The role of an editor has changed over time. An editor for print magazines had to worry about the articles that were being printed, where the advertisements would be placed, and how the photos would be represented. They had to be meticulous about every single apostrophe or period because it’s in print, it’s on paper, and it’s there forever.

Online Sneaker Education in the Digital Age

Now with the digital age, it’s really changed. Instead of managing just one publication, you’re managing an entire brand and every sort of platform that your brand touches. It could be a print magazine, and it could also be how the Facebook page is curated. How the photos that go up on the Instagram feed. How things are copy-edited on Twitter. And where the logos are placed on your videos.

Sneaker Education in Brand Management

You have to be more multifaceted now. You still need to know how to put a sentence together because that’s the building block of everything else. When you are working with a brand of sneakers in this digital age you’re not just managing one thing. You have to think about it as an entire brand, especially if you’re running a media site.

Trademark infringement is a huge issue in the sneaker industry. Just look at Lil Nas X and MSCHF; they did the Satan Shoes, where they took a Nike Air Max 97, injected human blood in the sole, and put devil imagery all over the sneakers. Nike sued for many different causes of action, trademark infringement being one of them. Trademark infringement is not something to take lightly. Remember this as you continue your online sneaker education.

Converse filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission against 31 different companies over trademark infringement on the Chuck Taylor sneakers. Adidas sued Skechers and actually won the case for trademark infringement on their Stan Smith. Warren Lotas was sued by Nike for his version of the Pigeon Dunk. The list goes on and on and on. You’ll see no shortage of these kinds of issues in your sneaker education.

In order to prove trademark infringement, you have to demonstrate two things. First, you must prove that you have a valid and protectable trademark. Next, you have to demonstrate that there’s a likelihood of consumer confusion; that the consumer will likely be confused as to the nature or origin of the product or services. In order to prove a likelihood of confusion, courts look at the Polaroid Factors, which is a long list of factors that they weigh against in order to determine whether or not there is a likelihood of confusion as to who actually owns the product or service.

When you speak about the merge between sneakers and sports, there’s no greater influence than Michael Jordan. One of the most compelling issues revolving around Michael Jordan and sneakers was when the NBA banned his sneakers for having too much black on them in 1985. This was a story that really tapped into the heartstrings of urban sneaker consumers.

Questions were asked about the issues of the sneakers. What was wrong with the coloring of the sneakers? What rules were being violated by having a lot of black on the sneaker? The unbelievable answer was that there wasn’t any white on them.

The Racial Tensions Were High in New York for the Sneaker Industry

Now you have the perfect storm of events with a whole lot of tension behind a whole lot of racial situations. You have this symbolism of the best player in the NBA, at the time, being told that his shoes had too much black on them and that he would be fined if he continued to wear them. The emotion in this controversial issue created a great marketing story for sneaker consumers.

On September 15th, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18th, the NBA threw the shoes out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can’t stop you from wearing Nike’s Air Jordans.

Michael Jordan Was the Greatest Influence on Sneakers in Sports

At the time and up until Michael Jordan ended his career of being the best basketball player in the world, a new-wave phenomenon of sneakers became insanely popular. So here you have, arguably, the most important athlete of all times. He did everything. From an athletic standpoint, there is still no better player in the game of basketball. Everyone wanted to be like Mike on the basketball court. But in his younger days, Mike was also very fashionable. He wore Nike sweatsuits and rocked gold chains.

Michael Jordan helped transcend sneakers, the sneaker culture, and sneakers as a fashion object. The sneakers were so beautiful that people wanted to wear them off the basketball court and into the streets. People were wearing Jordans a hell of a lot more in the streets than they were on the basketball court. So Michael Jordan was everything when it came to sneakers.

Michael Jordan hasn’t played a professional game of basketball in decades now, but Air Jordans are still the number one talked about sneakers. They are still the number one sneakers that people line up and camp outside for. Jordans aren’t really used for basketball anymore. They rarely were back in the day, but they are even less now. Jordans have become more of a fashion product these days.

