Erin Allen: Good afternoon. I'm Erin Allen and this is The Rundown. Most of us can relate to having that one pair of shoes we always wanted some Jellies all your friends had when you were a kid, or some Pradas to complete that new swag you've been working on. Maybe you got them maybe you never did. Either way. Think back to the story you told yourself about what would happen once you got them. All the girls will want me. All the girls will want to be me. If you ever felt that way about a pair of sneakers, there may be a story about him as Sneakerhead University sneakerhead you as a museum on State Street in downtown Chicago. It's the type of place you go when you're ready to be dipped into the history of pop culture through gym shoes, as we call them in Detroit. Here to tell us all about it is Shay Belvin, a fellow Michigander turned Chicagoan who moved here to open Sneakerhead University. Shay, welcome to The Rundown.

Shay Belvin: Thank you happy to be here.

Erin Allen: So are you a sneakerhead?

Shay Belvin: So, me actually being a sneakerhead came about as I was building this exhibit, I just found a new appreciation for sneakers. So I think a lot of people will call themselves sneakerheads if they just like what is hot, or what everyone else is wearing. But now I've gotten an appreciation for the art. So I say being a sneakerhead is not even the person who's just getting all the hottest latest drops. But just somebody who really has an overall appreciation for really any kind of sneaker that fits you personally and speaks to what you want, whether it's comfort, style, certain colors and just having an individualistic opinion as far as what I'm going to wear on my feet and making a statement for it.

Erin Allen: That's, that's a very generous and broad definition of sneakerhead. I feel like I'm in that now. Like, I'm not a secret, but maybe I am because I do think about what I like to put on my feet a lot. So I imagine you've had to do a lot of research then like how did you teach yourself about sneakers as a person who didn't really come into this as you know, the traditional type of sneakerhead.

Shay Belvin: So I taught myself about sneakers really just by changing what I was consuming on a daily basis. So all my social media, just following different pages, like Nice Kicks, or Sneaker Daily, Sneaker Freaker, things like that.

Erin Allen: Sneaker Freaker, what a great name.

Shay Belvin: Also just looking at things differently. Like, for instance, when I was watching 90s movies before, I did not realize how much of an influence even just the hottest 90s movies had on what sneakers were selling out. So really paying attention to "White Men Can't Jump," what they got on their feet. Like everybody on the court. Or, or "Juice," looking at how they were getting dressed in the morning. And versus just like, oh, this is like a cool 90s scene, but now it's like, Oh no, they got some heat, like some timeless heat. So just paying attention to different pieces like that. 

Erin Allen: Yeah, going back and seeing like what'd you miss. Interesting. So Sneakerhead University is a museum, which you know, sounds like a sneakerheads dream, right to just go into basically a world of sneakers and just really nerd out. But as you said, prior to really getting into this venture, you weren't a sneakerhead. So what made you want to do a museum and not say a store or other type of - what the layperson might think is a conventional sneaker business.

Shay Belvin: Well, many things played into this. But to start off, I went to an HBCU. And when you go to an HBCU, the first thing they teach you is love being Black, over and over and over and over and over. So as somebody who also likes history, there's not many attractions in the world that glorify Black people's contribution to society. Aside from just like, of course, slavery is an important topic, but we've done so much overall, to build up many different industries. So one thing I just wanted to talk about, was a subject that uplifts Black people, but then at the same time, a subject that everyone can relate to, because I didn't want to kind of pigeonhole myself either. 

So what was something that no matter who you are, where you are in the world, what you identify as, how much money you have, what is something that still no one can really take away and almost everybody in this world has worn shoes had shoes, can speak to shoes at some point in time, whether you're wearing like Balenciaga or K-Swiss. Because I remember back in the day, I was rocking the K-Swiss fit. So it really doesn't matter. What was in your pockets or who you were, you can relate to that. So it was like bridging the gap between the two. And I think that's what you'll find in this exhibit. Is it's something that speaks to the Black story, but then it also speaks to everyone's story. And it's something that everyone can appreciate in a new way. You don't have to be, like I said, the typical sneakerhead to really understand what different creators have brought to the society through just what's on your feet, and you didn't even know.

Erin Allen: Yeah. So it's the storytelling component that got you into thinking about a museum. 

Shay Belvin: Yes. 

Erin Allen: What kinds of stories would a person see in a sneaker Museum?

