Str8kicknit, a premiere sneaker showcase held on campus last semester, moved its location off campus to the Blind Tiger.

Str8kicknit, a premiere sneaker showcase held on campus last semester, moved its location off campus to the Blind Tiger.

The successful crowd that the event drew last semester and cooler feel of a bar inspired the change in location.

Str8kicknit is an event put on by Entourage, My Unlimited Style, and I Am Music and Media, serving as an outlet for all those who have a love for sneakers, “sneaker-heads,” to engage and share in similar interest.

At the event held on Sunday, sneaker-heads were able to buy, sell, or trade sneakers while also being able to answer trivia questions to win prizes and enjoy great music provided by DJBeazy and AJ from 102 Jamz as the MC.

Those with extensive sneaker collections set up tables with their sneakers on display to be judged in competition for a grand prize. Among those who set up a competing table with their collections were Louis Harrell, Kris Abel and Onimisi Aiyede, Sole Quest, and Mike Lane.

Harrell, a senior computer science major, has been collecting sneakers for a year but keeping up with them for longer. “I’ve always been a spectator so I decided to become a part of the action,” said Harrell.

Bringing in their collection of Nike Dunks and SB’s, Abel and Aiyede decided to enter the competition after hearing about the event through IAMM to stray away from the basic sneakers everyone else may have. “Our shoes are not just basketball but skate and underground. The availability is more exclusive and that, to us, is true sneaker collecting,” said Abel.

The event had a decent turn out considering the bad weather that may have stopped those who were interested in attending to make the commute.

Devon Vincent, a graduating senior and a part of My Unlimited style blog said, “It’s very hard to put on a successful event such as this one. It took three months and seven people working together to organize, fundraise, and put together small details to pull off a big event.” Vincent continued, “Str8kicknit is an important event because there aren’t many events like this one that cater to the many sneaker-heads in the Greensboro area.”

“A sneaker-head is someone who has knowledge, dedication, knows release dates, stands in lines, and puts up the money,” said Chris Carver, who is not only a sneaker-head but also an Aggie football player and member of Sole Quest.

Sole Quest is a group formed two years ago with seven guys who consider themselves to be sneaker-heads. They have over one hundred pairs of sneakers and had 90 at the event.

Their display was strategically planned by having a blacklight box with their Galaxy collection, a Christmas section with all their shoes that came out in December, a Jordan section that consisted of Jordan’s 1-19, Penny’s and Foamposites valued at $3,000, Black History section, Year of the Dragon and Rabbit, Nike Sportswear section, and of course, the LeBron and Kobe section.

The winner of the competition was Mike Lane and his legends collections.

Lane, a student at North Carolina Central, had never felt the need to participate in competitions because he did not want to risk being classified as a loser. “For me it’s really about collecting presentable [sneakers] and being able to show them off to others. My sneakers are considered memories,” said Lane.

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• Symone Kidd, Register Reporter