To Rock or Stock? Sneakerheads will do almost anything to get their hands on a unique pair of kicks, going to such extreme lengths as hiding in trash cans to score a pair of Retro Jordan 11s to camping for days in sub zero temperatures for the latest Nike Foamposites. How did sneakers become as prized as collectable art? From the shores of Cali to the congested streets of Tokyo, Sneakerheadz examines the cultural influence of sneaker collecting around the world and delves into a subculture whose proud members don’t just want to admire art, they want to wear it.
Sneakerheadz, which world premiered at the SXSW film festival, is a fun, informative, and engaging documentary about the history of shoe culture and the impact it has made on segments of society. Caring about footwear is more than just just athletics but became a pop culture movement as well as status symbol embedded within the Fashion and hip hop worlds. I had a chance to speak with the filmmakers David T. Friendly (a producer from Little Miss Sunshine) and Mick Partridge during SXSW about Sneakerheadz why they made this movie, various production challenges, and what they want audiences to take away from the movie.
One thing Sneakerheadz wants the audience to understand is this: People take their shoes very seriously. There is a scene where we watch one guy show off his best shoes he keeps in a walk in vault full of them! One learn a lot watching this documentary which fascinated David T. Friendly enough to make this movie.
“I discovered this whole subculture and thought this is a documentary I could do, then we just started developing pitch letters,” David said. “We need private investors because we knew a studio wasn’t going to pay for this. I liked the idea of connecting with someone in the culture who is buying these things.”
Sneakerheadz has an underground following so mainstream support from bigger studios was very unlikely. The “Sneakerhead Glossary” scene informs viewers about different types of shoes which allows people like me who wear knock off Sperry’s made by Sketchers to learn more about shoes. (“Deadstock” was the fascinating term). This was an important scene to include so new people wouldn’t feel alienated from watching Sneakerheadz.
“It was something that was being processed as we would go along. The glossary is a great example of that,” David said. “We had 72 hours of footage for 74 minutes. As we put the cut together, we realized people would be confused with everything that we mentioned. We came up with the idea of the glossary. When we did that it seemed to have made the movie more accessible. And one of the goals was to make a film that appealed to both the novice and the expert. We wanted to make sure that this wasn’t a movie for SneakerHeadz.”
“There’s only so much you could say about sneakers before boring people and you don’t want to hit people over the head with the same information,” Mick added.
Luckily, this wasn’t the case for Sneakerheadz. In fact, it could’ve been a longer documentary. People used to fly to other countries to obtain certain, very rare shoes. The Internet has changed that, but people still travel to find the perfect shoe. It was fitting that this production traveled across the country and to parts across the world for filming.
“It was a logistically complex effort because we went to Japan, Boston, Miami, Portland and we didn’t have a big crew,” David said. “What was most challenging was getting the right people. And I think we did. Everyone in the doc is articulate and has great ability and is entertaining.”
Mick mentioned they were in New York and Boston the week of the polar vortex which made travel and shooting very challenging.
“We couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of the car,” Mick said. “It was stressful… Another challenging aspect was to creating unique and different shooting methods with the shoes.”
People who put on shoes without much thought wont realize the importance shoes have on die-hard people within this segmented culture. Sure 1990’s was when athletes, companies, and sports teams all collaborated to sell the products, but it is more then consumerism. The cult following was fueled by the Internet. There’s even a college course for sneaker culture!
“Sneakers connect a lot of different areas and very few products can do that,” David said. They are heavily involved in the world of hip-hop, sports, and they tell a story. It isn’t a movie about rampant consumerism.”
One disturbing fact: there are about 20 sneaker related deaths per week! There is a serious and poignant moment in Sneakerheadz when a mother discusses her organization Life Over Fashion. She brings awareness to her son’s death hoping to prevent more acts of violence. The very moving moment was repeated during the premiere at the Vimeo Theater when she attended and had a chance to speak about her son. Finding her and giving her a platform to speak in the documentary was a proud moment for this production.
“It was a testament to one of our associate producers Chase,” Mick said. “He was coordinating talent for the film and found out about the story. We reached out to her and flew to Houston to interview her. It was touching moment when she attended the screening last night.”
Sneakerheadz was acquired by Gravitas Ventures with plans to release it theatrically and on VOD in the fall.
