One Man Brand

Paul ‘Bruno’ Brown from Sheppey loves a bit of train-er spotting, as evidenced by his Adidas collection which numbers more than 100 pairs. He told Andy Gray how he earned his stripes

First things, first: Why Adidas? Why not Nike? Asics? Or even, Hi-Tec for cryin’ out loud?

For older people like me, Adidas was the first brand to really stand- out. In the early 80s when I started buying the trainers the range was limited to Adidas Samba or Kick, which everyone wore at school. They’ve really kicked-on in terms of design since then, particularly in the past couple of years with the BOOST cushion technology. I’m not brand elitist or anything – I wear what I want regardless of what people think. I suppose it comes down to a love of the three stripes; it’s instantly recognisable to everyone as Adidas. My Adidas collection’s tiny compared to people I know on social media. One bloke I know, who was involved with the Foot Patrol store, said he had 800 pairs of trainers.

You hear of houses being described as ‘the size of a shoebox’. Is your shoebox the size of a house?

Space is a major issue at home. We recently had a new boiler installed in the loft. It freed-up the airing cupboard, which is where I keep the majority of trainers. There are also boxes in the bedroom; the bedroom cupboards...I try and keep all the trainers in boxes. It means I tend to stick to wearing the same pair. Why? ‘Cause a lot of the time I can’t be arsed to look through all the fuckin’ boxes, so I just wear what I’ve left out. I’ve got about 10 pairs which I actually haven’t got around to wearing yet.

I’m not sure marriage and a massive trainer collection makes for a completely cosy home life.

Yeah. My wife gets the hump about it at times, mainly about the space the trainers take-up, and the money side of it. It’s not a cheap hobby. Some of the trainers Adidas are releasing now are between £130 and £150, so I have to be a bit sneaky with my purchases. I try and limit myself to one new pair a month, but sometimes deals come along that are too good to resist. There are more expensive hobbies I could have, though, like going to Arsenal, which I’ve knocked on the head since I started following my local team, Sheppey United.

You own more than 100 pairs of Adidas, so own-up; what’s your favourite pair?

I like runners, as opposed to gum sole Adidas trainers, which are more old-skool and so uncomfortable - I don’t know how people wear them. For me, trainers should have a bit about them. I like them to be colourful, but not too busy. The trainer that ticks all those boxes is the Prism, part of the Adidas’ ZX Flux range which I bought a couple of years back. My least favourite? A pair of Adidas Italia from 2001. They’re similar to the gum sole range, quite thin and uncomfortable. I guess I’ve grown with my Adidas collection. A pair I’d love to own is a yellow pair Adidas brought out as part of their AZX range. Everything about them is perfect – they’re the trainer holy grail for most collectors. I’ve seen them sell for £2,000. I’m 50 now, so comfort’s become more of a consideration as I’ve got older. Other older people, though, especially those based in the north, remain stuck on the casual look of the 80s, which is where my Italia’s belong.

You’ve put them on e-Bay then?

I don’t sell anything. It’s funny, really, I don’t consider myself a collector, but if I was to get rid of a pair I’d see it as one gone from the collection. I’ve swapped a few gum soles for runners, but if I was to let a recent pair go I’d forever be thinking I should’ve kept them. The most expensive pair I own? Adidas Goodfoot, which are part of the ZX 8000 range. They’re worth about £300 now, but I’m not selling.

Tell me to mind my own business if you wish, but have you ever, you know...’gone’ with another brand?

There are other trainers I like. I’ve bought a few pairs of Brooks during the last year. I know it sounds weird, but when I buy outside the Adidas brand it feels like I’m cheating. Adidas is a multi-billion pound business who couldn’t give a shit about me or any of the others who wear their stuff, all they do is churn it out and people like me buy it. But buying Brooks, which were only cheap, felt like I’d ‘been behind' Adidas’ back.

Playing footsie with another brand, eh? Should be ashamed of yourself. How and where do like-minded train-er spotters meet?

I’m on a lot of Facebook groups for people with a shared interest in Adidas. Some are strictly for fans of the old-skool stuff, while others cater for people like me who are more progressive with their tastes. Adidas Trainer Market Place; Adidas Originals Germany are a couple of the groups I’ve joined. A lot of them require you to be vouched-for before you’re allowed to become a member - it’s like the masons, they don’t want any riff-raff joining-up. The sort-of exclusive membership thing helps block the resellers, who are ruining things for a lot of people. Reselling has kind of sprung-up in the past couple of years. It’s mainly kids, I think, using BOTS to buy-up trainers the moment they go on sale, then selling them on at a ridiculous price.
It’s made it really hard for people like me to get hold of a lot new stuff. I still log-on at silly times of the night to try and get a pair when a new range ‘drops’. My wife helps out sometimes. We take a laptop each. I know a few people, though, who’ve given-up and sold their collection ‘cause resellers have cornered the Adidas market. Trainer fairs are another meeting place. Crepe City in London’s the main one.

Like Meatloaf, I would do anything for love. What would you do to beat fellow buyers to a desirable pair of Adidas?

A pair of Adidas Ardwick trainers went on sale in Manchester a while back. They were exclusive to the Oi Polloi store and people camped outside for days to get a pair. I’d never do that. I’ve queued for a few hours at Sneakersnstuff in London when I was after a particular range, but it becomes a bit of a chore as you get older. My son Oliver’s queued overnight at the London Adidas store. He’s taken my passion for the brand on board.

I’m guessing there’s such a thing as trainer snobbery. Which trainers would you not be seen dead (or alive) in?

People wear what they wanna wear – I’m not one to judge. Personally, trainers like the Adidas NEO range, available at places like Sports Direct and JD Sports, are a no-go and pretty much frowned upon. Most of the stuff I buy you won’t find in mainstream stores, which rules-out Kent for Adidas shopping. I know there are a few collectors into their trainers in the Thanet area. They had their own Instagram page – Kicks in Kent. It seems to have disappeared now, though.

As someone with more than 100 pairs of Adidas in their (foot) locker, you presumably wear trainers to suit occasion?

It’s leather trainers for shit weather; white ones for nice weather. You’ve also got to select what trainers you wear based on whether they’re likely to be trodden on. At parties, I go for something that looks decent, but isn’t top drawer in case someone stands on them.

One more thing... if, as Liam (or was it Noel?) Gallagher insisted, people should dress from the shoes-up, what accompanying apparel suits an Adidas trainer?

The younger crowd pin-roll their jeans; turn them up really tight so it shows-off the trainers, but I’m too old for that. I’ve got a few t-shirts and a 15-year-old Crooked Tongues tracksuit top, but that’s as far as my Adidas clothing collection goes. As for the trainers, I can’t see a time when I won’t be buying them. Like I said, there are worse, more expensive hobbies out there.