SNEAKER FIENDS UNITE!

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We on award tour…

This episode of S.F.U. details the hunt for one of the diamonds inside of the Holy Grail of sneaker collecting. My homey GrandMaster made a trip to NYC to copp himself a pair of the Air Tech Challenge retros (b/k/a the AGASSIs) in the GOAT O.G. colorway. After reading about 40 Diesel’s success in scoring a pair for twenty cent this was the motivation to take the Metro-North from New Haven and go on a mission with me through NYC.

Truth be told is that GrandMaster is on spring break from Yale University and on his way to Boston to wild out, but anyone who knows how to get around knows that you can save a grip on travel expenses by hopping on the Chinatown bus to anywhere. Sure you take your life in your hands, but for $15 to downtown Boston you can accept the odds. So before the jump to Beantown we linked to form a sneakers fiends Voltron.

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This was a classic NYC mission that took us through over a dozen sneaker stores in three different boros. We started off in BK at the mall on Fulton Street. BRUCE RATNER and Jay-Z haven’t totally gentrified downtown Brooklyn just yet and there are still some official sneaker spots to catch your general releases on discount as well as your hard to find quickstrikes and SB’s and what have you.

Brooklyn was hot to def, but we both set the parameters for today’s consumption on a particular meter. This way even if the hunt wasn’t totally a success we wouldn’t wind up spending too much of out trap on shit just because. This is a good model to use whenever you go on a sneaker mission.

  • a. Priority #1 – Locate Air Tech Challenge
  • b. Priority #2 – Spend < 40 cent ($)

  • The next stop from Brooklyn was the South Bronx. I know a gang of stores along Third Avenue that have sneakers at the right price. Even though there was a monsoon going on outside we trooped hardbody style on the NYC subway system. Peep the map.

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    The Dr.Jay’s at Third Avenue had crazy sales going on but no more Agassi’s left in the OG colorway. They had the black joints with the orange details for $40. Those joints are just aiight. This spot is 40 Deez sneaker headquarters since they specialize in sizes 14+. Further down the block we came up on a spot with the shoes we were hunting. Can you believe these fools were selling them for $100? Homeboy said he could make something happen with the price and I asked him if he could sell them for twenty. Since he couldn’t we kept it moving.

    Our next stop was Fordham Road which is a bit more upscale a shopping district than Third Avenue. Upscale in the sense that instead of $10 dress stores they have an A.J. Wright. Keep in mind this is still the Bronx. At Dr.Jay’s on Fordham Road we came across some tempting joints on super sale. The Highlighter Pack Air Max 95 360’s were marked down to fifty dollars (orig. MSRP = $200). They evenj had a Talaria boot for $60. Dr.Jay’s ‘urban’ account with NIKE allows them to retail some sick variations of shoes that won’t hit the normal general release markets.

    It was good for us that we remained focused through our mission because right across the street from Dr.Jay’s we hit the jackpot for discounted general release sneaker styles. Jimmy Jazz has an outlet center retail installation on Fordham Road and it was as ghetto as you might imagine. The front of the store sold slum gold and cellphones while the back of the store had all the sneakers. We found a grip of the O.G. colorway Air Tech Challenges in an array of sizes.

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    Let’s break it down like this…

    One day unlimited ride MetroCard = $7.50
    Nike Air Tech Challenge = $30.00
    Sneaker Fiends Unite! NYC tour = priceless

    Grandmaster and I wrapped up our day at one of my favorite burger joints in the city – Cozy Soup and Burger. That’s where the homey let me hear some of the music that he and his crew have been working on. I felt this track right here and who knows what could happen if this becomes a hit. Keep in mind, there are 1 Billion people in China. That’s a whole lot CD’s.

    Made In China – ‘Life & Memories’

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    20 Responses to “SNEAKER FIENDS UNITE!”

    1. Meka Soul says:

      dp… i’m coming out to NY next week. let’s do lunch [||].

    2. 40 says:

      *has warm fuzzy feeling inside*

      Dallas we still gotta hit up that spot in BK so I can G-off there. Plus now that the weather is breaking holler at me next time you wanna kill a Saturday on a mission…

    3. the_dallas says:

      Meka,
      you got my celly pimpin’, use it.

