"A sneakerhead is someone who is into the culture and subculture in and around sneakers...the history, the designer, the people and campaign behind them. You don't have to have 5,000 pairs of sneakers. You don't have to have the most expensive pairs; but you know what's going on."
Isa ang Melburnian na si Derrick Narciso sa unang nakakaalam ukol sa mga nangyayari sa sneakers at sa komunidad ng mga sneakerheads.
Derrick and his sneaker collection Source: Derrick Narciso
Unang hakbang
Nagsimulang maging bahagi ng komunidad ng mga sneakerheads si Derrick noong 1987.
"We Filipinos love basketball and we want to be close to our heroes. That means wearing their jerseys and sneakers. As a kid, when I played wearing the basketball sneakers of my idols, I felt like I was more powerful on the court. I jumped higher and I was better at shooting."
Ayon sa kanya, ang pinakaunang modelo na umagaw ng kanyang pansin ay ang Nike Air Max. Aniya, "It had a hole on the heel. It was like seeing an alien - wow! As a kid, I would draw the shoe on my notebook. I forgot about my Transformers and G.I. Joes."
Pagkatapos niyang isantabi ang Transformers at G.I. Joes, nagpokus si Derrick sa pangongolekta ng mga sapatos pagkatapos siyang sorpresahin ng kanyang lola ng una niyang Air Jordan 4s.
Derrick (leftmost) began collecting shoes at an early age. Source: Derrick Narciso
"I became a bit instant-famous in school because of it," tawa niya.
Mula sa pagiging sikat sa eskwelahan, ngayo'y isa na si Derrick sa mga kilala sa komunidad ng mga sneakerheads sa Australya.
"Back then, there weren't a lot of us. When camping out for a release of a new shoe, we looked out for each other. If a guy needed a toilet break or needed to buy food, we looked after their things. We would rotate. The longest I camped out was 24 hours. It was for the Lebron Southbeach 6. I only did it a few times because my wife would get mad at me."
"The longest I camped out was 24 hours." Source: Derrick Narciso
Ang kultura't komunidad
Habang nagloloko siya ukol sa galit ng kanyang asawa, saad ni Derrick na suportado talaga siya nito sa kanyang pagiging bahagi ng komunidad.
"Part of the reason why I opened a few sneaker groups, including Solemates Australia, was that my friends and relatives got fed up with my sneaker posts on Facebook. I made the groups to connect with like-minded people. We can discuss the sneaker culture with each other, which people outside the community wouldn't necessarily understand."
Derrick with some of the original members of Solemates Australia. Source: Derrick Narciso
Habang hindi naiintindihan ng iba ang passion ni Derrick para sa sapatos, nakahanap siya ng katulad kay Jay Mijares, ang nagtaguyod ng The Kickz Stand, isang website kung saan madalas mag-contribute si Derrick.
"The site has 16,000 members, would you believe. In a span of six years, they've done a lot for other people. They do swap meets, meetups for fellow sneakerheads. They've started a fund drive for fireys in NSW. Others think it's just about collecting shoes. We're more than that. We are about our strength as a community so that we can reach out to communities outside our own."
Derrick with Jay Mijares (centre) and Dale Hasegawa of The Kickz Stand Source: Derrick Narciso
Ang lakas ng komunidad
Gumawa rin ng paraan sina Derrick at mga miyembro ng Solemates Australia upang ibahagi ang kanilang makakaya sa ibang mga komunidad na nangangailangan.
"We pulled together funds to send to the Philippines by selling our old sneakers. I had a friend who was a parish priest who would buy slippers and give them to kids who lived in far-flung areas. They have never experienced shoes, let alone slippers."
Hindi nagtuloy-tuloy ang proyektong ito dahil sa terorismo na naganap sa mga lugar kung saan sila nagpapadala ng mga tsinelas; ngunit, ayon kay Derrick, desidido siyang buhayin ito muli sa taong ito.
"We pulled together funds to send to the Philippines by selling our old sneakers." Source: Derrick Narciso
"It was one of the proudest things we've done as a community. Sneakerheads aren't all about wanting to have the greatest and latest. We're not about chasing clout and being popular on social media. We're about finding a community of our own, about translating our passion and energy for sneakers into something positive."
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
