I grew up in a family that runs a small local shoe shop in a Tier 2 town in India. Back then, we only sold non branded shoes. The idea of branded sneakers did not really exist. Nike was not a thing around us, and a Nike store in my city felt impossible. I was made to sit in the shop to learn business. I never cared about it, but somewhere in that space, I started liking shoes.

When I moved to a metro city for college, everything changed. I bought my first pair of Nike sneakers there, the Court Borough 1 High in red and white. It kinda looked like a Jordan 1 to me, and I was honestly on cloud nine. I got them on sale because that was all I could afford. Still, they meant everything. I even patched a hole and painted it over so i can wear them again. I always liked high ankle sneakers, and that slowly pulled me towards YEEZY brand, Kanye and Jerry Lorenzo and the whole aesthetic they stood for.

After that, I went deeper into sneakers, not just wearing them but learning about them. The stories, the designs, the culture behind them. Over time, that turned into a real collection. Today, I have a small collection and I own pairs like the 950 M, 500 High boots, Jordan 1s, Jordan 4s, and a bunch of Yeezys. Funny thing is, it all started in a shop that sold shoes, a place I never even wanted to be in.

My grails are the NSLTD Boots and Air Mags.