If you’re a sneaker head in the UK, you’ve heard of Crepe City. If you’re a sneaker head in Europe, you’ve probably heard of Crepe City. The London sneaker event, now in its sixth year, has gone from strength to strength and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, we thought now would be the perfect time to sit down with Ron and Morgan, two of the minds behind the whole thing, to see how they feel about the sneaker industry, how they got started, and where they want to take Crepe City in the future. In a candid interview, they show that really, they're just two guys who love sneakers and love sneaker culture.
Do you think that’s a big part of sneaker collecting now? Do you think that’s changed?
R: It’s changed completely. Now you’ve got 13 year olds and they’ve got everything and they’re reselling. They’re buying a pair, putting a picture up on Instagram and then selling it or doing trades, and it’s like some free-flowing economy now. You could pick up a pair of rare shoes, and if they were like a library book and had a record of where they’d been before, you’d see the names of ten people you know.
M: I think the whole landscape has changed from what we used to know it as. It was never seen as a cool thing to have shoes, it was a proper niche hobby. And now, it’s almost like as soon as a kid hits 13 they’re going to school, seeing their friends in Jordan’s and stuff and then saying “Mum, I’ve got to have these.” and it’s so they can stay on-trend. Whereas before, it was kind of like we made our own trends.
R: I’d say that when I was at school people were saying they needed Jordan’s and stuff — I remember when I was in sixth form everyone was getting on Presto’s and stuff like that — but now it’s almost like there’s a whole resell element to it in schools and colleges as well. That didn’t really exist before. I remember, even when the Yeezy 1 and Yeezy 2 came out, it wasn’t like that; it was pretty much adults buying the shoes, or maybe sixth formers. Now, with the 750 Boost and 350 Boost, you’ve got 13 year olds getting their mum to go and buy their pair and they’re stunting with it and then trying to sell them for £30K or whatever. That was unheard of.
M: But there’s no other thing you can do at that age to make the sort of money you can make with shoe selling. Everything else they want costs loads of money and there’s no legal thing they can do, they can’t gamble or any of that sort of stuff, but anyone can walk up to a shop, buy a pair of shoes for £100 and if it’s a really limited pair, anyone can put them on eBay and make £3–400.
R: But it’s buying a pair for £100 and thinking just because it’s a Jordan and you’ve been told it’s limited that you’re suddenly going to sell it for £300, and it’s just not really how it works. It’s changed a lot, probably in the last 2–3 years, it’s really gone that way which is really weird.
M: It’s sort of imploded in on itself.
there’s no other thing you can do at that age to make the sort of money you can make with shoe selling
With that amount of money floating around, do you think it’s almost weird that such young people are involved? Most of the people getting those shoes you know you'll make money off are kids now, do you ever see it being an adult hobby again?
M: It is weird, and it’s frustrating because I’m perfectly happy to talk to anyone, but I feel a bit weird being bent over a barrel by a 13 year old who wants to sell me some shoes for £700, you know? It’s just a different world nowadays. You rarely can actually sit down and have a proper conversation with them, it quickly devolves into “LOL nah I’m not gonna sell them I’m gonna get loads of money.” I think you had that recently, didn’t you?
R: Yeah, you get that all the time. But I think it’s just the case now that it’s become a lot more, not mainstream, but more widespread, and with that, people now realise what shoes sell for. For years certain shoes have sold for a lot of money. I remember the Quai54 Jordan 5’s were £100 or so, and they were going all day on eBay for £250, but nobody really clocked that they were just sitting there on the shelves for a month. Whereas now, a shoe like that, everyone knows that those sort of releases will sell for a lot more money, so everyone’s hungry and they’re on it. It’s just a case of the early bird catches the worm. A lot of these kids, if they’ve got time, fair play to them. And do you really want to be camping outside in a street or an alley in Soho for a pair of shoes when you’re 25, 30? Or is there better things to be doing with your time? You might pay a little premium for it but it’s just how it goes.
