Canadian Sneakerhead Sean Go's Top 10 Sleeper Pickups of 2020

We got the Toronto-based sneaker influencer to list his best low-key pickups of the year.

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Image via Sean Go

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With over 31,000 followers on Instagram and 80,000 subscribers on YouTube, all tuned in to get the deets on the latest and greatest sneakers, Sean Go knows what you should put on your feet. 

We shoehorned the Toronto-based sneakerhead into putting together a list of the best low-key pickups of the year. No hyped-up collabs here. These are the kicks everyone's been sleeping on.

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Adidas ZX 8000 "Aqua"

This was one of my early pickups of the year. The ZX was first made in the late '80s and is one of the staples in Adidas’ portfolio of shoes. They recently brought back the aqua colourway, which was one of the originals. It’s a must-have for me. 

Comme des Garçons x Converse Chuck Taylor Play Heart High-Top 

This is the quintessential Converse collab. They adopted it on the Chuck 70, which is the premium shoe from Chuck Taylor and they have that iconic heart logo that just catches people’s eyes and turns heads when you wear it. It’s very clean, white or black, and lets the heart speak for itself. And it’s very accessible because you can still buy it.  

Nike Air Max 90 "Rose Pink"

The Air Max 90 is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, so it’s a pretty big deal. Nike retooled the look of the Air Max 90 to make it closer to the original. It’s a bit more streamlined and not as clunky as the older retros were, and the rose pink is one of my favourite colours of the whole recrafted series. It really pops.

New Balance 990v5 "Grey"

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New Balance has been on a serious wave in 2020. Popularity has been skyrocketing and I think this 990v5, which is the most recent version, has been kind of slept on. A lot of people are going for the big collabs, so all those things sell out, but things like the 990v5 in simple G is made in the United States and is great quality and comfortable, and you can find it in most retailers. 

Air Jordan 3 “Red Cement”

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This is the shoe that dropped during the NBA All-Star Weekend. It’s been sitting on shelves, so it’s kind of low-key. I love the Air Jordan 3, it’s probably my favourite Air Jordan silhouette of all time. It kind of mirrors the classic colour blocking of white cement and black cement, except it’s red. You can’t go wrong with a red, white, and black Jordan. It looks really dope. And you can get it for retail, so why not?

Collegium Pillar Destroyer

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Collegium is a smaller brand out of California that does super high quality sneakers completely made in Italy with the materials sourced in Italy and the factories there too. The Pillar Destroyer is their most popular silhouette to date. It’s essentially a high-cut sneaker, but the materials are super high quality. It’s good to support the smaller brand and see the people noticing the brands doing some good things. 

Nike Air Max 95 "Era Safari" 

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This was one of those under-the-radar Air Max 95 drops. I think the colour is really dope... it has this kind of retro "Safari" vibe to it. People didn’t really speak much about it, and there aren’t any resell prices on it, but it’s still a really solid shoe with good quality and a dope colourway. I think it’s going to be a future classic in five-to-10 years. 

Adidas x Mickey Mouse Stan Smith 

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Stan Smith is a classic, timeless silhouette from Adidas. I’m a big Disney fan—I love Mickey Mouse stuff—and I thought they executed this collab very well. I personally like the white and black. It’s very versatile and wearable and gives you enough of that Mickey Mouse vibe without being in your face. And the quality of the leather is actually really nice, which is a nice bonus considering the price point. 

Nike Air Max 1 "Magma Orange"

This one has sold out pretty much everywhere, but the resell prices aren’t that high. They’re like $280-$290 Canadian, so not that bad. Air Max 1 is one of my favourite silhouettes of all time and it’s done in that anniversary construction, so basically Nike is recrafting it, redoing the shape and construction to be as close to the original as possible. Any time they release an Air Max Anniversary, that’s pretty much a must-cop for me. 

New Balance 997 “Seasonal Colours”

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These are great for spring and summer, even though summer is coming to a close. The 997 is for me the silhouette for New Balance. Again, it’s made in the U.S., so the quality is really nice and the colours and tones are fun, playful, and just really dope.