For the latest edition of ?collections, we headed near to Cologne to meet the face behind SauconySneaks – Rainer Imhoff. We get an inside look into the Saucony scene, Rainer’s all-time favourite silhouettes, as well as what it was that sparked his passion for collecting almost 14 years ago.

With Saucony not readily available in Germany at the time, it was “the hunt for something nobody else had” that first piqued Rainer’s interest. He recalls that most of Saucony’s trainers were vegan at the time, which really set the brand apart from the rest of the market back in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

Despite his go-to pair being a ‘90s silhouette, the Shadow 6000, Rainer often leans into the new renders with a keen interest in the ways Saucony is developing its footwear for the future. A current pair that’s impressed Rainer is the newly released Omni 9. In his opinion, these shoes are “really good performance-wise and perfect on the street”.

Another special pair Rainer holds in his collection is a collaboration silhouette, the Bodega x Saucony Grid Azura 2000. These were sent to him in the early days of SauconySneaks, after meeting with the Bodega guys in Boston. As a US and Bodega exclusive, there aren’t many of these pairs in circulation. However, his all-time favourite pair, and the oldest in his collection is one he spent some time tracking down: the Alife Rivington Club x Saucony Shadow 6000 in red. After completing the story with the blue, grey and green iterations, Rainer still favours the red – so much so he’s got the silhouette tattooed on his leg. Now that’s dedication.

Amongst his collection is the Saucony x West NYC Shadow 5000 ‘Tequila Sunrise’… The first pair Rainer got up early to secure. There were only 10 pairs in the store so he “got really lucky”. What stands out about this edition to Rainer is not only the concept but the colour blocking, “it’s a really good summer shoe”. He appreciates the way Saucony carefully selects each collaboration partner, “I think it’s always about the details and the love they put into their collaborations”.

For Rainer, it’s all about sharing the passion and the love for Saucony and making it a family affair. Having a mum and father-in-law with the same shoe size makes it easy to share his collection, whilst he continues to inspire his brother to buy into the Saucony lifestyle.

Check out more size?collections on our blog.