How do you recognize a sneaker fiend?
Cuz they’re always looking at ‘em [their sneakers]. They watch where they step. And they watch how they step. You just don’t walk regular. You walk with your feet out, and take a flat, perfect step. You do, you watch when you step. If somebody’s in your way, you’ll stop and wait for them to move out the way, so y’all won’t bump sneakers. You know what I mean? And when you do bump your sneakers, like me, I might hit the table (demonstrates lightly), but I stop, I will stop in the middle of my walk, if I scuff on the curb or something, and look and make sure I have no mark and have to wipe it off. I do. Even put a little spit on my finger and wipe it off.

So when did you start loving sneakers?
Probably, ohhh, probably like ‘87. [She was 10 or 11.] My first pair of Jordans was the number fours. They was basically all white, with specks of blue, and had a little snake skin on the side. It said Nike in the back, Nike Air.
So that’s when the people were like, ‘Oh damn, she’s got Jordans!’ Yea, yea, I was one of the fly persons.
And what do you think got you into them? Was it love at first sight, or…
Yea. Cuz that’s exactly what it is. I was just in love. I’d go rake somebody’s leaves, and go get some Jordans. I saw ‘em in the store. I was in the mall, and I just saw ‘em. I was like, ‘That’s the ones I want…gotta get em.’ And I told my moms I wanted some, and she said, ‘You come out with half that money!’ You can get ‘em. And they was 95 dollars.
Damn!

What is the life of a pair of sneakers for you?
I do wear them special first….And then when I do get them, when I take them off, I take them off with my hands. Because after a while, you know you just take them off with your feet, but I take them off with my hands, then wipe them off, then sit them on the side, on top of the box….I usually got a bad habit of just looking at ‘em. I’ll sit there, by myself, and just turn them around…look at ‘em, look in the inside, open them up, stare at ‘em…and just admire them.
Yea, me too. And then it’s worse, cuz sometimes I’ll do that at work. If I get new sneakers… I’ll be at a meeting and I’m supposed to be paying attention, and I’m just staring at my sneakers!
Yea, I do that too. I just admire them….Well after a couple days, I’ll put them back in the box, and up on the shelf. It goes by how I get a new pair. So if I’ma get a new pair next week, that means that new pair I got last week goes in the closet, and who knows when I’m going to wear it again.
Wow. So that pair has a short life of being special!
Yea. Most of my sneakers, like [my friend] said, ‘The most you wear one pair of sneakers is about two weeks. After that you put ‘em in the box.’ You put ‘em in the box; when you get a new pair, you put ‘em on the shelf….I got sneakers up there now that I haven’t worn in a year.

Do you have any role models in terms of athletes or other sneaker fiends that you look at their sneakers?
No. I feel can’t nobody do better than me. [Laughs.] I’m being honest. They be like, ‘my sneakers are fly.’ I be like, ‘Yea, but mines are flyer.’ We could have the same exact thing, mines is cleaner, my laces are even….Yea, can’t nobody rock them better than me.