      Diesel,
      let’s do this [ll].

    4. Marvelous Mo says:

      The Good Ol’ BX. Makes me want to shop just reading this piece.

    5. 40 says:

      Saturday? Drop it like its hot? Keep the running diary of whats what as we make it happen. Develop the “Come Up [||] Algorithm” which calculates:

      1. Inital MSRP
      2. Price actually paid
      3. Stylin’ On You Factor
      4. How many in stock vs. Last Pair

      with other factors such as “haggling on the display pair” and other stuff of the like?

      True shit D, I’m running thru these hood spots like the Japs did in the mid-Late 90’s. You can have your pseudo limited editions people. In this economy its all about the Come-Ups [||], sub $70 bangers or 60% off or better jammies and keeping them on ice like a boat load of freshwater scrod.

    6. the_dallas says:

      ^ Diesel,
      That IS the formula fam.

      Right now Dr.Jay’s is killing shit since they have the urban account and they carry sizes 14 and better.

      The Jimmy Jazz outlet center had the AF25 Supreme in black and white for $50 cent, but alas, only small sizes. Fahrvegnugen!

    7. 40 says:

      The Doc Jay’s on Fulton?

    8. the_dallas says:

      The one on 149th and 3rd. Them dudes GOT you. A whole wall of athletic sizes in general release and urban account styles.

    9. 40 says:

      We’ll be in touch [||].

    10. Dallas,
      Do you know where I can find a pair of Terminator Highs in NYC? (Would love the original Georgetown colorway but probably have a better chance of seeing LeBron in a Knicks jersey or Jessica Alba in my bed). Or at least can you point me in the right direction?

      Thanks for Street Fighter.

    11. the_dallas says:

      E.B.,
      Can you send a pic of the colorway that you are looking for? I haven’t seen the G’Town blue/grey as a retro yet.

      There are tons of stores in the city. Richies on Delancey is always a good bet for discounts.

    12. I don’t think they’ve hit America yet, but I believe they dropped on the other side of the pond.

      http://www.kix-files.com/shop/nike-terminator-qk-premium-vintage-be-true-georgetown/

      They should call you Obi-Wan Kicknobi. Thanks for the tip on Richie’s. Will check it out on Saturday.

    13. omegaSB says:

      habibi.

    14. Karim says:

      Where can a Brother Find the Air MAx Circa 91-92 Purple Bw’s?

    15. 40 says:

      This is where I gloat and style on folks by saying I have not one but two pair of DS Hoyas color Terminator Retros (size 14). When they brought them back out about 5 years ago. They were basically giving them away because people slept so hard on them. Kinda like when they brought back out the AJ1’s in 1995. They rotted on shelves. I think I’ll have to break the Hoya Destroyas out this spring…

    16. 40 says:

      PS – I think this releasing of “pre-aged” shoes by Nike is utterly retarded. I know I came up when you always needed your kicks fresh so pardon me if the allure of paying damn good money for new beat up kicks is lost on me.

      Or you could be super fresh like me and let them age themselves on ice…

    17. @40: Oh no doubt the “worn” look is dumb as fuck. But I think this is the only way for me to get an affordable pair. I found a pair of royal blue/twilight blue but haven’t made the purchase as I’m a little iffy on kicks over the Net.

      You should definitely break them out as soon as there’s no chance for monsoons, blizzards and all those other late winter pranks nature likes to play on us.

      Do they say HOYAS on the heel? Just say yes so I can kick myself.

    18. 40 says:

      E. Black,

      The pairs I have just have “NIKE” on the back. I almost had the good fortune of owning some official Rayful Edmond era Hoyas Terminators, that had “HOYAS” on the heel – in my size at that. One of my OG sneaker connects gave me first right of refusal before he put them up on eBay. I wanted him to get his proper market value which I knew I couldn’t pay, and also you can’t really wear kicks that old anyway. So they would have just sat there stashed away like The Ark of the Covenant at the end of “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”.

    19. Either way, it’s pretty dope. I have so much to learn. I need to make a map of all the NYC spots.

    20. DennLive says:

      Thank you…I know where I’ll be going after work tomorrow…
      New Kicks > Anything

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