For our latest size?collections, we ventured to the heart of our journey – Manchester – to catch up with ?Manchester Store Manager Ryan Jones. His sneaker collecting journey started around 2012/2013, with one of his oldest memories watching celebrities showing off their lavish collections on MTV Cribs. The rest – as they say – is history, and his collection has a span of around 110-120 pairs. That’s quite the feat in our eyes.

MTV Cribs might have been a big influence, but another moment sticks in his mind. When Ryan was 8 or 9, he was trainer shopping with his family and he laid his eyes upon a pair of Nike Air Specters with an electric blue colourway and technical lacing. This pair showed him how eye-catching a pair of sneakers could be, helping him understand why people start collecting. The actual collecting started later though, when he ventured down to the size? Manchester store on Market Street to get his hands on the navy Air Max 90 ‘Independence Day’.

With sneaker collecting, it is all about the interactions, Ryan stated, “You could go all week, and no one comments on your trainers, then you get one person who is like yo, what are those, I really like them trainers.” Ryan also talked about the importance of restoration. He is a collector who likes to wear his trainers, and with this, they are destined to lose their premium quality. Throughout his collection, he has re-painted a lot of his pairs, while some just suit the more weathered look.

The question that we always ask is, “what are your favourite ?exclusives?” Ryan’s are our 20th anniversary-celebrating Nike Air Max 95s, with the unique colourful sidewalls. While these are his favourite ?exclusives, he has a love of the OG colourways, especially the AM95 ‘Neon’ and the AM90 ‘Infrared’ – Ryan is a true Air Max purist.

Stay tuned for plenty more size?collections episodes, and have a look at our blog for the archive.