Getting Hyped: A review of Sneaker Jam hosted by HypeBeast KC

After taking off my basic white, high-top Converse, which I’ve worn almost every day for the past two months and setting them on my shoe shelf next to my three other identical pairs — yes, you read that right, I have four pairs of the same plain white Converse — I realized it was time to spice up my shoe game. 

Enter: Sneaker Jam.

Sneaker Jam is an event hosted by Hypebeast KC where vendors come to sell anything “hype”, with an extensive focus on sneakers.

Travis Scott’s voice blared through the Shawnee Civic Center so loud I could barely hear the people next to me. I paid $22 for tickets at the door which granted us access to everything at the event. After securing our bright orange wristbands, we made our way down to the main floor.  It was full of tables covered in shoes and designer clothes and a few teenagers with a handful of sneaker boxes they were trying to trade or sell. 

I was surrounded by every sneaker brand you could think of — Yeezys, Nike, Adidas, Bape, Converse, Jordans and more. I had never even heard of half the brands there but junior Jackson Fausett, a self-proclaimed sneakerhead, led me through. 

Rap music continued to blare but by this point, I was too mesmerized by a pair of Off-White x Air Jordans high tops to notice. However, once Fausett informed me the cheapest they would sell for was $2000, I quickly moved on.

I made my way around the room, stopping at every table and checking out their shoe offerings. Eventually, I found a pair that caught my eye. The black, gold and purple Nike Air Force 1 Shadows from their “Sisterhood” collection. Most shoes didn’t have price tags on them since the prices were negotiable, so you had to ask the seller how much they wanted and negotiate a price. I was originally told $110 but, utilizing the haggling tips Fausett had taught me such as pointing out inconsistencies in the shoe, I was able to get the price down to $60.

After doing a few more laps Fausett found a pair of Air Jordan 1 Low OGs with a coral, black and white colorway. They were being sold at multiple booths so he went to all of them to try and find the best deal. The first three booths told him $200 at the lowest for the pair but we overheard them later telling older and more obvious-looking sneakerheads $170 for the pair. Fausett explained that it’s common for people reselling shoes to try to rip off teenagers, assuming they aren’t as educated about shoes or using their parents’ money. After this, we immediately headed over to a booth being run by a fellow teenager. After finding the shoes in his size we immediately asked the price.They asked for $160, but readily accepted the counteroffer of $155.

We both wanted to show my parents our new kicks but by this point, we were an hour in and they had already gone off on their own adventure. We found them in the trophy room on the top floor of the two-story building. The trophy room held extremely rare or exclusive shoes and only had three tables in it. ’21 game-worn KU basketball shoes and Ben & Jerry’s x Nike Chunky Dunkys were among those on display.

After taking one last, longing look at the shoes, we headed out with shoe boxes and bags in hand, content with our purchases.

Altogether, SneakerJam was a fun weekend activity for sneakerheads and non-sneakerheads alike. The excitingly overwhelming atmosphere and unique shoes makes it a one-of-a-kind experience well worth the $22 tickets.