DALLAS — Cloudy skies and on-again and off-again rain didn’t stop sneaker heads and sneaker enthusiasts from descending onto Dallas Market Hall for the “Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth” — Sneaker Con. The two-day event geared towards buying, selling and trading sneakers kicked off Saturday at noon and wrapped up Sunday evening.

“When Texas opened up everybody got real excited,” said Sneaker Con managing director Will Debord. “We already had the date booked, just on hold, and this became the first ‘we’re back’ event after a year and a half. So, it’s a very special time and moment for us.”

According to officials, thousands attended the event over the course of two days, with those in attendance not required to wear masks. Like most large-scale events last year, it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, the recent lifting of the statewide mask mandate from Gov. Greg Abbott, combined with the reopening of Texas, made Dallas a prime location for organizers to nail down.  

“They were the first to open up 100% — no mask mandate,” said Debord of Texas. “Our event, I like to call it organized chaos — we cannot do it with COVID-19 regulations or social distancing. It just doesn’t work. At sports games, they can sit people six seats apart and they’re good, but over here we just can’t have this many people be this close. So, it was not possible during that time.

Analysts have described the sneaker industry as a billion-dollar business and it continues to grow. And Sneaker Con gives people a slice of that billion-dollar pie.

“It’s just really gratifying, because I know so many people who feed their families through this," said Debord. "We’ve put people through school. We’ve had sellers who started at 12-years-old with one pair, and now are here with 10 tables and all their friends and thousands of dollars in product. Some people have millions of dollars in product. For us, just coming from the bottom and being from New York and being hustlers and being able to provide a platform that all these people can hustle in, makes me loss for words.”

While the pandemic put a strain on certain businesses, the sneaker industry wasn’t one of them. In 2019, Cowen Equity Research said the global industry was valued at $100 billion with the resale market at $6 billion and is expected to increase. For sneaker boutique owners, like Ansh Shah, of Nollege in Dallas, Sneaker Con presents a one-of-a-kind opportunity.

“I came out to Sneaker Con today to buy new inventory for my shop and basically re-up on the loose ends we needed, like the missing sizes, and get some more exclusive stuff,” said Shah. “I ended up spending about $35,000. So, we did good today and we’re not done yet, hopefully.”  

For those in attendance, not only was it important to sport their freshest kicks, but also wear an outfit that caught the attention of others. Booths like that run by Jada Ledet, owner of Ignorant Art Branding, allowed attendees to pair kicks and custom tie-dyed socks. 

“I made sure I had a ton of socks, so people could compare them with their sneakers and different colorways,” said Ledet. “But, I’m really more so here to represent my brand in terms of the graphic designs that I create and the custom dye that I do and also pushing that I create logos and custom work in general.”

Similar to Ledet, Janard Murray showcased his personalized pieces for thousands to see. Murray, who traveled from D.C., created his own Air Jordan 1 last year. It’s one of many he hopes to do in the future as part of his business, Bringem Back Customz.

“I felt like all of the Jordans are original, but I put a little twist to it with some red suede and the notebook texture,” Murray said of the sneaker he dubbed as “New Era.” 

Murray said coming to Sneaker Con in Dallas puts him on the path to following his dreams. From stitching to re-gluing and even pattern drawing, Murray’s custom design of the iconic silhouette as part of the Jordan brand inspired him to go full throttle after being a sneaker head for more than 20 years.

“I heard Sneaker Con was back on, so I jumped on it,” he said. “So, now, hopefully, I’ll be at every Sneaker Con.”

A trio from Los Angeles, Ellie Vandeel, Molly Little and Romy Marie, had the attention of many with their colorfully coordinated outfits. In a space occupied manly by men, the three women stood out from the rest of the crowd.

“We honestly came to buy some new shoes and get some clothing,” said Vandeel. “We wanted to look around. It’s my first Sneaker Con, so I was excited. They’ve all been before.” 

For Little, Sneaker Con in Dallas was her second time experiencing such an event. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Marie introduced her to the sneaker world at Sneaker Con in Los Angeles.

“I came this time and I ended up buying five pairs of shoes, clothes and trying to find the best deals,” Little said. “I definitely learned a lot and have grown through my second Sneaker Con.”

Marie, who works closely with Sneaker Con, couldn’t pass up the chance to attend this year’s event and come with her close friends.

“Obviously, COVID hit and it put a hold on everything and it’s just nice after almost two years to have an event and be back with everyone and the family,” she said.

At every booth, resellers and potential buyers went back and forth over sizing and prices — one wanting to get the most bang for their investment and the other hoping to cash-in on the best deal. Dallas resident Herbert Nealy brought three pairs of shoes to resell and/or trade. Just before he was set to leave, a man bought his last pair for double the retail price. A majority of the shoes at the event were priced above retail value, ranging anywhere from $200 to more than $2,000 for brands such as Nike, Jordan, Adidas, New Balance and more. 

“They were some shoes that I bought for retail from Foot Locker and I sold them to him,” said Nealy of the on-spot transaction. 

But, Nealy didn’t walk away empty-handed. He scored a pair of Yeezy Foam Runner's at what he described as a reasonable price.

“This is exactly what I was looking for and I was able to get them,” he said. “I spent a lot less than I expected. Today’s event was a huge success.”

Comfortably seated in the Sneaker Con Trading Pit, Jake Edwards brought several sneakers to trade and resell, including the recently released Nike ‘Green Glow’ Dunks and the Air Jordan 6 ‘Carmine’ among others. 

“I’ve always had a passion for shoes since I was young,” said Edwards. “There’s so much money being made in the sneaker game and I feel like now, in this generation, so many people are getting into the sneaker world — you have moms, you have uncles, you have dads…”

This year was Edwards’ second time attending Sneaker Con and it certainly won’t be his last. In addition to capitalizing off the money made in the industry, the connections made are also worth his time.

“The main part in being in this game is you will have to really network with a lot of people," he said. "Not only do you get to meet dope people at the end of the day by being in this industry, but also they are the ones who are going to be able to put you on and be able to help you out throughout the whole journey while selling shoes overall." 

In a business that continues to grow, Debord wants the same for Sneaker Con — steady growth. With 2021 marking Sneaker Con’s fifth event in Dallas, the city can expect the show to return again.

“The sneaker industry, culture and market is just constantly expanding exponentially,” he said. “Since we started in 2009, we had an event with 20 tables and 1,000 people came out. This event is 400 tables and almost 20,000 people. It’s just a really, really big, big growth that just year-to-year just exponentially grows even more and that translates to our business growing because it’s all attendee based.”

Ideally, Debord would like to see major brands have special drops at Sneaker Con, considering the sneaker community to be savvy consumers.

“I think a big long-term goal for us has been connecting this community to a lot of the brands that feed the product for this community,” he said. “There’s not very much of a brand presence. Ebay came onboard with us last year… but this [year] has been their biggest presence and the reason being we’re partnered with them to do all their authentication for the Ebay platform.”

Without any predictions on the future of Sneaker Con, Debord remains optimistic about what’s to come. But, he doesn’t plan on changing a formula that has been working for his team since its creation anytime soon.

“It’s hard to tell, because if you would’ve asked me like five years ago where we would be today, I wouldn’t be able to answer that and 10 years ago, if you would’ve asked me where we’d be in five years, I wouldn’t be able to answer,” he said. “So, for us, we keep kind of evolving and changing with the community and then, making sure we keep the fundamentals, which is the resell, buy, sell and trade. That’s what drives it and we keep strong to that and we double down on that and it’s just worked out. We’re blessed.”