"ARE THESE SNEAKERS AUTHENTIC?" - the million dollar question
in the recent years, the sneaker culture has grown to the multi-billion dollar business it is today.
those billions come from corporate shoe stores, speciality sneaker shops, and sport specific stores. (ie skate shops). but, lets not forget the little guys. flea markets, discount malls, the cd store that sales sneakers too, and ya home boy uncle with the jays in his trunk account for a multi-billion dollar business also. fake sneakers (AKA variants, custom kicks, and samples) (not all samples are fake but they are very very rarely sold to the public) account for $650 billion a year. WOW!!!
earlier this month in Florida, 3 dudes were arrested for selling fake Nike's. its reported that these dudes sold at least $125k in fake sneaks to the public. and officers found a total of 1256 fake sneakers waiting to be sold at the dudes shop.
just last month customs agents discovered almost a million pair of fake sneakers in shipping containers coming from Asia. the sneaks were headed to places like Italy, Austria, and hungry. then probably put on eBay and sold to the highest bidder.
before that, in September, us customs reported a bust of a counterfeit sneaker ring in Arizona. they stated that the ring imported 135k pair of fake Jordan's from china, valued at $16 mil!!
with all the hype surrounding the "sneaker head" culture and lifestyle, its a profitable business with easy targets. some kids pressure their parents to buy them the new J's every week, and some parents feel like they have to buy the new J's (even if it means being without lights for a week) but sooner or later that parent is gonna run into Ray Ray whose gonna tell them that he can get Jordan's for $60 and another sucka is born. then you have the airheads that know that Jordan's retail for at least $135 but walk into Old National Discount Mall (popular counterfeit spot in ATL) and see J's for $60 and think they getting a hook-up. no my friend. your sneakers are fake. then u have those that dont give a damn. buy fake sneakers, knowing they're and rocking em like its nothin.
not only is the quality of a fake sneaker horrible, but the design and colorway is often distorted from what an authentic sneaker of the same model may look like. and what kills me, is the people that get the rainbow invisible 7's and brag about them being exclusive. nah dog, those were never released, never thought of, never drawn up. in other words they're FAKE!!
then you have these indie brands that get their start by imitating another shoe and putting their name on it. (true bathing ape started this but that doesn't mean every one needs to hop on the band waggon). we recently visited a store in ATL (that will remain unnamed, but you might be able to guess from the pics). in this store there were sneakers, shirts, jeans, hats, and anything else you can think of that were all imitations or replicas of another line, just with this stores name on it. HOW FUCKIN LAME!!! im not knocking anybodies hustle, get it how u live, but you gotta keep ya dignity and ya pride in tact while on ya grind. its dead to take another dudes hustle, change the packaging, change the color, then put your name on it and call it yours, and thats exactly what these dudes did. then they entice people by saying "we can customize your shoes, any shoe". so dudes take their fake forces there, add a few colors, or animal skins, and call the sneaks exclusive. when asked about what type of sneaks they make/customize, the guy told me "your imagination is your only limitation" so basically, any shoe you want, any color they can make. wow again. like i said b4, i dont wanna knock anybodies hustle, but damn....when does it end.
these pics are only the beginning of whats to come...be looking out for the S.0.L.3. crusader magazine, featuring people in public with fake sneaks and full interview from them, also flea market and discount mall spots that sale fake sneaks and full interview with the owners...
check these links for article referring to fake sneakers....
http://www.nbc6.net/news/10444065/detail.html?subid=10101481
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/comm-oddities/2006/11/one_million_sneakers_seized_in.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/05092006/80-132/police-bust-fake-nike-shoe-smugglers.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=fake+sneakers+&btnG=Search
oh yea..we got permission to take the pics from all retailers...we also got their contact info, so if anybody is interested in coping some nikes or j's for the low..
KILL YA SELF!!!!!!
till next time fam
-100
les
