Sneakerheads descend on Las Vegas for Sneaker Con

With vendors seeking to transform passion into income and attendees searching for that one special pair, a long line of people waited for the doors to the Sneaker Con convention to open at noon Saturday.

Inside, vendors had been waiting for this moment. Vendor Kenneth Rodriguez, 33, had set up shop at 6 a.m. just to get a “prime location.”

Sneakers were packed in rows stacked one above the other at stands throughout the convention. Attendees gravitated toward the colorful shoes, as well as the people selling them.

Crown jewels

Brandon Eveson’s table featured a wide array of sneakers. What didn’t vary as much were their sizes. “Most of them are my size, my wife’s size or toddler ones,” Eveson, 29, said.

While many sneakerheads have made a business out of their work, Eveson said that for him, selling the shoes is more of a hobby. “It’s just a personal collection,” he said.

But in addition to shoes bought for his 2-year-old son, Eveson was offering up 1985 Original Release Jordan 1s, a shoe that goes for more than $30,000 online.

Eveson’s most expensive shoes were in “wearable condition,” he said. “They’re super pristine compared to most pairs.” He said he was selling them for “a couple thousand dollars.”

Grandparents attending the convention sometimes come up to Eveson when they see the shoes, he said, because it came out when they were his age.

While Eveson had his Jordan 1s prominently displayed, 25-year-old Jose Zazueta kept his prized stock behind his table.

Zazueta created his business Drop Shop with his brother after their restaurant in Mexico closed during the pandemic. “We started selling stuff,” he said. “One of the things we started were sneakers. We started selling bigger and bigger stuff.”

On Saturday, Zazueta had on offer a Nike and Louis Vuitton collaboration presented by Sotheby’s, which he said have sold for $350,000 at auction for certain sizes. “These are $100,000,” he said, removing the sneakers from atop the Louis Vuitton orange monogrammed box they sat upon.

A young person’s game

Jabari Lewis, director of media relations at Sneaker Con, said that the sneaker game is getting younger and younger.

““I’ve seen as little as 6-, 7-year-olds coming in here, talking the talk, walking the walk, knowing what they want,” Lewis said. Seeing them makes he wish he entered the game a long time ago, he said..

Kelly Signorelli, a 46-year-old Sneaker Con attendee, said she brought her 12-year-old son and proclaimed sneakerhead from Los Angeles all the way to Las Vegas for the convention.

They’d attended Sneaker Con in Anaheim the weekend before, where they learned the show would be traveling to Las Vegas.

Signorelli said her family had such a good time that she took some time off from work to drive there.

“I only know what he’s taught me,” Signorelli said. “He made a $1,000 today.”

Lewis said he appreciates that kids are starting out at a young age. “Their head is on the right swivel,” he said.

Making connections

Alex Mah wandered the convention carrying two boxes of sneakers: one that he was planning on trading and one that he had just bought.

The 20-year-old from Topeka, Kansas said he tagged along on a family vacation and ended up at Sneaker Con.

Mah said he used to buy and sell sneakers in high school, while a friend of his had a business cleaning them. He said that knowing people and having a business mind can make shoe-flipping a great gig.

Social media plays a part in this, Mah explained. While a big social media presence isn’t necessary, following someone or adding them on Snapchat can spread the word.

“Most of the time somebody will reach out to you actually,” Mah said.

Sneaker Con allows people to build connections in person as well, explained 22-year-old vendor Danaly Varonno.

Varonno, who is from San Diego, said he came to the convention to “make some money, get some connections and have a good time.”

“Half of the business is being connected,” Varonno said. Sometimes store owners he knows will give him a good deal on extra inventory, he explained.

Getting the shoe

Lewis said his experience with the convention is that these connections go deeper than business. “It’s more like a family, versus somebody just selling some clothes or some speakers,” he said.

On Saturday, he predicted that more than 5,000 people would attend the convention over the weekend. It’s a mixture of people looking for a particular shoe and those who just want to look around.

Many of them have what Lewis called an “entrepreneurial” spirit, he said. In the sneaker business, it’s possible to trade up to the shoe of your dreams, Lewis explained.

When Lewis was young, his mom bought his little sister his dream shoe, because it was available in kids sizes.

From then on, Lewis began drafting a list of shoes he wants. “I’ve completed the list,” he said.

And someone who walks in without the money to buy their dream sneaker, but with a shoe in hand, may still stands a chance through trading, he said.

“You’ll eventually get that shoe,” Lewis said.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram and @estellelilym on X.