BUY.TRADE.SELL is the base of your average sneaker conventions, but not when it comes to the ultimate and upcoming visionaries who are changing the industry forever. Sneaker Games, started out in a small gymnasium in Orlando, Florida and has rapidly grown since their start in 2015. This past Sunday sneaker heads from all over wrapped around the corner, and circled the block at Pier36 in NYC in hopes to grab some exclusive gear and rock hand and hand with some major celebrities at the dopest event to hit the city. This wasn’t your typical vendor meets buyer kind of thing, this was bigger, much bigger. Dave East walked around checking out some of the latest heat while effortlessly interacting face to face taking pictures and chatting it up with fans. What do you get when you combine street re-sellers, influential kick game moguls, video games, the hottest celebrities/influencers, a star status basketball game, some fly kicks, and support from the multi million dollar sneaker companies who create them? Sneaker Games. These guys are actually changing the minds of major corporations who frown upon the resale of their kicks, urging them to realize, this is just all part of the game and hustle for the love of sneakers. Period. Can’t beat them, join them and that’s exactly what Sneaker Games has brought to the attention of companies like Puma, who had sponsored the event along with energy drink company, GFuel and joined ventures with Power105.1, BySukii, IndoorHoops, UrbanSpotLite.com, Phil The Mayor, Does It Even Matter, Fit X Complex, Worth High Volume, Boom Cups, and D^On Cancer.
“We’re here to merge the impossible with the possible.” – Erick Palma, Founder of Sneaker Games
While most of these conventions are out to break your pockets when it comes to landing a table and obtaining the best spot, Sneaker Games urges everyone and anyone who lives for this as they do, to rock with them. Top knotch vendors such as TwoJsKicks, Sierato, DraculaEl, Urban Necessities, TMarkGotKickss along with up-and-coming brands Power Moves Only, Tai87Kicks, Get Money Kicks, and WanderXHou just to name a few of the hundreds that set up shop surrounded a NBA-style basketball court where the Sneaker Games scheduled a full blown celebrity basketball game while you were searching for the perfect sneakers. Power 105.1 legend DJ Clue rocked out on stage along with a couple well-known artists including Sammy Wilk and Josh X, who performed throughout the event.
But, wait there’s more! Sneaker Games didn’t stop there, three different stages were set up, one holding a discussion panel featuring Yellow Brick Sneakers #sneakerschool, another constantly conducting sneaker giveaways, a meet and greet area where fans were able to take pictures, an entire video gaming section with over 20 gaming consoles, as well as the coolest art displays I have ever seen. Dave East was not the only star mingling around the event, Wild N Out’s Yvng Swag, Los Angeles Lakers Lance Stephenson, NBA 2K YouTube personality Solluminati, comedian-internet sensation HahaDavis, BMX athlete Nigel Sylvestor, NBA trainer Chris Brickley, YouTube rapper B.Lou, Jamaican dance hall singer HoodCelebrityy, Love & HipHop Miami’s Jessie Woo, and endless Instagram personalities such as Woah Vicky, Johnston Twinss, B.Staaaacks, RobiiiWorld, Hakeem Newkirk, Cook Justice, TrayMfnBills, Trey Livin, Famous Ocean, Kung Fu, Marco And Alvin, Kush Papi, Nigel Sylveste the list goes on and on. Sneaker Games breaks down the barrier between the interaction of celebrities and fans. “I want artists and influencers to come enjoy themselves and not feel like their working.” Said the founder of Sneaker Games Erick Palma.
I had gotten the pleasure of linking up with the man himself, founder and CEO of Sneaker Games Erick Palma to get a little background on what motivated him to organize such an impactful massive event.
“Well, I used to live in Queens, NYC then moved out to Orlando, Florida , being a sneaker-head myself, there wasn’t any events out here that focused on kicks, so I had to change all that. I started small and gradually built the company to what it is today Sneaker Games.” Said the young ceo.
Erick continued to tell me how he used to be the vendor at small conventions and knew there was something bigger to be created. He started a Facebook page called “Sneaker Game” and eventually conducted his own events adding the “s” at the end. Before he knew it word was spreading and different states were reaching out to have Sneaker Games hold events in their hometowns. Erick then started branching out locally to Tampa and Miami then expanded to Brooklyn, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles where be began getting contacted by corporations like AT&T, Microsoft, and the NBA just to name a few. Currently Erick and his team have a bunch of upcoming events working hand in hand with the NBA, working out a deal where if you buy a ticket to their Sneaker Games event you’ll get a ticket to an official NBA Game. Uhm yes please.
Check out upcoming dates on SneakerGames.com and congratulations Erick on all your success. We cant wait to see what Sneaker Games is going to conquer next!
Check out Sneaker Games recap footage below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B12V3gfD6kK/
Shout to @DJTarzan_ @GoodCompanyMultiMedia, and HHS1987 for also collaborating on the event !
