The most recent Sneaker Freaks event took place August 21, 2021, in Columbus’ Lausche Building. Credit: Courtesy of Travis Walker
Ohio State students looking to buy, sell or trade shoes will have their opportunity at the Sneaker Freaks 10th anniversary convention at the Ohio State Fairgrounds Saturday.
Sneaker Freaks, hosted and founded by Travis Walker, Jermaine Jenkins, DJ D Boogie and Dommy Styles, will hold over 300 booths where vendors will be selling clothing items and accessories, Walker said.
Chase Rowe, owner of Deadstock and sponsor of the convention, said he started off as a vendor through Sneaker Freaks Columbus. He became successful enough to open a store.
“Many years ago, I was a vendor. I would travel and do a lot of sneaker shows and Sneaker Freaks was honestly one of my favorites local here in Ohio,” Rowe said. “Locally, it provides a lot of opportunities for people that they don’t get to see often without traveling.”
Walker said Sneaker Freaks’ vendors are interactive with their customers. With the help of sponsors like Deadstock, it holds $1 raffles and auctions for shoes at their event, he said.
“We get shoes that are worth $700, $800, $1,000 and raffle them off for $1,” Walker said.
Walker said since Sneaker Freaks’ first event, the convention has gained around 275 vendors and over 2,000 attendees. Even with its success, the convention has never left Columbus.
“It has grown every year, we’ve never really taken it out of Columbus,” Walker said. “We’ve been very homegrown, and Columbus kind of lacked those events for what we do.”
Sneaker Freaks is also active within the community. The convention is partnering with the local children’s organization Ohio Kiwanis to donate gently used or new shoes to kids locally and internationally, according to its social media.
“A couple of us have kind of turned into, like, mentors for some of the kids,” Walker said. “That stuff is probably the best part of what we do just because it’s like a direct impact.”
Walker said Sneaker Freaks has opened doors for many people, specifically vendors. He said he’s been able to view the impact of Sneaker Freaks through local shoe shops in Columbus who started as vendors at this event.
Rowe said Sneaker Freaks still gives Deadstock exposure, even after being open for a year and a half.
“There’s still a lot of people in the communities that don’t know about us, so we’re able to get some exposure that way,” Rowe said. “It allows us to meet and interact with bulk sellers, bulk buyers and it opens avenues to, you know, do business in other cities or have somebody here whenever they’re in town for us to buy and sell and trade.”
The event is being held from 1-6 p.m. at the Lausche Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Presale tickets are $15, and tickets at the door are $20, according to its website.
