Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Sneaker Fiend

MUSIC Tr 07 What’s The Difference

Jos Mansell is a sneaker fiend. By his count, he has several hundred pairs of sneakers in his collection. So when I visited this lanky thirty year old at his apartment, I expected to see a room filled floor to ceiling with sneakers.
Instead what I found was a neat and crisply ordered room, and not a sneaker in sight. But they’re there, in columns of orange boxes perfectly stacked to the ceiling in the open air closet, and tucked away under the smartly made bed.

ACT #1, Jos: Tr 01- 0:45.1
INCUE: Over my lifetime I’ve probably owned over fifteen-hundred pairs of shoes…

OUTCUE: … you were essentially wasting money..

But that was a slash and burn collecting style Jos pursued while his feet were still growing. He graduated high school, settled into a size thirteen and began to work to earn the extra money he’d need to buy sneakers. Then, six years ago, Nike began to reissue the styles Jos had worn in junior and senior high.

ACT #2, Jos: Tr 02- 0:26.8
INCUE: I bought a pair of Jordans…

OUTCUE: … it’s almost like reliving my childhood I think.

Driven by his love of hip-hop music and basketball, and fueled by obsession and a desire to recapture his youth, Jos became a sneaker fiend.

MUSIC Tr 11 The Next Episode

ACT #3, Jos: Tr 03- 0:53
INCUE: It’s a strange internal urge I had…

OUTCUE: … that’s the big question.

It’s a question Jos doesn’t seem too intent on answering. It doesn’t bother him that his family and most of his friends think he’s crazy. He has no compunction about putting his collection before going to work or paying the rent.
And being a sneaker fiend hasn’t gotten in the way of his personal life either. His girlfriend, Robin, also has a shoe fetish. And what does she collect?

ACT #4, Robin: Tr 04- 0:46.9
INCUE: Typically I like high, strappy heels…

OUTCUE: … of course the attention.

Now this may all sound like just so much narcissism. But for Robin and Jos, this is more than just a vainglorious attempt at staying young and cool. Collecting shoes gives them a unique way of looking at life. Being a sneaker fiend makes Jos feel, well, everything.

ACT #5, Jos: Tr 05- 0:34.9
INCUE: You name the emotion…

OUTCUE: …every emotion known to man I’ve felt

MUSIC #, Tr 13 My Adidas
FADEUP START AT 1:36.6, FULL VOLUME AT END ACT #6 OUTCUE

ACT #6, Robin: Tr 06- 0:09.7
INCUE: In order to keep up with life…

OUTCUE: …up the court of life