The Sneaker-Head Behind #SNEAKFEST
25 year old, Adam Ghueder, refers to sneakers as a "hobby". This hobby of his grew to reach over 150 pairs of tennis shoes. After donating some and selling a few pairs after college, his collection now contains about 80 to 90 pairs of shoes. About 12 years ago Adam traveled to New York and attended his first sneaker convention. Sneaker Con, a shoe-expo where shoes are sold, bought and traded. There had never been a convention for shoes like this in TN; He’d never seen anything like it. “I was amazed,” he said. He then began to follow the convention’s Instagram page and kept up with what they were doing. Years later, while living in Nashville for school, he decided to organize a show. Ghueder and his friends had experience in reselling shoes, but this was a different ball game. Adam first created a website and social media accounts to promote the expo, he then obtained his business license, and began his search for vendors. When asked what his beginning expectations were, He replied,”I had high expectations because I knew I was putting in 110% , so I knew I would get 110 back”. Adam’s first SneakFest was in Nashville,Tn during the fall of ’13. The venue wasn’t that spacious and the event only hosted about 15 vendors. Rap artist, Trinidad James, was pretty hot that year and actually made an appearance at Ghueder's first show. Ghueder found out that the rapper was in Nashville at the time and began reaching out, commenting on his Instagram photos, telling him about the expo. He didn't have high hopes for Trinidad coming, but will never forget the moment he saw him walk through the door. After the event in Nashville, Ghueder began thinking "I gotta have one in my hometown". He then began to plan a show for Memphis. Since he’d still be away at school, he put together a group of friends, Sherman Harper, Reginald “RJ” Jones, and Jayry Khammavong, to assist with things back home. Adam used social media to promote his exposition in Memphis, but this time around he also spread word through flyers, radio, and other outlets. In March of 2014, his second expo was held at the Cook Convention Center. The venue was about 35 square feet, with a turn out of 40-50 vendors and over 1,000 people in attendance. These days SneakFest averages about 60-75 vendors and will possibly have 1,100 people in the building at once, whether enjoying the live entertainment or trading shoes. In the future, Ghueder plans to “step outside of Tennessee” and hold SneakFest in other states. He also wants to continue to evolve SneakFest so that it is never just another sneaker convention. CHECK OUT what all the hype is about and enjoy a good time! There is an upcoming SNEAKFEST Expo on MARCH 18 at the Agricenter — 7777 Walnut Grove Rd, Memphis, TN 38120 ** If you are interested in being a vendor at one of the SneakFest events find more info. at sneakfest.org underneath the “Become a Vendor” tab.
_________________________________________________________________________ A Little More On Adam Ghueder . . .
Adam has a degree in Business Management. He is currently working for a logistics services company while enrolled in graduate school. He also attends church regularly and mentors children in North Memphis.
Adam's favorite shoe? The Air Jordan 5 toro bravo, also known as the "raging bulls".
He loves these shoes so much that they make up 4 pairs in his collection. He has 3 pair that he actually wears and one still in the box that he plans to "keep on ice until 35'.
Favorite Shoe Silhouette? Jordan II
They're "comfy".
Most Versatile Shoe? Jordan 3
Ghueder feels these shoes are able to be worn with a casual outfit and not just a basketball look.
Other than Jordans? Ghueder would have to strut with the low-top Vans.
"Everything is hype,hype, hype these days. People probably expect me to say Yeezys"
He also made sure he was clear that he did not like the 'slip-on' or 'no lace' versions of Vans.