Culture Curators: Episode 1: Ali "The Nostalgia Hunter"

nike

Nike Kingdom

I sat down with Ali who runs What comes around vintage. This guy is the 'Nike King' (alright you got me, I just finished watching Tiger King..) But seriously the amount of passion and love he has for the Swoosh is undeniable.

Really enjoyed getting to know his journey and to learn about why he loves what he does, read below:

- Why do you love vintage?

The environment is of course a very relevant factor and I’m glad people are paying attention to vintage clothing for that reason and I can’t stand fast fashion and it’s quality. However, the biggest drive is nostalgia. This is all the stuff I loved as a kid but very rarely was allowed. I used to cut the old Nike ads out of my dads GQ magazines and when we were holidaying as a kid, I didn’t want to go to the beach, theme parks etc. All I wanted to do as a 9/10 year old was go to the Sport shops and ask if they had any old catalogues. I was obsessed! But getting back into it over the last few years has seen my personal collection items actually go beyond an era of nostalgia. I’m now heavily into collecting 70s Nike for myself but still hold a massive place in my heart (and still quite a large number of items) for 90s sportswear.

Nike Add

- Why Nike? What is it about the swoosh, over Adidas, Puma etc?

It was always Nike. For the year that I really started taking notice they were the ones that popped out. My favourite shoe of all time is the Agassi Nike Air Tech Challenge 3/4 Volt or 'Neon' as it’s known too. When a shoe has NEON yellow on it as a 9 year old seeing that...you can put 100 adidas' In front of me and I ain’t even looking! Then the year that followed, Huaraches, Nike air 180, Jordan 6. I did love Adidas Torsions but the athletes and the shoes that were being worn by my friends (as I had supermarket kicks) were all swoosh. They just nailed that era!

Andre

- Your most prize piece and why?

I have two. Sneakers - Air Jordan 1985 Chicago’s with box and tag. It’s not my favourite shoe of all time, the Agassi would have to be, but there is nothing that compares to a shoe that is 35 years old and still wearable. It was revolutionary, iconic and just plain beautiful. 

Nike Jordan 1's

- Second is something I acquired recently. 1976 Nike Honolulu marathon finishers tee. I’ve been after this thing for a while and by Etsy search chance on my last trip to Malaysia...I got one. I just stare at it ...a lot!

Nike

- What have you learnt from having your page?

Oh man great question. Community, geez it’s great for that. Helping out, questions, answers, new friends, old friends. Most of my mates from being in Australia the last 18 months are from having this page man. That speaks volumes. It’s also my own little world that I operate. I mean I’m genuinely flattered you wanted me to do this man, but it’s because of the page, you did. That is something I’m proud of, that's the shit I love and it's interesting to others. Sales are important, course they are but conversations and connections over this stuff is priceless. I genuinely mean that, cliche as it might be. I’ve talked to 17 year olds about Agassi! That guy has nearly retired by the time they were born but he style and stuff is still relevant to them. I love that man. I’ve also learnt that it’s fucking great to do something you love and have people appreciate that. A lot the corporate world (and I’m being reserved here) .... does not provide a fraction of that.

Check him out: @whatcomesaroundvintage 


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