M: We’ve all done it. We’re not new to camping, it’s just something that, now, I wouldn’t even want to go out past 8 o’clock to be honest. That sounds really lame [Laughs] but I can’t imagine anything worse. It’s quite a good time — I’ve gone to camps and just chilled for an hour or whatever, not caring about getting the shoes — but I couldn’t think of anything worse than camping. I like raffles. I think properly done raffles — automated raffles — are the best way to go. I just think it’s fair for everyone, everyone gets a chance.
R: I think there’s an argument for everything. If you do a raffle, and you aren’t very committed, you can get them. And you can rig them. Some stores realise what’s going on and others don’t, so any system can be manipulated. I was gonna camp last night for the Supreme Jordan’s; I got home at 10pm and was on the phone to Morgan and there was twenty people in the queue, I was really tempted to go, but then..
M: Then there wasn’t twenty people in the queue [Laughs].
R: Five minutes later, I checked and there was fifty people in the queue. and I just thought “do you really want to go and stand out in the cold all night, do you really want a pair?” I think it’s just a risk now, there’s a lot of people who behave badly in these queue situations. I’ve queued before, and been number 20 on the list, but then all of a sudden fifty people get in before me, and it’s not for want of trying to tell them to get to the back, but it’s power in numbers really.
M: London’s definitely got a weird queue vibe.
R: Yeah, so is it even worth it sometimes, for the hassle you might have to put up with?
Is there an argument that at some point there has to be an ethical code that develops, even with the younger/newer guys?
R: I think the problem you have is that there are always people who act outside of the code. We’ve had things which have been put on our page about people going and bullying people in queues. There are people who will happily think that they can show their face for five minutes, go home and sleep in their bed and then turn up on release and push in.
M: That’s what’s annoying. I hate that.
R: But I remember before, being in the queue at Supreme and they’re trying to decide who’s going in, and if you’re standing next to the wall, you’ve been here all night because that’s where you’ve stood. It’s the people who are standing really far away from the wall, or close to the front, they’re the ones who haven’t been here, the queue has developed and suddenly they’re right on the side, trying to push in.
M: I think the opposite of that, that the people who are ethical, they tend to prosper a lot more. You notice a lot, the same people will help each other out, and they’ll keep getting helped out and they keep getting hooked up and that’s a really good thing. If you’re gonna do a good deed and help someone, it’s like karma.
R: It doesn’t go unnoticed. We’ve seen people on our page who’ve hooked people up and we’ve sent them pairs of shoes, to thank them for being a good person.
M: We had the guy who made the flag and stand in front of the Kanye West set at Glastonbury, and when you watched it you could see the Crepe City flag, really big, and we had so many people tweet us and hit us up. So we sent him a massive care package.
R: It definitely doesn’t go unnoticed, and I’ve even seen brands do it with people. They see someone doing nice things and they’ll send them something. Also, if you help people out they’re inclined to look after you sometimes.
M: Yeah. We’re in a lot of American groups — I’ve got a lot of American friends — and they seem to have lots of little pockets out there of cool people. I think our groups and our scene, there’s a few bad eggs but in general everyone tends to stick together and it’s a lot tighter and that’s why these problems always look bigger than they are. We all take it so personally. But yeah, in general, it’s hard camping out now, it’s not a fun one. It’s just down to people’s internet connections, like today, a lot of people missed out, but a lot of people who couldn’t make it got a pair, so it’s just what happens. We are hitting every note today [Laughs], you’re getting a good interview. Candid talk.
our scene, there’s a few bad eggs but in general everyone tends to stick together and it’s a lot tighter
Do you think that because the UK is so small, in comparison to America, it helps foster a nicer scene?
M: Yeah.
R: It’s true. There’s only probably three Facebook communities in the UK worth anything, with any credibility; ours, the Basement and Sneakerheads UK, and I think people are very visible on those pages, and when shit happens people realise very quickly.
M: We set up the rules basically, we were one of the original groups, and we set all of the “you can’t sell this if it’s just come out, if you’re gonna be racist or offensive or whatever you’ll get banned.” etc.
