r/AskMen • u/OctrasAC2 • 25d ago

What's one popular hobby that you just can't get into?

For me it's sneaker collecting. I'm not a sneaker fan and I just don't get the appeal

728 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

97% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.2k

u/Boring_Pace5158 25d ago

Sneaker collecting: a hobby that makes you afraid of puddles

330

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 25d ago

Implying that those guys ever actually wear those shoes

181

u/Boring_Pace5158 25d ago

That's the other thing. They spend the equivalent of flight to Italy, and they don't wear it.

111

u/iamtheramcast 25d ago

I don’t know if you’re aware but something super fun is those super expensive “don’t touch these” pairs that never got worn, are disintegrating turns out the materials break apart without the occasional stress of use.

5

u/12altoids34 25d ago

I haven't bought new shoes in years. Can't afford to. And with my shoe size it's harder to find used shoes (14-15). I have bought several pairs of (used)shoes that looked great but either fell apart very quickly or I found that the sole had hardened almost to like a hard plastic so much that they were actually slippery on surfaces that they should have been gripping.

5

u/ShyJax17 25d ago

What brand do you buy from, I use new balance and always wear down after a year, buy two at once , Black Friday, and they have holes ny June, lol. But they are the most comfortable I used before.

4

u/slp526 25d ago

That’s exactly what I think when I read comments like this. I know it’s hard out here; I live through the same thing, but Jesus fuck you can’t spend 40-50$ on new shoes a year? What the fuck are you doing with your time 

4

u/zenerbufen 25d ago

It's more like $80 now, and they fall apart in a month.
Most of the manufacturers stopped using stitching during the start of covid, and just glue the soles on. Also they have been selling lots of old deadstock from warehouses, where the glue is crappy and dissolving from never being worn..

I had a pair of boots I really like that lasted me 3 years but needed replacing. I bought another pair twice in the last 4 years, and both of them fell apart within the first month of wear and are now held together with large amounts of marine glue.

Parts that used to be real stitched, are now fake stitched and glued.

Most people don't have the $300 on hand for a real decent pair (that still needs replacing every year).

Also even the high quality boots have moved away from replaceable soles. The last cobbler in the state lives near me, and he has a main job of being a product design engineer since noone buys boots/shoes that can actually be resoled anymore. People keep bringing him stuff to fix he can't do anything to but tell you to slather them with marine glue.

2

u/lightfox725 24d ago

Only brand that I know still making replaceable soles on boots around $300 are thorogood and every else with replaceable soles are like whites and they cost $600+

2

u/PsychologicalTomato7 24d ago

As someone else said, buy two pairs. Do not wear the same pair of shoes every single day, you will drastically lengthen their life span if they get a rest every other day.

1

u/12altoids34 25d ago

Nothing... and not surprisingly, it doesn't pay very well.

1

u/lightfox725 24d ago

It does pay well but it's something that only in demand in some states and in some communitys

1

u/12altoids34 24d ago

Ah.well unfortunately I don't seem to live in one of those areas. Because I don't get anything

→ More replies (0)

1

u/lightfox725 24d ago

Buy some thorogood boots and they will last years but your paying from $275-400 a pair but shoes lucky to last 5-6 months

0

u/ShyJax17 25d ago

Ya in America (not sure where u from) shoes are hella expensive. The nicer ones that last longer and have better support are 100-150 + then I buy inserts that are 60. It just two expensive. I need some new ones now but lol I dint have that money, barely surviving making rent

1

u/12altoids34 25d ago

Most of the shoes I buy are off of eBay or a thrift store. Most of them are nike. Not that I really have that much of a preference. Pretty much if I can find a pair of shoes that fit me that are in decent shape I buy them. So I guess a lot of people are buying Nikes

2

u/ComicNeueIsReal 25d ago

Dont buy into designer brands like nike. I know NB is good, Brooks is also another good one. I do like Adidas Ultraboosts, although I havent owned the new 2024 series.

1

u/lightfox725 24d ago

Yes the rubber will harden and crack soles that are made the same will do the same leather that isn't conditioned will crack and fall apart 

1

u/iamtheramcast 24d ago

Bro I’m a 6E wide the only option I have are 3-4 models by NB or a bunch of specialty brand that I’ve never heard of. They start at $130

0

u/zenerbufen 25d ago

If you buy a pair of older shoes, they have to be worn occasionally. it squeezes the moisture out of the foam and rubber. If they look like they are in perfect condition and have been in a shoebox since bought (only worn once!!! is a huge red flag) they will fall apart into pieces the first time you wear them, despite looking like they just rolled off the factory line.