Sneaker Culture Fueled by Celebrities on Social Media

Celebrities are a significant influence in the sneaker culture. You see a lot of the sneakers they are wearing, especially on their personal social media accounts. For example, you see Lebron James taking lots of photos of his shoes and posting them on his Instagram Stories. He posts a lot of pictures of his shoes, and you notice that he has better sneakers than everyone else does. It’s a place for him to show off his sneakers, but it’s also his cosign, and this marketing tactic works. Kids are going to see his posts and want his sneakers.

Nowadays, athletes who play sports aren’t as influential in footwear as they used to be. However, we are in a place now where people are more interested in what the athletes are wearing before the game than what they are wearing on the court. If Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook wear a pair of Virgil Abloh Air Jordan 1s before the game, then that’s what everyone is going to notice. Fans and consumers may not be buying as many signature on-court sneakers anymore, but it’s those off-court moments that express their true personalities.

Every celebrity on social media these days feels like a sneakerhead. Sneakers make people feel good, whether they are rich or not. When you have new shoes, and that new shoe feeling, you kind of want to show them off to the world.

The internet has had a profound effect on all our lives, influencing everything from the way we watch television, to shopping to the products we purchase. The internet has greatly affected “sneaker culture” in that prior to widespread use of the web, popularity of sneakers and sales were often regional. At one time, one must either live in a certain area or know someone in that community in order to get certain styles of sneakers. Today, the internet allows us to choose our sneakers with the mere click of a button.

The internet provides information on release dates of limited-edition sneakers as well as those produced and sold solely in certain regions. Now, a person can simply hop on the internet in order to purchase that limited-edition sneaker or those that were relegated to a distant region just two decades ago. E-commerce has broken barriers that once were virtually impossible for most consumers to cross. Plus, the internet provides sneaker release dates so no one has to be left out of the sneaker industry’s latest offerings.

However, the internet is contributing to another phenomenon unheard of prior to the internet – reselling. Reselling of sneakers is at an all-time high, which has both good points and bad. Retailers have difficulty in that if they get a limited number of Yeezys, millions of shoppers may flood the organization’s website, crashing it.

The internet has created a raffle of sorts where consumers are searching for certain brands and styles of sneakers. Even parents are getting in on the selling aspect of retail; many will order that coveted pair of shoes at the retailer’s price (usually around $150). Then, they put the sought-after shoes on the internet where those who weren’t lucky enough to get those shoes from a retailer will pay $800 or more for the latest styles. It’s a win for the retailer who makes their initial profit, but the internet seller on eBay or other resale sites banks a huge profit, too.

However, the “purists” on the internet see this resale opportunity as a bad thing. At the same time, those with careers in retail might not have their jobs without the internet as it operates today.

Social media is also a driving force in both the initial sale and resale of sneakers. Online sneaker education chiefly comes from social media as well as sites that post reviews on upcoming popular models of shoes. Some look at the online sneaker sale movement as somewhat a “cult” thing; however, a company’s social media presence is definitely having a positive effect on sales.

In the 1990s, most of the attention a sneaker received was due to an athlete’s wearing a certain brand or style of sneaker. Maybe consumers would see the shoe on television; however, prior to the great improvements in high-definition television, it might be impossible for consumers to see an athlete’s kicks. Perhaps a photoshoot in the latest edition of “Sports Illustrated” would show that same cool shoe; however, consumers were on their own finding the exact brand and style of shoe.

Social media sites such as Instagram post photos of athletes in high resolution, and consumers can definitively see what their favorite athlete is wearing. Plus, one can quickly go to their preferred web browser to find the shoe and all available online shops. Even with limited-edition offerings, such as Nike’s LeBron James sneakers, consumers are still clamoring to get their hands on a coveted pair. A great example of this is Super Bowl LII, when Justin Timberlake wore a highly sought-after shoe. Those who have certain apps on their phones are alerted that the celeb is live wearing a limited-edition pair of shoes. By the next commercial break, most of those limited-edition shoes – made in a certain quantity, by the way – are gone.

