This original story was written on July 30th, 2018. It has since been updated.
Last week I was given a golden opportunity. Through a series of fortunate events, I was able to land myself a raffle ticket by way of Undefeated for the white Off-White x Nike Presto, from the “Polar Opposites” pack.
Now, I have not had the best success in the past with raffles and draws, even questioning their legitimacy. But this raffle was different. The La Brea, Santa Monica and Silverlake locations had their raffle take place on Sunday, 7/29, at the Undefeated La Brea Pop-Up from 12PM-6PM. Now, I have also previously mentioned how I do not like to wait in line for sneakers. So I did not. Best believe I learned my lesson from that debacle. So I did my due diligence and got my raffle.
I couldn’t get on my laptop quick enough. I knew that this was only a chance to purchase, not a guaranteed cop. Still enough, I registered for an Undefeated account, followed the rules of the giveaway and I entered. The whole process took less than 2-3 minutes. The only thing that remains is the waiting game, and the pickup. The sneakers are slated to drop this Friday, 8/3. For anyone outside of F&F and seeding lists, this wait can be a time of anxiousness and impatience, especially the further away the raffle entry is from the actual release date. And still enough, I have to pick up the shoes, assuming I win, on Friday.
And that is another concerted effort to keep in mind. Like most sneaker heads, I have a job that I work for at least 8 hours a day. Right after work, I gotta catch a flight back home to Dallas. This means I would have to either get to work late and take a short day, get to work earlier so I can leave earlier, or have them hold it for me so I can get them later, and then book it to Los Angeles International. Either way, my margin of error is razor thin.
Thursday morning rolls around, and Undefeated slides in my inbox. I won the raffle, I can purchase the sneakers. Now a million things are on my mind, regarding the acquisition of these sneakers on a very busy Friday. By the rules given to me in this congratulatory email, I have to show up at 9 AM on Friday, August 3rd, sharp. If I don’t show, my shoes are forfeited. So then comes the planning: how am I going to get a good day of work in, pick up these sneakers, and make my obligation on time?
Enter my longtime friend Jared, who works at Undefeated. Filling him in on the good news, he told me that getting there at 9 AM meant that I was going to be waiting in line for a cool minute to pick up my shoes. What he also told me is that I am guaranteed a purchase of those sneakers in my size. So, all throughout the day, I’m trying to find out how to get these sneakers and accomplish everything I need to do to. I’m strategizing with Jared, trying to figure out what the best option is for me; even if it means engaging in the very same LA f*ckery I hate. But for a pair of Nikes that will resell around $700, I might Just Do It. But, Jared gives me a pro-tip and tells me to pull up instead around 10:30-10:45, and I can virtually lose the line, walk in, and collect my kicks. He says this is around the time the line dies down. Deal.
So what do I do? I get to work early, put in some good time, get to Undefeated La Brea (on the other side of Los Angeles from my job and LAX), picked up my sneaks, and bounced right back to work, put in some more time, and took an Uber two miles down to LAX. Now, I knew I wanted to be a hot boy as soon as I landed in Dallas, so I put the Prestos in my backpack. As soon I got through security, I switched out my (at the time*) Inikis for the Prestos and was set. I landed in Dallas with the joints on. But, since it was 10:10 PM when I landed, nobody was really there to stare and admire my newly won bounty that had just dropped mere hours earlier. Fine.
Sunday rolls around, and I decide to take them out on the town to show off. I figure not a whole lot of folks from Dallas will have this shoe (yet**), so I can really stand out. But, it isn’t without hitches. Filling my mom’s SUV with gas, I get a little bit on them, and then a little girl at the mall stepped on the back of my left shoe when she was playing around too damn much on the escalator. I’m not too mad, because once again, I broke one of my own cardinal rules. Ipso Facto, I probably deserved that series of unfortunate events. Thankfully, I had some sneaker cleaning products to rectify these errors. I’ve cleaned them about 3 times in when I got in. My first instinct was to throw them in the washer, but the tags on the shoe would get messed up, so I took to the cleaning products and then the good old toothbrush and detergent method. I played no games with these sneakers. They are nice and clean now, but until I can figure out a tried and true method for cleaning these joints, I will be treading very lightly whenever I decide to wear them.
I never considered myself a hypebeast, and when shopping for sneakers, I never overlook more available heat for the rarer hype. I think every sneaker rotation needs a good balance of everything, and I never support breaking the bank for some sneakers. But if you get the chance to cop something amazing, shoot your shot.
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