FOMO and Finding What Really Matters
NBA All-Star Weekend edition...
It’s only Friday, and I already have FOMO not being at NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. It’s been years since I felt that way. So why now?
Over the last couple of years, countless people proclaimed sneaker culture as dead. So many that I felt I needed to explain how the same data can be used to prove both that it is dead and that it is thriving.
I’ve had the luckiest and most blessed journey in this whole sneaker thing, and aside from the community-driven events like The Gathering, I haven’t felt genuine FOMO about a sneaker event in a long time. Not for a release. Not for a pop-up. Not even for All-Star weekend.
But something shifted this week.
My inbox is flooded with press releases for LA activations, parties, and drops. Nike’s doing something. PUMA has an event. Adidas is there. The GOAT movie. It feels like everyone is there. And somewhere in between all of it, people I actually care about are creating memories in sneakers that will carry the creases of a weekend well spent.
That’s what I’m missing... not the shoes, but the people.
I think I feel like it’s back.
Yet, all of the releases I’ve seen can’t possibly sell out in this economy. I’ve already seen mobs fighting at Foot Locker. Lines down the block at Anta’s new Beverly Hills location. More people posting about Jordan Brand’s experience in Inglewood than I can count.
So does all this buzz mean people will say sneaker culture is back?
I wouldn’t be surprised. I also know that many of you reading this have been here all along. When I see people saying sneakers are dead, I can’t help but think of the scene in Anchorman when Will Ferrell’s character is sitting at the bar sulking, until he finally realizes his news team is playing pool in the same bar, and they say, “we’ve been here literally the whole time you have.”
That’s what this feels like.