Perhaps shoe enthusiasts should be more concerned with the amount of shoes being produced. Consider the Virgil Abloh Ten Nike – only a certain number of people will get this shoe during the initial drop. Some consumers report only getting error messages when trying to order. A larger number of shoes produced would help prevent this, but manufacturers have little desire to do so. Perhaps retailers should look at ensuring this won’t happen due to their website crashing.

Maybe consumers should be satisfied with the “halo effect” of shoe drops. If a consumer fails to get the coveted Yeezy 350 on its initial drop, then maybe the purchaser should consider the Alphabounce or the Ultra Boost. Regardless, consumers will need to move quickly to get any of the higher end sneakers desired by many in the public.

Perhaps consumers may need to consider looking for a product that is not the hot item at the moment. Few sneaker releases sell out almost immediately, unless the product is one of the highly coveted styles. Unless consumers must absolutely have that exact style, buyers will have to then scour the resale market where some of these shoes sell for up to $1,500. If money is no object, then it’s great to wait on the resale. However, those on a budget will have to find other ways to get that coveted shoe.

Sneaker education tells us that eventually, everything – no matter how popular – goes on sale. This includes those limited-edition sneakers. Consumers should perhaps worry not about what LeBron’s next shoe will look like, but on how they can still procure a recently released and still popular shoe at a much lower price.

Sometimes it pays to look back on previous releases instead of the latest, newest releases. Consider the Air Jordan, after 20 years plus of production, a shoe still as popular as it was upon initial release.

Back in the day, people chose their kicks based on what was popular in their location – on the street, down the block – today, people are looking to the latest sporting event and what a favorite celeb is wearing rather than one’s closest friends. Jordan chose to capitalize on Timberlake’s popularity and his appearance on the Super Bowl’s halftime show. It’s a decision that turned out to be highly profitable for the company.

Procuring our favorite sneakers today is no easy task, but we consumers have more avenues today than our predecessors just two decades ago. Download those apps and set your notifications to be able to get those coveted kicks at the best price possible.

After learning about trademark law, copyright law, and patent law, another important part of sneaker education is learning about trade secrets. So what is a trade secret and how is it protected?

A trade secret is a business method, customer list, pattern, idea, or some other non-public piece of information that a company will go through great lengths to protect. Trade secrets are important because companies work tirelessly to develop independent ways of doing business and to create a special product or a process, and they need to protect these items. The information is used in business to create an opportunity to obtain an economic advantage over competitors that don’t have that information. A really famous example of a trade secret is the secret ingredients in Coca-Cola’s recipe.

How Do Trade Secrets Apply to the Sneaker Industry?

Companies like sneaker companies go to great lengths to protect their trade secrets. In 2014, trade secrets were a topic at the highest level when three former employees left Nike to join Adidas. These gentlemen left and allegedly took with them information relating to various aspects of the Nike brand, including their processes of making sneakers and other confidential information about marketing, promotion, and many things that we discuss in our book about the business side.

As soon as these three gentlemen announced that they were leaving Nike to join Adidas, Nike filed a lawsuit. In it, they alleged that these gentlemen were taking specific confidential information, otherwise known as trade secrets, and using it for their benefit and for the benefit of Adidas. In its complaint, Nike asked for damages of over $10 million, claiming that this information was extremely sensitive and highly valuable to their brand. The case ended up settling out of court. But eventually, these gentlemen made their way over to Adidas, soo it was worked out. But it just goes to show you the extreme lengths and costs that companies will go through to protect their trade secret information.

Because trade secrets are so sensitive, it’s hard to know which companies have what information. But companies spend a lot of money on research and development to create trade secrets and to gain an economic advantage over their competitors.

