It's all about passion, the Sneakers76 legacy

When you approach the world of sneakers there are a series of essential steps, stores in which every enthusiast must set foot, whether physical or virtual, and whose history is mandatory. Sneakers76 is undoubtedly one of these, a name known throughout Italy and always synonymous with sneaker culture, a genuine passion born from years of experience and work between Milan and Puglia, a love that has remained unchanged in 14 years of work. A period in which the world of sneakers has changed radically, passing from a niche movement and a mass phenomenon, between limited releases and hysteria. Precisely for this reason we asked a few questions to Daniele Valente, owner of Sneakers76, to talk about hypeculture, the world of sneakers and his passion.

Sneakers76 was born in 2006, how much has the sneaker world changed in 14 years?

In 2006 the word sneakers was not even so widespread, everyone used "sneakers" only in their free time or to play sports. So in 2006 trying to sell a pair of sneakers, except for a few fans, was more of a mission. When we opened we had an assortment of models that put on display today would have created a queue outside the store that went around the block three times. Lately, the purchase lever is no longer linked to the quality and history of the product but rather to its Hype and resale value. In recent years we have been trying to reverse this process by creating more dialogue with our friends and customers to get back to talking about sneaker culture. To return to a moderate speed given to slow down or push a release to transmit the right information to have the possibility of making a correct storytelling of the product. Buy a sneaker to use it and create important memories around it. When I open my shoe cabinet, I don't care how much a sneaker is worth but what it represented to me and what I did during the time I wore it.

What does the word "sneaker" mean to you? What memory do you connect this word to and how does passion arise?

The word sneaker was given to me by a mentor of mine in the 90s, at that time I was working in Milan in Piazza San Babila for an American chain of sports shops and my boss (also American) came to visit our store one day with an elegant dress and a pair of sneakers on her feet. I, with my naivety and with my little English, asked him why he was wearing a pair of sneakers under an elegant dress "and he replied:" Sneakers, remember this word ". Until what day they were called shoes for me The passion was born as a child, my older brothers played in the 80s in an American football team in Taranto and in the team with them American boys from the nearby NATO base played. One of them, Nick, had a Pontiac Trans AM with the eagle on the hood, listened to hip-hop music and wore sneakers; I was her shadow. I followed the workouts and as a child I had become a bit of the team's mascot. So I found myself listening to hip-hop music in that car and I was given the first pair of American sneakers I have never abounded in this passion

You are one of the most important sneaker game realities in Italy despite Taranto being far from the center of the action, how did you do it?

Thanks for this, we only lace sneakers, all the fans we met on our journey did the rest. Why Taranto? It is our city, the one where we grew up and where we have sunk our roots. It is the city where I returned after a 10-year experience spent from Milan to a few episodes in Europe. That Milan where you went to eat kebabs with friends writers in via Watt, where you now find a trendy hotel. The first idea was to open in Milan, but the desire to go home was stronger and with the help of an old friend we opened Sneakers76. How did we do it? Needless to say, to tell all the past difficulties over time, it would be pathetic to do so in this period where we are all facing a period of epochal difficulty. Returning to the answer, we opened a shop as if it were the bedroom at home with all the things we are connected to, talking about the only passion that belongs to us "sneakers". The rest was done by all the people who met us and who bought a pair of shoes from us and who, traveling, studying and working in other cities, brought with them a piece of Sneakers76.

Where does the desire to renew your site come from? To date, how important is the web part for a company like yours?

Since we opened we have had a website and we have always given importance to listening to the words of the youngest who came to visit us. Before, you saw shoes on TV, or in a magazine, but now you know how it works. The desire to renew the site stems from a question that was asked me by a person who, after a talk I attended as a host at Sneakerness, told me: "No regrets? But have you seen what happened after you". Struck by this question, I replied: "We simply did our job without thinking about the developments it could have over time". From there the need arose to be able to best transfer our essence through a website that best represented us.

To celebrate the launch of the new Sneakers76 website, we recommend five items to buy online, and to do so, they are giving away a € 500 voucher to spend on the online shop. Winning is easy, just participate in the giveaway on the Instagram profile of nss magazine.

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