Those who know me, know what a rarity it is for me to suffocate my brain cells under the merciless torture of mainstream radio (that goes for any genre). The endless drivel of useless mall bands, teen-friendly pop starlets and pretty boys wailing about nothing behind computer-enhanced vocals and the nihilistic raps of metrosexual über-thugs are all to much for this fanboy to handle. Luckily, my good friend Kramer whose brain has already been reduced to the size of a Hershey's Kiss thanks to dollar beer nights and joints laced with god knows what, has built up a tolerance to local "Hits" and "Hip-Hop" station 94.1 and was able to convey to me the information regarding an event called Sneaker Head Sunday taking place at Ybor City's popular Club Skye.
Another thing that those who know me know very well, is that I love sneakers. It's an addiction on par with crack. No trip to the mall is complete without first browsing rack by rack in every shoe store and giving the clearance section a thorough once over. Every deal passed by is a possible missed opportunity at something that could eventually be the best purchase I ever made. It's so bad that at times I have found myself on distant trips to flea markets and random thrift shops in search of neglected Nikes that could use a good scrub down or a fresh pair of laces. Hell, at one time I was jonesing so hard for sneaker uniqueness that I even taught myself how to paint them.
Without hesitation my mind was made up and plans were being set in motion, the rarity of such an event is such that missing it would lead to life long regret and possible depression. My only question was, where in the hell are the sneaker heads going to come from exactly, surely they exist in the Tampa Bay area, but enough to support an actual event? This was going to be interesting.
Arriving to a rain soaked Ybor City around four-ish, I made my way through the hoards of leatherclad men in short-shorts and sleeveless bull dykes who have taken over the areas sidewalks to my destination in the Centro area. When I made my way through the doors at Club Skye I was immediately greeted by a display case full of sneaker collectable's that included the dopest pair of Nike Huaraches I have ever had the privilege of eye screwing. The dance floor in the center of the room had accumulated a gathering of break dancers and a crowd of onlookers. The outskirts of the main floor were covered by dealer tables pushing everything from custom painted sneakers to rare Nike Dunks, my favorite being the Nightmare On Elm Street editions.
I floated around the room for a bit, snapping pictures and enjoying the sonic sounds of old school / new school sneaker friendly hip hop blasting from the speakers. In attendance was DJ Clark Kent who is probably best known as the producer of the legendary Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. track Brooklyn's Finest. Clark himself is a rabid sneaker collector who boast a collection of nearly 2,500 pairs and is an occasional designer for Nike.
I took so many pictures that the generic Walgreens batteries in my camera died, convinced there were more photos to be taken I left the club and went in search of AA batteries to one of those convenient stores on Seventh Ave that exist basically to sell condoms at three in the morning to drunks. Re-loaded with fresh Energizers, I decided to take a brief detour through the back alley ways of Ybor snapping photos of graffiti (which may be featured in a upcoming issue) and other assorted oddities that peaked my interest.
When I got back to the club a girl working the door charged me five bucks and gave me a wristband. Guess I just sort of slipped through all of that the first time I went in. By this time the crowd had swollen and a B-boy contest had broken out on the dance floor. I stayed for another hour or so, giving the dealers tables another spin and finding a previously unseen gold mine of painted Vans sneakers hidden in a back room with almost no foot traffic, what a shame that was because this table was full of heat.
Leaving just as the MC Cypher was beginning, I headed back out onto the slippery night time streets of Ybor. Inspired by what I had seen and hopeful that crappy local radio station 94.1 and Club Skye would continue the event in the near future. I could very easily see this growing and becoming larger given the proper time and promotion.
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