How Does a Company Protect Its Trade Secrets?

One method that companies use to protect their information is by having employees that come into the company sign NDAs. NDAs are “non-disclosure agreements,” and they protect exactly what trade secrets are, confidential information such as data, customer lists, processes, patterns, and other sensitive and highly valuable information. NDAs are useful. But they don’t always work because many employees leave, and they go and use the information elsewhere. Sometimes, it’s hard to prove that an employee has breached an NDA. So they’re used to create a chilling effect to make sure that employees know that there will be a liability if they disclose the information that they obtained through their relationship with the employer.

Another way that companies can protect their trade secrets is through restrictive covenants in their employment agreements. We’re not going to get into much detail on restrictive covenants in this module. But when an employee joins a company, the company will sometimes ask an employee to waive certain rights and to abide by certain restrictive covenants. So if an employee comes to a company and then leaves, they may be asked, for a certain period of time, to not work for a competitor, to not disclose confidential information about the company, and to not solicit other employees that have worked for the company. These are what are called restrictive covenants. They’re methods and tools that companies use to protect their trade secrets through employment agreements.

Another way that companies can protect their trade secrets is by filing a lawsuit. This is, obviously, the most final and nuclear option in the trade secret protection ladder, but this is sometimes the last and best option when sensitive trade secrets are at stake. A company can bring a lawsuit against an employee or another corporation that it believes has stolen their trade secrets, and through litigation, they can try to work out protecting that information, stopping the dissemination of the confidential information, and, in some cases, returning the confidential information and trade secrets back to the company.

Now that we’ve covered trade secrets, we’ve really gone through all of the main facets of intellectual property law. We’ve covered trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. After learning these basics of intellectual property, we can then move on to our next section, which is the law of sneakers and the more practical side of the business, which we call “The Art Of The Sneaker Deal.”

For the record, I cannot stand the term “sneakerhead” because I feel like it defines someone as only being into sneakers. In addition, the term tends to draw direct associations to negative terms like crackheads. I prefer to use words like sneaker aficionado or sneaker lover instead of sneakerhead. Although I love sneakers, I have never been addicted to them. I have never put sneakers above and beyond everything else.

The term “sneakerhead” has been adopted by large companies and the mainstream media. It’s also often used by people who aren’t super passionate about sneakers to describe others who are. It’s an easy phrase to describe someone that is really into sneakers.

Sneakers Bring People Together

Sharing a love for sneakers is a great way to create a bond between people, but it’s not the only thing that matters. There are many other aspects outside of sneakers that draw people together. The sneakers may be the initial common bond that can put people in a room together, but their conversations and other interests keep the bonds alive.

The term “sneakerhead” is fitting as a quick and easy definition of someone that loves shoes, but it does not explain the full meaning of the word. It’s not an accurate description of what really takes place among the people in the sneaker community. There’s also camaraderie, friendship, and kinship. There are stories being exchanged between sneaker lovers of all kinds. There’s an entire culture.

I have sneakers in my closet from countries all over the world. These are from countries I’ve never even visited. They were sent to me by friends that live there. Friends that I made while they were visiting the States. We bonded over our love of sneakers. This is an example of the global phenomenon and kinship that the word sneakerhead doesn’t fully encompass.

Sneaker Industry

There are so many different ways to describe what a sneakerhead is. I can think of at least three or four versions.

First, there are the Hypebeast Sneakerheads. These are the sneaker lovers that are out to buy the latest in everything. And they are buying these things because of the hype or the influences. Many of the influences come from musical artists. They are buying the next Yeezys because Kanye is wearing them or Pumas because Pharell is wearing them. They choose the sneakers they buy based on association, not on the design of the shoe.

