your collection, do you have any favourite brands?
When it comes to a certain model, it’s definitely the Asics Gel Lyte III. That’s the model I own the most, I wear the most and I love the most. Especially the older pairs by Ronnie Fieg and Kith are must-haves for me. Can’t go wrong with them. It took me a lot of time to build my collection of these pairs of Gel Lyte IIIs and I’m not even at the end of the list. Some pairs will be forever grails since they are just way too expensive (GLIII x Patta Amsterdam) or they are just that rare and you can’t find them on the market (Zilion in a US7.5).
When we talk about brands, I’d choose New Balance. Great variety of models, comfy, and you always find a pair that fits your standards. If it has to be bulky, colourful, sporty or whatever. New Balance has it. Especially the MiUK/MiUS pairs are perfect for me. New Balance did such a good job in the last few years. They had great collab partners, re-released some really nice archive pairs and still have very good quality control.
Do you usually buy sneakers in physical stores or online?
Usually online since there aren’t that many stores in my area. I live in a very small village and the next bigger city with physical stores is Frankfurt which is about one hour away. So it’s not that easy to take part in in-store raffles or rare releases where you have to be constantly present. Sometimes I can combine travelling or vacation with shopping in-store but 99% of my shoes are bought online.
What is your favourite pair in your collection?
That’s a tough question. But if I had to choose one pair which I could keep forever I‘d probably choose the Asics Gel Lyte III x Afew x Beams „Orange Koi“. It has a special meaning to me since it was a gift from my girlfriend and besides that, it’s just beautiful and easy to wear. I love orange and the materials on that pair are just dope. You can never go wrong with a perforated toebox. :D To me it’s a perfect example of what we need in sneaker culture. Very good storytelling, nice packaging with lots of goodies, collab partnership and very good execution of history.
If you could only wear one pair for the rest of 2023, which would it be and why?
It would be the New Balance 1906R Protection Pack. Absolute sleepers to me. Wasn’t love at first sight but when they came to sale I thought let’s try and check them out. And I can tell you, I was stoked after I unboxed them. Quality pair even since it’s a made in asia NB. Comfy as hell and has such a great concept behind it. I just love the idea of having a sneaker that already looks destroyed but is actually brand new.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to your followers and the community. Would love to welcome some new people on my page.
Make sure to follow Patrik on Instagram