R: But it’s the same, if you go and misbehave somewhere in a queue then there’s groups of people from this pages, and they’ll make sure that you get told you can’t behave like that, which is nice.
M: Self-regulation.
R: I went to the Yankee box logo release and there were guys from the Basement making people pick up their rubbish that they were dropping in the street. It’s stuff like that. But also, everyone really knows each other as well, if you go to a queue for the Asics Gel Lyte III 25th anniversary release every month, it’s the same people every month. You know who’s there and it’s self-regulating. The retailers end up knowing who’s there as well and they’re going to trust the guys they serve every month.
Have you seen the new community of replica collectors? It’s a subreddit and it’s apparently really popular in the states.
M: What, and they collect replicas?
Yeah, because they think “well, they’re basically the same and they’re so much cheaper” etc.
R: I’ve not heard of this, it sounds terrible.
M: I’m gonna check this out, but for me, it’s just, if you can’t get the real thing, don’t buy the fake thing because you’re basically trying to be something that you’re not.
R: Exactly, wait until you can afford it. We can’t all afford everything and, you know, are you a fake person? You’re wearing fake shoes, so it’s like you’re fake yourself.
M: There are plenty of other shoes for £50 that are fucking awesome, you know?
R: Just wait. Wait until you can afford what you want. You’re just undermining yourself, you’ve got no integrity, it’s nonsense.
M: Right, so Yeezy’s retailed at £220, there are a lot of shoes that are really better than Yeezy’s for £220.
R: And you’re only buying them to keep up with fashion and trends anyway, but you’re doing it the wrong way. And you can tell because these replicas and fakes, they’re not the same quality, they fall apart, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I know people come with these stories that they’re the same shoes that get stolen from the factories, but it’s not, it’s a different shoe.
M: I’ve never seen a 1:1 fake. I’ve never seen a fake that could compare to a released pair over here. I’m pretty certain that we could spot pretty much anything. Obviously, they don’t care about the shoes as much as we do, and there’s plenty of people out there who don’t. They want to look like their fashion idol or something like that and that’s fair enough, but they maybe shouldn’t be coming to a sneaker event wearing that sort of stuff. Yeah, down with fakes. I can see why people might do it, but there’s a lot of shoes that they can afford that people might consider a lot better.
there are a lot of shoes that are really better than Yeezy’s for £220
Right. The first Crepe City event was in 2009, how did that come about?
R: I think we just wanted to put something together where like-minded people could meet up and have a good time, and at the same time lots of people had shoes and wanted to sell them, but were struggling with eBay — I think the fees had all gone up recently — and it was just a weird time for selling stuff. So we thought let’s do something where people can get together, sell shoes, try and track down their grails, and the aim was to really have the most pairs of shoes under one roof, anywhere. The first event was small but I think it achieved that goal. It’s just been a case of stepping it up from there, trying to have more pairs on the tables, better brands each time, and more stuff for people to see and do at the events. It’s been a really nice, natural progression, really.
There is a palpable growth when you go to each event, you can always feel that it’s bigger than the last, has it shocked you how quickly it’s grown?
R: In a way. It was very stagnant for the first two and a half years, I’d say, but then, we didn’t really take any risks. So we were putting on the events in free venues and keeping it low-key, and then eventually we started to have some personal cash to be able to invest in the events and pay for bigger venues and more things for people to do at them. I think that’s what some people don’t really realise, they probably think we’re a big company, when it’s ultimately three guys who’ve been doing things in their spare time and trying to use their own money to try and put things on. We’ve not been getting paid from it or anything, it’s all been a labour of love really.
M: I think that until you understand events and how they work, you don’t realise how expensive everything is, how much time you have to put in, and it’s very easy to say something on Facebook, but these guys put their lifeblood into this thing. I think a lot of people see that, and are really happy to get behind it. but it’s like when everybody spends a little bit of money on a ticket or something, it all goes towards the event.
R: It’s always key to try and make the event better. I know that for this one lots of people wanted mobile phone chargers, so we looked really hard to get those lockers in, but it turned out it was really expensive, and it wasn’t cost-effective. But there’s other things that cost a lot of money but are worth doing, you can’t do everything at once.