Then you have the OG sneakerheads. These are the true shoe-collecting sneakerheads. They are the people buying the Stan Smiths, the never-worn first-edition Air Jordans, and the ripped-up 80s Jordans used for playing pickup basketball back in the day. These are the sneakerheads that appreciate the history of the brands like Pony. They want to be a part of that big-city culture in places like New York or LA.

Next, there are sneakerheads like me. I’m more interested in the design aspect of sneakers. This is partly because I am a designer myself. There are different aspects and elements that go into the design of a sneaker. I want to know how they can evolve, I want to know how to keep them relevant, and I want to know how to put new technology into them.

Finally, you have the new-age sneakerheads. These are the people that initiate the influences that shoes have on buyers. These are the kids that basically create the trends for everything. They are essentially hypebeasts without even realizing it.

Sneaker Culture

Ultimately, I think that a sneakerhead is just someone who really cares about footwear. They care about all things related to sneakers. They like the stories, the history, and the scene.
They want to know what’s happening and where it’s going.

I’m still not a huge fan of the word sneakerhead because it’s been so diluted by companies and people looking to make money off the term. It’s an easy shortcut to explain to people what you are into, but I don’t personally like to define myself that way. Sneakerhead typically refers to people who care about the stuff and want to spend their free time dedicated to it.

I work in sneakers, and I can’t really ever turn that off. On the weekends, I’m still thinking about sneakers or reading about sneakers. I’m still texting my friends about what sneakers are coming out, sneaker reviews, or how specific brands are being presented. So basically, being a sneakerhead is just this idea that’s always in the back of your head, and it frames the way you look at the world.

Before there were websites and social media channels dedicated to sneakers, you didn’t really see a lot of sneakers in the media. This made it harder to connect with them. Most of the sneaker ads that aired were celebrity-based, linking them to specific releases.

I remember seeing videos of certain shoes like the banned Air Jordan 1. When these sneakers were first released to the public, they were only carried by outlet stores. So naturally, this made them super coveted. Today, those same shoes could sell for thousands of dollars.

Sneaker Industry Chaos

There was this one sneaker video of an outlet store with a large drawn gate in front of it. It was early in the morning, and people were waiting outside of the gate to enter. No official line was formed yet because they had to wait for the gate to open before moving into the plaza area in front of the store. Eventually, security came and opened the gate. As soon as there was a gap underneath the gate, people were on the ground crawling under it.

So as this gate lifted, the crowd emerged from it, and people start sprinting to get to the storefront. They were running as fast as possible to get there and form an official line. This happens every time there is a massive Jordan sneaker release.

The new sneaker releases were always accompanied by these funny local television coverage pieces done by people who don’t actually know what’s going on. So they would fumble around, trying to figure it out as they went, and it rarely made sense.

Let me tell you a little bit about why these shoes are important to you. You see, they have the icy gum bottoms. Just lick them. They are limited editions. These shoes are never coming again.

I remember when the Galaxy Foams were released in Orlando in 2012. There were news teams covering the event with helicopters overhead and cops at the mall, shutting things down. It was pure chaos.

There have been a lot of fights at New York City sneaker stores that have gone viral. With so many people pushing and shoving each other over shoes, eventually, the cops are going to get involved, and the whole event will get shut down. In New York City, Supreme can’t release their Nike collaborations in the store anymore because of moments like these.

Social Media as a Marketing Tool

Meme culture has also contributed to big pop culture sneaker crossover moments. We all remember the Damn Daniel thing with the white vans sneakers.

Damn, Daniel. Damn, Daniel. Damn, Daniel. Back at it again with the white Vans.

The “Damn, Daniel” kid eventually became so popular that he received a free supply of Vans for life. It’s interesting to see how these top-name brands react to these moments. There is a lot of free marketing, and they have to figure out how to best take advantage of it. I remember when all of this was happening, and I emailed Vans to ask if they were doing something about this. They responded that they had a plan. Some people speculate that Vans planned this, themselves, as a marketing strategy. I don’t believe that, but some people do.