Supreme Sunday Kicks-Off

This Sunday the first “sneaker swap” in Baton Rouge was held in Southern University’s Royal Cotillion Ballroom. Supreme Sunday was presented by My Kicks The Passion and brought out people from all over the city.
“Supreme Sunday has been in the work for three years and a lot of people are attracted to it, because sneaker culture is always becoming increasingly popular.” said Joe Hines, a sneaker enthusiast from Baton Rouge.
Though sneaker buying, selling, or trading was the main event, there were plenty of other attractions. There were dance performances from local dance companies such as Team WDC, barbers offering haircuts, clothing vendors, giveaways and even a booth where you could get your shoes professionally cleaned or customized.
The “sneaker swap” attracted more than the typical “sneaker head”. Fantaisia Cormier, a senior animal science major, from Lafayette, Louisiana participated as well. “I came to Supreme Sunday looking for a pair of Fresh Princes, but since my size is very general it’s hard for me find a shoe.” said Cormier. Cormier also spoke a little on sneaker culture saying, “It’s sometimes hard to be a female sneaker lover, because guys don’t always believe that girls can find sneakers just as amusing as guys.”
Ontario Lejune, a freshmen Biology major, from Baton Rouge said, “I found out about Supreme Sunday through social media and came to search for some all-white 11’s.” Lejune also mentioned that he loves sneakers, “because sneakers are the first thing people look at. Sneakers can help show status, but it’s funny, because some of the price points are so high that people wouldn’t risk doing normal things in their shoes like playing sports or going to parties.”
The price points at Supreme Sunday were wide and varying, ranging from as low as 20.00 dollars to as high as 1,800.00 dollards. Blue the Barber, owner of Upper Cutz, from Seaside, California was in possession of those 1,800 dollars sneakers known as the Sample Oregon Pucks. Blue said, “The Sample Oregon Pucks can sell on the market for up to 6,000 dollard, because only 100 pairs are on the globe due to them never being officially released.” The reason he chooses to sell shoes below their price point is because when he was young he, “couldn’t always afford the most expensive pairs” so now he uses sneakers to motivate kids to do better. Blue, also shared knowledge about how to test the authenticity of shoes. Some of the key tips include, checking for close knit stitching or searching underneath the sole for a release date or serial number.
“Supreme Sunday is not just an event for sneaker enthusiast and we all wanted this event to be more about bringing the community together,” said Tony McCray, creator of Supreme Sunday. One of the ways McCray and his team tried to make this event more accessible is by not charging an admission price. “Shoes are a powerful motivation tool for young children, because they can make people feel empowered and can even be used for leverage for good performance in school,” said McCray. When asked what motivated McCray to want to plan an event like this he said, “I wanted to play a part in cleaning up the image that sneakers have in the media. On the news there are always reports on how many lives were lost at a sneaker release, but they neglect to focus on how things are improving by writing stories on things like sneaker raffles.” Overall Baton Rouge’s first Supreme Sunday was a success and brought sneaker enthusiasts, vendors, barbers, dancers, and those who were just curious to see out for five hours of fun.