How a Nelly song led to one of NC’s largest sneaker expos — and how you can attend
Lime green, metallic gold, bubblegum pink and more than 100 other styles of Nike sneakers fill the holes of white display cases.
Each shoe is meticulously placed in cubbyholes and positioned the same way to show off the brand’s swoosh logo. Those that don’t fit sit side by side, on display on a white shelved case.
This isn’t a Foot Locker, Finish Line or any other shoe store. This is the sneaker room in the Durham home of 32-year-old Kala Nwachukwu, a self-proclaimed sneakerhead.
Nwachukwu’s love of sneakers inspired her to start one of North Carolina’s largest sneaker conventions – The Kick Back Sneaker Expo, a buy, sell, trade biannual shoe event. The next expo is Saturday at the Raleigh Convention Center from noon to 5 p.m.
Nwachukwu’s sneakerhead origins date back to 2002, when Nelly released his hit song “Air Force Ones,” which describes the all-white Nikes by the same name. On a car ride to Florida, Nwachukwu and her family listened to Nelly’s “Nellyville” CD, which her grandfather had purchased for the trip.
Nwachukwu’s grandfather couldn’t get enough of the “Air Force Ones” lyrics and played the song on repeat.
“Give me two pairs
(Cause) I need two pairs
(So I) can get to stompin’ in my Air Force Ones
Big boys stompin’ in my Air Force Ones”
When they returned home, Nwachukwu’s grandfather purchased four pairs of Air Force Ones — two for each of them, just like the song says. From that moment, she was hooked on sneakerhead culture.
Nwachukwu struck a deal with her grandfather. Whenever she had all A’s at the end of a quarter in school, he rewarded her with a pair of sneakers.
“It got to the point where I had too many 4.0s that he said, ‘All right now, we have to slow down on the sneakers,’” she said. “As soon as I was able to fund my own sneakers, it was a wrap from there. I was buying everything.”
At one point, Nwachukwu had as many as 500 pairs, most of them Nikes.
As she got older, Nwachukwu’s interest in both school and sneakers grew. She earned her Ph.D in Integrated Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina Central University and now works as a neuroscientist at Duke Hospital.
And while her sneaker collection has since downsized to about 150 pairs, her passion for them has continued to flourish through her Kick Back Sneaker Expo.
Sneaker expo vendors & attendees
Nwachukwu’s first Kick Back Sneaker Expo was in 2014 at the Durham Armory. The event had about 25 vendors and 150 attendees, including sneakerhead Andrew Rohman. A sneakerhead is someone who trades or collects sneakers.
“It was exciting because then you get to experience people that have the same passion and love for dressing themselves up and having a nice pair of shoes on their feet,” said Rohman, who’s been to all of Nwachukwu’s expos. “A lot of people don’t understand it, when you say you’ve got over 200 pairs of sneakers – they think holy crap, that’s a lot. But when you go to the show, everybody’s in a (similar) boat.
After attending the 2014 first event, Rohman was inspired to become a vendor and created a company called Unkl Drew’s, which sells a mixture of sneakers and custom T-shirts.
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He said what keeps him coming back to each Kick Back expo is Nwachukwu’s welcoming energy and the community she’s helped foster over the years.
“You see all kinds of different people from different backgrounds and ethnicities,” he said. “It’s bringing people from all walks of life out. You see moms walking out with their middle school-aged kids. Or you’ve got grandparents bringing their grandkids out. Families are walking around, couples are walking around. It’s just a good event.”
‘Like being a sneaker enthusiast in sneaker land’
The Kick Back Sneaker Expo has grown significantly over the past decade. There were about 150 vendors and 4,000 sneaker lovers at last year’s event. The expo is a buy, sell or trade model, and shoes range from $50 for everyday sneakers to $30,000 for a rare luxury pair. Nwachukwu said most sales fall in the $170 to $250 range and can be checked for authenticity at the event.
“In the phrase of ‘it’s like being a kid in a candy store’ – this is like being a sneaker enthusiast in sneaker land,” Nwachukwu said. “Like there’s just going to be a lot of sneakers everywhere.”
But the expo goes beyond just a sneaker-style flea market. Vendors sell anything from vintage clothing to shoe cleanings to jewelry.
This year’s expo will offer something new – a live sneaker auction.
“People are going to be able to eBay-style bid on sneakers starting at a dollar and possibly get it for a really good price,” Nwachukwu said.
How sneakers bring people together
Every expo brings with it a sense of belonging and community.
Nwachukwu said spaces like this, where massive amounts of sneakerheads get together, have become less available since the pandemic and due to the rise of online resale stores.
“When we actually had to stand in line at midnight and wait eight hours for a shoe to drop, you got to know people in line. (Then) you’d end up seeing them every other weekend,” she said. “But now, you really do need these types of events. You don’t get to meet people like you used to.”
To Rohman, the Kick Back event has become a similar community to the midnight waiting line.
“When you see them, it’s almost like an old friendship – you just pick up where you saw them last,” he said. “I’ve even seen, at the first few shows, I would see kids that looked middle school-aged walking around trying to sell stuff. Now, they’re grown and they have their own tables as vendors. It’s cool to see some of the same attendees year after year.”
Witnessing a community of people buying their first pair of kids, vendors expanding into brick-and-mortar stores and supporters like Rohman have inspired Nwachukwu to continue her expo — and it’s what will continue to keep her going year after year.
How to go to Kick Back Sneaker Expo
When: Saturday, June 17, 12 noon to 5 p.m.
Where: Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh
Details: Buy, sell or trade sneakers while enjoying food, live music and a 360-degree photo booth. There will also be a live sneaker auction and a raffle for new Air Jordans.
Tickets: Prices start at $20 and can be purchased at the door or online at https://bit.ly/3CtZnaF.
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
