“Man, why you wearing those?”
“You too old to wear those.”
I've never had anybody say that to my face, but those are some of the reactions I get as a 61-year-old Air Jordan collector. Does it happen on the internet? Oh yeah. People have stuff to say about my sneakers on there all day.
“Sell me those.”
“You too old to have those. Let me have them.”
I get those comments a lot, and I respond to pretty much all of them. What do I say back? I'm not too old to wear Jordan. You are never too old. You can wear what you want to wear at any age.
That’s how I felt when I saw a clip from the Complex Sneakers Show last weekend discussing the idea that Jordans aren’t as comfortable when you get older. I see that a lot myself, in comments on posts that I make. People feel as though you should transition to some New Balances or something like that when you hit a certain age. But I've never understood what age has to do with what type of shoes you wear.
No, I don't think there's an age limit on Jordans. I think it is up to the person to decide what they want to wear, and not an age limit.
Collecting Air Jordans is something I've done for nearly 40 years. I am the same age as Michael Jordan. I'm two days older than him, born the same month, same year.
We were in college at the same time. I was at the University of San Diego; he was at UNC. I used to sprint home with my running mate in college and watch UNC games. When Jordan left and went to the NBA, I was still in college. There are clips of me in college: same wristband on the left arm as Jordan, his style of play, his relentlessness, his will to win. That's what it was for me at first. I tried to go out and emulate his moves after games, after watching Jordan do the impossible on TV.
Bostic’s original pair of Air Jordan 1s from 1985. Via Bostic
That was around 1985, when the “Chicago” Jordan 1s came out. When the first Jordans came out, I saw the “Chicago” for $65—that was a lot of money back in ‘85. Plus I was a college student, but my parents would send me money and I saved up to get 'em. I still have those shoes in my collection, by the way.
That same pair, I wear 'em January 1st of every single year, and they're still wearable. I've been wearing Jordan since 1985. I like other brands. I have other brands and styles of Nikes in my collection, but it’s mainly Jordans. I have 1,443 pair right now. Why that many? I like being able to wear different shoes—sometimes three or four, maybe even five a day, if I have the time to.
I don't have every single pair that came out. There are some that I missed. There are some that were stolen from me by movers when I moved from California back to Michigan.
There are some that I lost in a divorce. I had to give up a hundred pairs to my ex-wife, and we were only married for less than a year. I caught her cheating on me, but she filed for divorce before me and said that she caught me doing what I caught her doing. So the court made me give her a hundred pairs of my shoes, all my autographed memorabilia, college jerseys, things of that nature. It was a bad time. There was a time—and this is 2001 when this happened—I would have thought about giving up. I was like, nah, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep pushing forward.
Bostic has over 1,400 sneakers in his collection. Via Bostic
When I first got into Jordans, in the ‘80s, I didn't know anybody else who was into them. I'm from Michigan, the Detroit area, so everybody was Pistons fans. They were wearing Adidas and Avias. Adidas is big in the Detroit area, so I was kind of the only one that was on the Jordan tip. I really didn't fit in with a lot of people around, and I didn't know anybody else that was collecting sneakers then.
There was no internet, and sneakers were readily available. They weren't limited. Jordans sat in stores, but you had to call first and go and get 'em. They wouldn't hold 'em for you, but they would let you know if they had 'em or not, which was to me a great thing because you could take a road trip.
Sometimes I would drive to Chicago to buy my shoes and come back to Michigan. You were just taking the chance of the sneakers still being there when you got there. Those were the good days where you would just walk in the stores.
From the Detroit area to Chicago was a two-and-a-half-hour, three-hour trip one way. So, four to six hours driving total, and then just looking at 'em, driving back home with my Jordans in the passenger seat.
I was on a mission every release to get a pair because I was still playing basketball at that time, so I wore 'em on the court and man, I loved it. Loved it. It was just something about the shoes. It was mainly the commercials. The commercials sold the shoes back then, and they were always months before the shoes were released, so you were waiting on that release day. You had it on your calendar, or had it on that Footaction calendar that used to mail to your house. I still have those in my collection.
