Influence is the bug that no one can escape. No matter how hard someone tries to fight it, there's always another person who, even slightly, dictates their decisions. Especially when it comes to sneakers. It's funny to joke around and say that people are #influencers, but there are people who actually make trends happen within sneakers.
There are many reasons someone can be influential in sneakers. Athletes and rappers will always have a certain level of cultural cool, but there are also people behind stores, who run social media accounts, and design the actual sneakers.
When making this list, we didn't take "power" into account. That's a different list. So CEOs of retail stores and brand employees who simply hold important-sounding titles weren't included. With that said, here are The Most Influential People in Sneakers Right Now.
25. Paul Ruffles
23. JBF Customs and Mache
21. Macklemore
20. Mike Packer
19. DJ Clark Kent
18. Heidi Burgett
17. Yu-Ming Wu
Role: Founding editor, Sneakernews, Freshness Mag, founder of Sneakercon
He's the man behind some of your favorite sneaker sources. As the publisher of Sneaker News, Freshness Mag, Celeb Kicks, and Jordans Daily, Yu-Ming has had a hand in informing the sneaker community about what's important since the beginning (of the internet sneaker boom, anyway). He's also one of the men behind the @sneakernews handle on Instagram, which boasts well over a million followers and was ranked by Mashable as one of the most followed brands on the social media app.
Not only that, but he's also given sneakerheads a place to gather. Yu-Ming founded Sneaker Con in 2009 and the kicks expo has expanded outside of New York and into cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and soon New Orleans.