Shay Belvin: Okay, so for instance, like Dapper Dan. Well, not everybody knows the story of Dapper Dan, which is actually shocking. So Dapper Dan, great guy from Harlem, he started his own brand, essentially, where he would remix other luxury brands to make it something hotter that they hadn't released. A lot of people don't know the backstory is, he was essentially harassed and his business was taken down every time he reached a peak, buy big brand names, because they were hating on him. But 25 years later, he's now like, the main chair and creative director and designer of Versace, or, or Gucci and things like that. So it's just telling that holistic story of what many people say is ghetto until it's popular. We touch on different subjects. Sneakerhead University is 15 rooms, and they're all themed after different college classes. So like in our world cultures section, the story of the Cortez is different than the story of the Cortez in the movie section. So in the movie section, it talks about how it sells out because of Forrest Gump. But the actual origins was it was a gangster shoe in LA. So you'll just see it again. It's ghetto until it's popular, but there's so many full circle moments in the exhibit. 

Erin Allen: So the Cortez is the type of - it's a Nike shoe? Okay.

Shay Belvin: And it's the longest running Nike shoe to this day. Most sold, everything.

Erin Allen: And this is the one that Forrest Gump that he wore when he was a-running 

Shay Belvin: Yes, around the world. 

Erin Allen: Okay, gotcha. So the hours at Sneakerhead, you are very weekend, kind of later in the day oriented. And I think most people who work during the day wish museums were open in the evenings, but they aren't and Sneakerhead - you is. I'm curious what type of energy or people you're hoping to attract with that time of day that you have our set.

Shay Belvin: Um, so on the weekends, we have our kids classes. So that's before the dark hours. They start at noon. I would say the later hours we're really looking to attract like people looking for an unconventional date night if you're trying to just you know, going out to eat and talking about stuff... or girls night type events, people coming into town, who are just looking for something last minute to do. Maybe you don't - you're not an early riser, so... oh, and the working crowd, because myself I'm a working person. Yeah, we, we have classes starting at 4pm and 7pm, as well. 

Erin Allen: Tell me about the classes.

Shay Belvin: Yeah, so we have our kids class in the daytime. And then in the evenings, it's the adult class, you can bring a bottle or a can of your choice. So any beverage, doesn't have to be alcoholic. But we just have good vibes put on a nice playlist. And essentially, what you do is you just bring in a base white shoe doesn't matter what brand, and we'll give you all the utensils, whether it's a canvas shoe or a leather shoe, to redo the colorways. Add some patches, add some jewels, switch out the laces essentially just completely gut it and start over.

Erin Allen: All right. So for all the artists, you can walk away with a Bejeweled shoe if you go to sneakerhead. That's really dope. So you moved here from Metro Detroit to make this happen. But I'm from Detroit, and my experience of Detroit is that it's very much a fashion plate. There's quite a few sneaker stores in the city. Even more sneakerheads. Talk about the allure of Chicago for something like this.

Shay Belvin: So the allure of Chicago was, this is kind of the mecca of sneakers when you think about the backstory, even just the influence that Chicago Bulls has had as a whole. Even to this day, whether they're winning these championships or not still, they have earned that name. Or, what else? Oh, me being from North Carolina in college. So just seeing the impact that Jordan specifically has had as well on the whole United States. I knew I wanted to start here essentially. 

Erin Allen: Okay, makes sense. Speaking of celebrity and shoes, has the cancelled deal with Kanye and Adidas come up for you lately at all?

Shay Belvin: All the time. 

Erin Allen: Oh, how so? 

Shay Belvin: It essentially starts with: love the Kanye room. What are you going to do about it? And I'm just like... [laughs.] Our Kanye exhibit really speaks to who he is to this day because essentially, it just highlights his love for himself and his love for his community. I don't think that stopped as far as Chicago in itself and Kanye loving Kanye. So that is one thing that will stand true. We're not pushing any of the negative messages. But as of right now, the city has said that, at least when they visit the room, it's a good accurate depiction as far as what he means here.

Erin Allen: Okay. That's, that's pretty special that you have been able to cultivate that, you know, more timeless component.

Shay Belvin: And that was also a thing that I wanted to emphasize with the museum. It's not about the big name brands that are glorified and emphasized everywhere. It's about the actual people who created these things that are keeping these name brands in the spotlight. 

Erin Allen: Yeah. Shay Belvin is the owner and curator of Sneakerhead University Museum. They're open all weekend, including today until 8pm. Shay, thank you so much for being here.

Shay Belvin: Thank you.

Erin Allen: And that's it for today, and this week. Share this episode with all your sneakerhead homies and your non sneakerhead homies alike. This is The Rundown. I'm Erin Allen. Have a good weekend. See you bright and early Monday morning.

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