Why this sneaker collector in Singapore gives away up to 50 pairs a year

“I love reading about the design inspirations behind sneakers that I buy and their correlation to popular culture,” said 35-year-old educator, Dexter Tan, who has been collecting sneakers since he bought his first pair as a 16-year-old fan of basketball and MTV.

Back then, and armed with his own savings, he was set on a pair of Nike Easter Air Force 1s. But Tan was advised against buying the pastel-hued pair by his mum and ended up getting a pair of Nike Terminator Lows, which got him approving nods anyway.

Over time, his interest grew to include other brands and his collection now stands at around 300 pairs. “I loved collecting Air Force 1s because even though they were made for basketball, they look great off court as well. Plus, seeing rappers like Dr Dre and Nelly rock Air Forces made them my go-to shoe. As I grew older, I started buying different brands such as New Balance and Converse.”

As Tan got more involved in sneaker culture, unique and rare pairs became the draw. The avid collector’s enthusiasm has rubbed off on his family and his dad now has an impressive collection too.

His passion for sneakers inspired him to organise an annual gathering of sneakerheads called Sole Superior with business partner, Jonathan Fong. The annual event has been held since 2013 but took a hiatus during the pandemic. "(It's) a sneaker gathering for sneaker nerds like me so we come together we talk we discuss. we hang out and we shop or even trade sneakers all in one location once a year every year," said Tan.

TAKING A SNEAK PEAK

The sneaker aficionado believes that there are sneakers for any look but there are certain style rules he adheres to. “If my clothes are flashy, my shoes would be a bit more subdued and I always like to colour-match at least some parts of my upper clothing to my shoes.”

His one cardinal rule is to never wear a monotone-coloured shoe as he likes contrast. Comfort is increasingly important to Tan and his style advice is to wear what you like and not what others tell you to. His current shoe rotation comprises five pairs: Dunk Low Panda, Jordan 1 High, a grey New Balance, a Converse Jack Purcell’s for dressier occasions and, when he doesn’t want to wear sneakers, Crocs.

Rare pairs in Tan’s collection include the Nike Playstation Air Force 1 and Nike Air Force 1 Low Lux Anaconda made with real anaconda skin which he says is probably the last that Nike made before PETA and other animal rights group lobbied against it. He also owns a pair of Beijing Olympics athletes-only Air Force 1 and a pair of Air Force 1s which were commissioned specially for the attendees of the Black Entertainment Television Awards in 2014.

He is currently trying to limit his purchases and makes, on average, six to seven buys every three months. The most he has spent on a pair is over a thousand dollars for the Air Force 1 PlayStation which he says is a “steal”. But his most valuable pair is his 1985 Air Jordan 1 Chicago made famous by Michael Jordan.

The times when he buys pairs that aren’t his size are when the deal is too good to pass up. For instance, a Nike pair that is a unique collaboration by skater Eric Coston and basketballer Kobe Bryant.

Then there are pairs that he covets but are currently out of reach, like the Dior Air Jordan 1 Low which he joked to friends would be his “wedding pair”. He tried to ballot for it when it was retailing at three thousand dollars but wasn’t successful and the price has since increased three or four times which he deems too high.

His biggest regret? The Nike Air Presto Hello Kitty which he purchased three pairs of, for his girlfriend and himself. “Fast forward to today, that pair of shoes is very often found in outlets now for a fraction of the price.” But he still keeps it to remind himself to be patient.

ENTERING THE SNEAKERVERSE

"I would advise anyone who is just starting to collect sneakers to always buy within your own means,” he said, adding that research is also important to ensure authenticity especially since counterfeits are common in the marketplace.

He says that collecting requires diligence as you have to scour eBay and other platforms, as well as active networking which he says is highly effective. He is part of sneaker community groups on Facebook and makes it a point to talk to sellers during sneaker events overseas.

To maintain his collection, Tan stores most pairs in sneaker cases from Tower Box. Older pairs that are kept for display are sealed in heat wrap while newer pairs that are kept for future wear are put in ziplock bags and stored back in the box.

He stresses the importance of learning the proper way to clean shoes. Mud or rainwater needs to be washed off as soon as possible and the shoes need to be dried, either by a hairdryer or out in the sun which also helps to kill bacteria.

Airing shoes in the sun also stops the glue from drying out and wearing them where possible helps to prevent the shoes from breaking down. “If you keep a brand-new shoe inside a box, in two years, you'll notice that it’ll crack apart,” he stated.  

Learning to read label tags is important too as you can find out when the shoe was produced and when it was put on the shelf for sale. “I would not buy any retail pair, unless it's rare, if it's been in production and sale two years before as this may mean that the shoe has been stuck in the shoe shop for two years where the natural elements may have caused it to be a bit more fragile and it may disintegrate very quickly,” he explained.

SNEAKER FAVES

A roundup of Tan’s favourite kicks from his collection.

• Nike Terminator Low Syracuse – the first pair of sneakers he ever owned.
• Nike Air Force 1 Playstation – The video game fan says that acquiring this Nike and Sony collaboration was a no-brainer for him.
• Novesta x Sole Superior Star Master – The first sneaker collaboration that Sole Superior did with Novesta, supported by Goodluck Bunch.
• Saint Barkley x Sole Superior Aberdeen Pro Saint – This second sneaker collaboration was significant to Tan as it was 4 years in the making and was memorable for the Indonesian and Singapore connection, as well as the bubble gum-smelling tongue.

Senior editor: Serene Seow; creative director: Chern Ling; senior producer: Lindsay Jialin; photography: Kelvin Chia; hair and grooming: Laselle Lee using Kevin Murphy and Chanel Beauty