Taking a break from looking at sneakers, fans lined up along the railing of the court to watch the hoopers compete. “And I always wanted to be a part of playing basketball at Sneaker Con and this year, I was finally able to make that a possibility.” “I used to watch the (Sneaker Con) basketball YouTubers growing up all the time,” basketball influencer and Phoenix native Gio Wise said. They had a variety of events in Phoenix with street ballers and influencers, some who were local, some who were from elsewhere, including 1-on-1 games, a 3-on-3 showdown and a dunk contest. Stay Ballin’ TV, a Phoenix-based company, brought live basketball back to Sneaker Con Phoenix for the first time since the pandemic and plan to tour with the group. However, it was shut down in 2020 because of the pandemic. By 2018, it had become very well-known and competitive, and many popular street ballers and NBA 2K gamers who also played basketball began playing at the events. Sneaker Con launched Sneaker Con Hoops in 2016, and began hosting a YouTube-influencer game at every Sneaker Con.
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“It shows your creativeness of what kicks you like, it gives me, as a professional athlete, (the ability) to show people what I like to wear outside the court and on the court.”Įven though they already have a large audience, Sneaker Con continues to look for ways to grow, and one measure they took this time was getting more in touch with the basketball community.
“I think it is such a cool opportunity to have people show their personality,” she said. The numbers don’t lie, they have (thousands of) people at their events every time, and you only need but so many to make your numbers,” he said.Ī number of professional athletes showed up to Sneaker Con Phoenix, including the Phoenix Mercury’s Sophie Cunningham, who complimented the entire atmosphere. Ramirez has been to every Sneaker Con since 2011 and said the reason he keeps coming back is because the networking opportunity is second to none.
“I think the best thing that Sneaker Con brings is the people,” said Ray Ramirez, vendor and owner of Royal Clothing Club. Vendors lined the aisles of the convention center and sold rare shoes, merchandise and other products. Wherever it goes, Sneaker Con attracts buyers, sellers, traders and collectors of all kinds for the offerings and environment. The annual event is building a strong culture and following among local sneaker enthusiasts. Sneakers of different colors and styles were showcased at “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth” on Sept. “What drives us is being able to provide a platform for kids to really learn business doing something that they love and being able to build their own career path,” Debord said. He wanted to be a part of something that provided a “safe environment” for selling sneakers and clothing. The tour visited Phoenix last year and “now we’re just coming back year to year to keep building and bringing the culture here to Phoenix,” Debord said.ĭebord joined Sneaker Con full-time in 2011 after graduating from Syracuse. However, after an 18-month hiatus, the company started touring again and has not stopped.
Since then, the event was on tour for 11 years leading up to the canceled Phoenix event. So that was Phoenix 2020,” said Sneaker Con managing director Will Debord, who has been with the company since its start in 2009 in New York. “We had flown here on a Thursday, the event was Saturday, and we had to cancel it. This was Sneaker Con’s second time in the Valley after the first scheduled event was shut down due to the pandemic. There were about 5,000 in attendance, including vendors, at this year’s Phoenix event, which also featured live basketball for the first time since 2020. Sneakers are swag, a fashion statement, a way to levitate, a collector’s item as rare as stamps or coins.Īnd they were on display in abundance when Sneaker Con rolled into the Phoenix Convention Center recently and people from all over, including some big names, came to buy, sell and trade shoes and other items at the event. PHOENIX – Sneakers are so much more than simple shoes. Lost Solez owners, Vida Martinez and Danny Fader, show off a variety of their collection to potential buyers at Sneaker Con.
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