M: There’s definitely a lot on show for everyone this time. The space is bigger, the queuing is faster, everything like that is improved upon. We always ask for feedback, what the weaknesses were, what we could work on, and we read everything and try and do everything. I think that’s such a benefit of our social following, we can put a question out there and get a hundred replies straight away. We try and make it work for everyone.
The last one was pretty sick.
M: On a scale of 1 – 10, the last one was a one, this is a million times better, it’s amazing.
R: Again, it’s just about being proud of it, putting time into it and attention to detail. We’re also trying to work on something with Jason Markk as well.
M: Yeah, that’s really cool. That’s a first. With the Jason Markk one it’s more about doing stuff that the brand hasn’t done before and also, we wanted to make something that was memorable. We get on really well with the guys at Gimme5 and Jason Markk, so it’s really nice to have those guys back again. We’ve also got a lot of stores coming.
R: Yeah, Attitude Inc. are coming for the first time, Soleheaven are coming back in.
M: They’re all pulling all the stops out, doing some crazy stuff. We do really good for independents. I think for independents, they get their name out there and get recognised; the event is pretty much like the number one networking day for people in footwear in the UK. I think they see that as a massive bonus, they can show that they deserve a top-tier account or whatever, so they’re really happy to come along. We really like to keep that UK feel to it, we’re proud to be British, so we like all of our collaborations to be centred around that.
R: We’ve got goodie bags for the hyperstrike ticket holders which is sick. Part of that is going to be the magazine, that’s the biggest thing.
M: That is one of the best things we’ve done. It’s awesome.
R: Really, really proud of it.
M: It’s really thick, and it’s got a tiny amount of adverts in it, and it’s all content and it’s all really informative, it’s all community-based content. It’s all stuff that you could use to learn about stuff, and it’s timeless. We wanted to have something for the community, something that gets the community out there and shines a light on the UK. I think we get overlooked a lot when it comes to global scene, so it’s almost giving the people that get overlooked a place to have as their own.
R: Telling new stories as well. I think it’s very easy to fall into the trap of going and interviewing the same person that everyone has interviewed before, and it’s very boring. We want to hear different stories, from people who haven’t courted limelight for years, but actually have a sick collection and a sick story to tell. We want to look at that side of things.
I think we get overlooked a lot when it comes to global scene, so it’s almost giving the people that get overlooked a place to have as their own
M: We really enjoy that; the stories behind the shoes. We wanted something physical in the shops, and I think having Crepe City in print sort of officialises everything even more. We’re getting better, we’re getting older, we’ve been doing this for a while now, so this just makes everything official. Really excited for it, and it’s going to be stocked in shops, internationally. It’s going to go to America, it’s going to go to Europe, and that’s a really big thing, we’re really happy about that, so shouts to Alex [of The Daily Street] for putting that together. That’s going to be included with the hyperstrike tickets, so if you’ve got one of those you get the magazine straight away, and the first issue is limited, and available to buy inside the event.
R: With the hyperstrike tickets, you get into the event early, and you get a lot of stuff, and in all it’s worth a lot more than the additional ticket price, and it’s another way we’re trying to give people additional value so that it feels worthwhile to them. It’s something for the real hardcore guys, who like having those things to take home and keep like the tote bags and little goodies. Morgan loves that sort of thing.
M: Yeah. We’ve got the quickstrike tickets as well, which allow you to get straight in at 12, so you don’t have to queue. There’s re-entry as well, so you can go out, have a look around Brick Lane, and come back in. Who else is coming to the event? Stance are coming.
R: Stance are coming, Schuh are coming, they’re doing a sneaker giveaway.
M: Schuh is quite an interesting one, they’re a global retailer, so for them to come and tap into the sneakerhead market is quite interesting and we were happy to help them do that. What else? Mugs! We’ve made Crepe City mugs. The Basement room is looking sick, there’s still the boutique zone, which has girls sizes.