His collection of Jordan memorabilia extends beyond the sneakers. Via Bostic
It's more than shoes. I had the clothing back when they used to do the lifestyle stuff. It's the Wheaties box, the Gatorade bottle. It's not just sneakers.
Sure, some things that Jordan Brand comes out with now are made for the younger generation. I don't really care for some of the Travis Scott collaborations. To me, those are for younger people. The Off-Whites, I don't really care for them. There are certain models, styles, and collaborations that I don't feel like I should wear or that I should have, because I think those are made for younger people.
But the originals and retros? When they're coming out, I'm all on those.
My friends my age now, they're the same. Some of them wear Nike Air Pennies. They wear Foams. They wear Air Force 1s. They wear Adidas. I don't know if people feel as though those are more age-appropriate for people over 50, over 60, compared to Jordans. But I have a lot of friends that are my age that are still into shoes. And nobody on the internet is gonna convince them to stop.
A set of Michael Jordan cologne and grooming products. Via Bostic
My age gives me a space to talk about sneakers that can bring the older generations and the younger generations together. I mean, we're probably not always agreeing, but at least we can see both sides of it.
Man, I've been to the Philippines. I've been to Canada, California, Oklahoma. I've been all over the world because of sneakers. I've met Fred Jones, I've met Rip Hamilton. (I even have some of Rip Hamilton’s shoes in my collection.) I've met Quentin Richardson. I've talked back and forth with Fat Joe. It's been crazy how I've been able to connect with people because of sneakers, regardless of age.
Ask a younger person what memories they have of Jordan wearing the shoes. “I wasn't born yet, I don't know,” they’ll say. “I just like the shoe.”
But when I go to look at a shoe, I'm looking at the memories. If they say the original “Charcoal” Air Jordan 7s are coming back, I'm thinking of the Shrug Game. I'm thinking of the three-pointers Jordan hit against the Blazers. I'm thinking about the second championship.
A lot of younger people won't know that, but they'll look at that shoe from 1992 and call it a “Raptor” Jordan 7, a newer nickname based on the colors of the Toronto Raptors. But the Raptors weren't around then, in ‘92, when Jordan won the second championship. That knowledge and firsthand memory comes with my age.
Some of the nicknames younger collectors use aren’t for me. “Bred” Jordans? I can't stand that term. I call 'em black and red. I don't even say that word. That's irritating to me because it's laziness. It's black and it's red; it's on the box. But I get it, I get it.
People give me hell about that. They say, “Man, you just old.” “See, that's an old head for you. They need to just leave sneakers alone.”
An Eddie Jones player exclusive Air Jordan 13. Via Bostic
That's where it comes in that I'm too old and I'm not with this new wave, but I just remember the original names they were called back in the day. “Charcoal” 7s, “Shadow” 10s—those are names that were on the box. That's how I learned to tell the difference in the colorways in the first place, not by the other terms they use now. I learned these things firsthand, in real time, not on the internet. And it’s important history, lived by older collectors like myself, that we should try to preserve.
Why did I start collecting Jordans, and why am I still doing it 40 years later? It's his style of play. It's what I've seen Jordan do in sneakers. I tried to mimic his on-court moves, his style, his work ethic, his will to win. And then that transformed into my love of the sneakers, which went on even after Jordan retired for good in 2003.
An Eddie Jones player exclusive Air Jordan 13. Via Bostic
I watched it all. While he was playing, the Olympics, when he retired, when he went to the Wizards and all of that. I was within touching distance of Jordan during his last season, when the Wizards played the Pistons at the Palace. I was a Jordan fan then, and I am now.
I’m still a collector, too. I'm not looking to sell anything. I still have those shoes in my collection because I'm not a reseller, I'm a collector. My kids will probably sell them one day. I'll be long gone before any of these things get sold.
I'm not buying every release—I've never bought every release. There's some that I like, some that I don't like, but this is the brand that does it for me. From winter boots to slides to numbered Jordans to team shoes, it’s just one brand. My collection is blood, sweat, and tears over here. I’m in my 60s and I still have my Jordans on. And I'm not going anywhere until I'm 10 toes up.
This article was originally published on Complex.com.