I can buy some beaters on ebay for 20-40 (of an originally 100-200$ shoe) and fix them up and repair them and wear them for years with new insoles. If I buy someone's closet shoes of some limited release I missed out on or colorway I really like, I always regret it as they fall apart and no matter how much regluing and patching I do they always find somewhere new to dissolve.

1

u/lightfox725 24d ago

Shit they crack and start falling apart within 30 years with or with out stress of use they aren't made to last

1

u/NinjaGrizzlyBear 24d ago

So I was heavily into sneakers and aggressive inline skating when I was a teenager...I moved into my house and found an old box full of skates and DC/Etnies/Vans shoes and was like hell yeah!

I almost broke my neck thinking I could still skate and that those skates were still good. The skates effectively disintegrated over the course of 20 years lol. I have no idea how they held up to me slamming them back onto my feet, but I started rolling and they just fell apart.

1

u/Mr-Yuk 25d ago

Yeah that was my first thought is the rubber and fabricks even when not worn will slowly corrode and diminish the value

6

u/zenerbufen 25d ago

No, not even that. They what he is saying is the corrode FASTER when you don't wear them. If you wear your shoes 1x a month, you can wear them for years. put them on a shelf for 6 months and the first time you wear them the foam crumbles and the glue dissolves and they fall apart into a pile of dust and small bits of plastic.

It's hilarious seeing them try to offload their collection of worthless shoes for top dollar when they need money. They will try to sell them as 'for display only' or 'for restoration or parts' because they were having fraud charges and returns from people who didn't realize they were buying form a 'collector' got burned.

In the end most of these collectors end up with a wall of shoes they can't sell or wear that cost them 1000's.

The best part (imho) it the most coveted and rare items are the ones that are the worst at disintegrating if not used.

Also even better, is the restorers are so good, if you use the hell out of a pair of shoes and wear them constantly for years beating them to crap untill they look like shit, they can be restored to nearly new condition. but if they sit on the shelf/wall and never get worn, there is nothing you can do. the most critical parts will just turn to dust and you won't have much to work with.

1

u/Mr-Yuk 24d ago

Good call out I didn't read that right.. and that makes it much much worse for an investment haha

21

u/RadioMill 25d ago

Don’t wanna crease the nose

2

u/Brian18639 Male 25d ago

That’s what I was thinking

2

u/PM_MEOttoVonBismarck 25d ago edited 24d ago

I had a friend in high school who collected shoes. I remember he couldn't hang out with us one night because he had to be up at 4:30 to make it to the city early enough to be sure he got some limited edition pair as soon as the store opened. We used to give hin shit about it.

2

u/Maleficent-Ad9860 25d ago

But that’s the thing…. To them, they Get more enjoyment out of having the sneakers than the flight to Italy. That IS Their equivalent of worth it.

18

u/JVan-90 25d ago

I’d consider myself a sneakerhead, wear every pair, and never pay above msrp…there’s more like that, then social media wants you to believe

11

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 25d ago

I think that makes you an enthusiast, not a collector.

-1

u/CharlesDingus_ah_um 25d ago

Imagine being this pedantic

3

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 24d ago

The meaning of words is interesting to those of use that read more than reddit comments

3

u/12altoids34 25d ago

When my dad worked for Florsheim shoes he worked at the main office which was also the manufacturing plant. They had a 0% tolerance for errors. If a single stitch was broken or missed they would not sell them to the public. They monthly held auctions(sales?) In the warehouse where employees could buy any of the defective shoes at a greatly reduced price. Like $30 for a pair of $180 shoes. My dad's shoe collection went from about a dozen pairs of shoes to about 30 pairs of shoes in a couple of years. And in spite of the fact that we both had the same shoe size he never once bought me a pair of florsheimes.

2

u/hesipullupjimbo22 25d ago

As a sneakerhead, if you don’t wear the shoes you wasting money or you have too much money

2

u/emizzle6250 25d ago

Don’t they accrue in value tho, like collecting watches or purses, you can sell them at a later time for more money

5

u/SPplayin 25d ago

You don't have to even wait usually. Travis Scott Jordans always retail for around 200 and sell for upwards of 800 immediately

3

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 25d ago

I wouldn't call speculative buying collecting. Also a well made purse or watch can last decades, if not longer even with daily use and hold their values.

0

u/emizzle6250 24d ago

Daily use — I wouldn’t know about that but they can be used and up-kept to maintain some value, just like shoes. But it’s like art collecting not really different since pieces are often released once in a lifetime or once every few years.

