Photographer Nam Quan
As a familiar name among young photographers, he is now prominent in the community of sports shoe collectors, so what made him become interested in shoes?
It all started with an interest in fashion and dressing well. At the end of 2012, when I was looking for a new pair of shoes, I was lucky enough to meet a shoe seller – who later became a leader.
I remember being very excited when I realized that shoes not simply beautify my feet but also carry with them technologies that help my feet function or play sports better.
Having quite a large shoe collection, what are some special features of the shoes you have?
I like to collect retro-runners, which can be understood as shoe designs that have been around for a long time (since the 1980s, 1990s…) and at that time, they were running shoes for people.
1. Nike Air Max 1 OG pair 2. Nike Lebron X Cork 3. ASICS Gel Lyte III collection includes 4 pairs: Three Lies, Cove Samples, Aztec and St.
Classic white shoe models of brands.
Surely these shoes have had some impact on your life?
Good shoes basically always make me feel comfortable when moving – with my photography job, I always have to be outdoors a lot so I can’t allow my feet to hurt or be affected.
What are some of the projects you have been developing and will develop based on your passion for shoes?
In 2013, I teamed up with a few close friends to create the YouTube channel `Shoes TV` to make videos sharing knowledge and stories about sneaker culture, and detailed review videos about the ability of sneakers.
Currently, we are running a group on Facebook called Than Kinh Shoes with more than 40,000 members, with the desire to create a community of sneaker enthusiasts, where young people can share information, culture and exchange.
Last September 2014 was also a memorable milestone when we took our sneakergame to a new page, opening the G-LAB store, a cultural space about sneakers for everyone who is passionate about it.
In 2015, we will still focus on developing the above projects, most especially G-LAB because this will be the premise for us to be able to carry out many other projects.
Will shoe culture last long in the Vietnamese youth community?
Certainly, because it has always existed strongly for many decades in other countries, and Vietnamese sneakergame has also been growing very quickly and strongly in the past two years.
Thank you for this conversation!
A corner displaying shoe and clothing models at G-LAB – a cultural and shopping space for sneaker fans.
