Right now, sneaker collecting and reselling is absolutely booming. No longer a niche pursuit, everyone’s getting in on the action. There are, as they say, layers to this thing, and those at the very top table number but a few. One of the biggest in the game is Franklin ‘King of Trainers’ Boateng, whose lifelong passion for trainers has earned him a reputation that’s bigger than just buying and selling in-demand creps like stocks.
For Franklin, it’s much, much more important than that. “I have a story or memory about every single pair of trainers I’ve purchased,” he tells Complex. He’s an entrepreneur with multiple successful businesses under his belt, including the Rxtro Store at Boxpark Shoreditch; he also runs a leading YouTube channel where he shares news, unboxings, and reviews the latest sneaker releases, and he founded the UK’s only awards show for sneakers, but he couldn’t have achieved any of that if he didn’t love creps as much as he does. It’s as simple as that.
It all started with his mum, he explains, who bankrolled his first pairs: “She loved tennis and would buy me all the trainers that the tennis players wore, which would be the best trainers out at that time.” Almost as soon as he got his hands on those first crisp white shoes, he immersed himself in the culture, nascent as it was back then, and embedded himself in the reselling side, though it’s never been cynical for Boateng. “My sneaker collection is love, memories and stories,” he says. So it’s poetic that he ended up collaborating on a capsule inspired by the ‘80s era of tennis shoes sported by titans like Boris Becker and Pat Cash, the same era that first sparked his love for trainers. So what’s his tip for becoming big in the sneaker game? “Don’t just be in it for the money or you will get bored,” he says. “Have fun with it. Also, make sure you build a real brand around it and, most importantly, consistency—it’s the real cheat code.”
For Franklin, as a regular buyer of all things footwear and beyond, it’s also important to get a good deal—not just personally, but professionally too. “It’s very very important, because people look up to me to make sure that I report on good deals, so if I don’t get a good deal it directly affects me,” he admits. But when he does score the right item, there’s nothing quite like the feeling: “I feel amazing! Like a King [laughs]. But nah, on the real, it is a buzz. Every single trainer I receive, I get that warm fuzzy feeling every time.”
As the King of Trainers knows how to spot a good deal, we wanted to get his advice on how to go about Amazon’s upcoming Prime Early Access Sale, a new shopping event for Prime members that is all about offering them good deals. Running October 11 and 12, with thousands of deals globally across the multiple lanes Amazon is renowned for—from fashion all the way to fancy food prep gear—it’s an exclusively opportunity for Prime members to cop some of the season’s top deals before anyone else.
FRANKLIN’S WISHLIST
CONTENT CAPTURE KIT
“I create content for what I do and I want a 360 camera to help me take better pictures and video for use in the new multiverse as I want to dominate there too. I also film a lot of my content alone, so I need a new tripod and remote. Amazon is an amazing place to get full content capture kits, including lights—from LED ring and full colour lights, to dimmable video light kits.”
SECURITY CAMERAS
“Because my sneaker collection is quite expensive, I need the best protection for it 24/7, so I’m looking at getting some new security cameras—especially the ones that work via an app that you can monitor from your phone.”
BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES & SPEAKERS
“In my store, we play music throughout the day. A new hip-hop artist from the Bay Area in the States called La Russell is what I’m banging right now.”
NEW TECH
“I’m looking at new technologies and how I can advance what I’m doing in cyberspace, so I’m definitely looking to get a VR head strap and explore how I can use it to create content for that space.”
AIR FRYER
“I’m big on looking after myself and eating healthier, but I like quick healthy food and an air fryer will really help me with that.”
The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale, offering Prime members exclusive deals across a wide range of brands and categories, is happening on October 11 & 12, 2022. Check amazon.co.uk/earlyaccess for more information.
To sign up to become a Prime member or for a free 30-day trial, visit amazon.co.uk/prime.