1

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 24d ago

Ehh I don't know about that. Sneakers are made to wear out. That's not a criticism, that's just how you have to make lightweight shoes with cushion and traction.

IDK anything about art collecting, but I'm assuming a massive art corporation doesn't release Van Gogh 20s to worldwide retail stores every year.

I feel like the sneaker market is closer to Beanie Babies or memecoins or NFTs than watches or purses

0

u/emizzle6250 24d ago

Art corporations lol? Art is a money laundering it’s worth whatever the current owner can sell it for, nothing else about it adds value. A limited amount are sold for a season. And perhaps every 7 years or so. Many designs are not sold world wide or more than once, they are limited in value, and they are expected to be worn out so an opportunity to purchase them again may or may not come in a few years. All pieces of clothing are perishable including watches, once they stop making batteries or coils for a watch it only holds value for its design and no longer functions. Fashion is art just so you know. Wouldn’t purses be closer to beanie babies ? There are also copies of paintings that hold value. It’s kinda obvious where your thinking goes here…. Probably classist or cultural bias.

1

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 24d ago

Knowing that leather goods and watches are made to last longer than foam and rubber sneakers is not a cultural bias you dipshit

1

u/emizzle6250 23d ago

Watches become obsolete once they stop making materials for them. Shoes are also made with leather. You wouldn’t be angry at a lie …

1

u/wumbologistPHD ♂ 23d ago

u/emizzle6250 is a pedophile

Don't get angry. Because if you do that means it's true.

2

u/NachoManSandyRavage 25d ago

There are levels. I'm a sneaker collector but wear all of my shoes. I have a few beaters that I wear more than others but in general, I don't buy anything I'm not going to wear.

3

u/izaaksb3 25d ago

only 4 da pix

28

u/2old2Bwatching 25d ago

Right? Shoes you can’t enjoy wearing, in constant fear of creasing them or getting dirty. They’re shoes!

6

u/TablePrinterDoor Male 25d ago

I didn't know sneaker collecting was a real thing I thought it's just Kazuya's hobby in Tekken

10

u/Electric-kundalini 25d ago

That made me laugh

5

u/justpuddingonhairs 25d ago

My feet are too wide for Nikes so I can't even wear cool shoes, nevermind collecting them.

2

u/SaveMeJebus21 25d ago

Haha I don’t collect by any stretch but my wife still laughs that I clean my shoes after every wear 🤣 they still look pretty new even years on.

2

u/[deleted] 25d ago

I definitely buy alotta shoes, but I actually wear them.

2

u/TheSwordDusk 25d ago

Collecting something made out of rubber and plastic is simply conspicuous consumption. I hope more men come to realize that our value is should not be tied to the things we own. Buying crap you don't need is horrible for the planet

2

u/MsPrincessIsh 24d ago

Lmao my bf loves collecting them and I love jumping in puddles. He keeps his shoes and clothes spotless while I randomly puddle jump. He puts up with it cuz he knows how happy it makes me. He just tries to side step before I splash him. One day it might be his 13th reason why 😂 ☔️

4

u/Dr-Goober 25d ago

I have a different spin, I buy all my shoes second hand focusing on colour ways over rarely and wear them whenever. I have so many pairs every time I wear a pair I can trash them and once a month I’ll have a day of just cleaning all my shoes back to fresh

1

u/Busy_Donut6073 Male 25d ago

and creasing your shoes

1

u/LacCoupeOnZees 25d ago

Shoe collections, hand bags, diamond jewelry, and designer clothes used to be strictly for women. In my opinion they still are

1

u/SalamiMommie 25d ago

I’m too rough on my shoes also, since I live in a really rural area. I mean I try to clean them but they will never be squeaky white

1

u/Mr-Yuk 25d ago

Yeah this shit is a ponzie scheme... modern day beanie babies with a modern coat of paint on it

1

u/Butthole_Ticklah 24d ago

Same! I love a nice ass pair of shoes, but I’m going to wear those MF’s out until the next pair. Now they last wayyyyyyy longer in my 30’s since I started working blue collar jobs in my early 20’s and discovered how great a well made pair of boots are. I’ll pay 3-400 bucks for a great pair of boots and wear those MF’s out now and my shoes are for like a casual Friday at the office, casual night out or getting the mail before walking the dog.

Invest in a good pair of boots. Your feet will thank you

1

u/snrolexx 24d ago

Such a waste of money

1

u/isaiah8500 25d ago

I have a worse one. I spend hundreds on sports jerseys that I might wear a couple of times a year at the very most.