Sneakerplaats interview with @flu_ent

1. Who (are you?), What (do you for a living?), Where (do you live?)

My name is Jake AKA @Flu_ent on Instagram, I am currently working for a fashion retail firm and I am from the lovely city of Nottingham in the East Midlands in England.

2. When did your love for sneakers start and why do you love sneakers so much?

Like most people say I have always loved sneakers but my love for sneakers started properly in 2014. I remember walking into my local Size? Store and seeing a pair of lunarlon sole Air Max 90’s, they were the first pair I bought with my own money, they were on sale so nice and cheap haha!

I absolutely destroyed them as they were the only pair I owned but that’s what kick started my obsession and the collection I have today. I love everything about sneakers, their inspirations, the colorways and materials.

I love the history of sneakers and the origins of the brand and how the brands became such powerhouses in the modern day.

And I also think meeting new people who have the same passion as you, I wouldn’t have the collection I have today if I didn’t meet fellow sneakerheads who shared their passion and knowledge and also from that I have gained a lot of friendships from sneakers and that’s what I love.

3. Do you remember your first pair of sneakers? Which pair was it?

So like the previous question the first pair I bought with my own money was those Lunarlon Air Max 90’s in 2014 but I do somewhat remember my very first pair from when I was about 4 years old, which were some old Nike Tuned pair.

I forget the specific model but the colorway was very close to the Hyper blue color… It had the velcro and everything as I still didn’t know how to tie my shoelaces at the time because I was so young haha!

4. What’s your favorite brand and model?

My favourite brand has to be Nike, I used to be a just Nike person about a year ago but have now expanded my collection with other brands in recent months after being let down by Nikes ever problematic quality control.

Of course I am Nike at heart as the majority of my pairs are from that brand. My favorite model on the other hand changes from time to time, it goes from 90s, to 1s to 180s to 95s back to 90s again, its just whatever I am feeling in that very moment.

I don’t think I have a specific model I love, I just think I love everything Air Max.

5. How many sneakers do you have in your collection?

So my collection fluctuates all the time, I am always refreshing the collection, helping others out with pairs and so on.

At this very moment I have 131 pairs total, 90 or so are Nike the rest are Adidas, New Balance and some other brands that I don’t really care too much about.

I have had to sell a few as I am getting myself ready for a very big pickup/ pickups at the end of this month.

6. What’s your favorite pair from your collection?

This is probably one of the hardest questions I have had to answer about my collection, a lot of people ask this and I can’t come up with an actual answer but just say a load of pairs that are some of my favorites.

I think it is in between 5 pairs… The Dizzee Rascal Air Max 90, The Courir Air Max 90, DQM Air Max 90s (the 2004 original pair), the Stash BW and the DJ Kaos x Sal-P Air Max 1 which there are only 20 pairs in existence and I believe I am only 1 of 2 people in the UK with a pair of them.

7. Which pair(s) are still on your wish list?

I have owned a lot of pairs in the past and let go of many so the ones I have let go have to be added back to the list for later.

I have a lot on my wish list to be honest, its probably in the hundreds like the Air Max 90 Dave white which I will hopefully cross off the list at the end of this month and finally complete the pack.

the Powerwall BRS 90s, 1s and 180s, Kid Robot Air Max 1s (another pair I hope to cross off the list at the end of the month), the State Magazine Patta Air Max 90 friends and family pair which is a grail of mine and quite unobtainable for me because of the massive price tag…

The Crep Hemp Nike Air Burst is also on the list, which my fellow sneaker head Swoosh Fever keeps pestering me about as I keep skipping out on the pair. I can’t really say all of them as there is so many I want, its quite annoying really.

8. Do you have a favorite sneakerstore or -shop?

I don’t really shop at sneaker stores now because I always go for the older pairs and ebay is normally my go to…

But from past experiences I would say the Size? Store has got to be one of my favorites just because of the selection they have/ had, their exclusives and the amazing staff that work/ have worked there.

Unfortunately we do not have a Size? Store now in our city which is terrible but that’s how it goes I guess.

9. Which brand and / or model would you never wear in your life? And why is that?

I do like Adidas with their ZX range but anything else Adidas is a no from me, yeezys, ultra boost and NMDs are terrible in my opinion and should be set alight, you would never ever see me with a pair in my collection and definitely not on foot.

10. Which sneaker in your collection was the hardest to find/get?

My harder to find pairs are the ones that when I find them just come out of nowhere, its between 2 amazing pairs, the Courir Air Max 90 which being released in 2002 as a womens shoe and a French exclusive you’d never think I would find them in my size a mens UK9.5 and in the UK for a decent price which I did.

The other pair has to be the DJ KAOS x SAL-P Air Max 1 because 1. There were only 20 pairs released, rumors only 18 as they were only released to friends and family and media.

There isn’t much information on them, I believe only 2 news outlets on the internet has info and if you search them up now you will see my images of them pop up and finally

DJ Kaos has 5 pairs of them in his possession so technically 15 are obtainable by others and I only know 3 other people with pairs.

11. What advice would you like to give to new sneakerheads?

Be yourself, stay true to who you are and do not be a sheep. Be honest and get yourself talking with fellow sneakerheads, we all look out for one another so do not be scared to ask questions or for help.

Do not buy a sneaker because of someone else, buy what you like and what you love. Its not all about hype at the end of the day. GRs are as good as any hype pair.

12. What has been your biggest steal ever?

As some people know I am not great when it comes to finding steals, if I can’t find them for a decent price I just give in and pay what the seller wants haha!

I would even class paying retail nowadays a steal… If you wanna class it as a steal then my Air Max 1 Atmos Safari from 2002.

I got them in 2019 for £110 with the OG box, arch supports but unfortunately not wearable and needed a repaint on the upper of the safari print.

13. How much time a day / a week do you spend on “sneakers”?

I literally open up my phone soon as I wake up and go onto ebay or instagram, I love to see what’s for sale and what pairs I can pick up amd instagram of course to see what pairs people have obtained/ want to obtain or just general conversations on sneakers.

I literally talk about sneakers and look at sneakers all day, everyday or if I am working then when I am on my break I do it then. Just one of my rituals for the day as I just love to do it.

14. How do your loved ones feel about your sneaker lifestyle?

They question it from time to time, especially when I get multiple pairs incoming in the week that’s when they start to question things.

They have come around a lot though and do accept it sometimes, they get why I love them and why I buy them and see the longterm benefits for my obsession.

There are some family members thay don’t get it though and just see sneakers as something that just goes on your foot. It’s a love/ hate relationship…

15. Where can people follow you on your socials?

@flu_ent on Instagram is the go to if people want to follow me, I am always active on there and always up to chat about sneakers.

I am also a member of a little group of fellow sneakerheads called the @Aircollective_EU