Fitch students market Sneaker Expo in Groton
Groton — Think the teenage boy version of “bridal expo.”
The event is “Crazy for Kix,” a sneaker expo scheduled from noon until 5 p.m. on March 4 at Robert E. Fitch High School and expected to draw 30 vendors and dozens of teenage boys and young adults trading shoes.
“A lot of people don’t understand why sneakers are important to high schoolers in the first place,” said Gabe Garza, 17, the event's project manager in the Fitch marketing class. “With sneakers, it’s more like a hobby for students. They collect shoes. The goal is to gain as many as possible,” to increase the value of the collection.
“Everyone in the expo is in it to make some kind of move,” said Marlon Delgado, event organizer and a paraprofessional at Fitch.
One draw this year is a sneaker version of the electronic “claw” game; instead of holding stuffed animals, the box holds $1,000 Jordan and Yeezy sneakers. Students pay for a chance to win their favorite pair of shoes.
Garza and other marketing students have been distributing fliers to sell $10 advance tickets. Art students made cardboard copies of sneakers which now on display at the high school.
“In marketing, you really have to give the students a hands-on project, a real world project to sink their teeth into,” Fitch business teacher Shelly O’Neal-Kegler said. “I can teach concepts, but until they apply them and see the results of what they’re doing, it’s not going to resonate with them.”
Dante Radcliffe, 14, said he wanted to get involved. “I like sneakers a lot and thought it’d be pretty cool to let people know about it,” he said of the event.
He owns nine pair of sneakers and wears them all. This winter, he shoved driveways in his neighborhood to add to his collection. His parents don’t always understand his fascination with sneakers, but they support him, he said.
“It’s kind of like a form of art because they have all these different colors” and styles, he said.
Trading and refurbishing used shoes – replacing soles and repainting - has also become a growing aspect of the sneaker culture, Delgado said. He expects to see many kids with their own collections trying to make deals. Last year’s sneaker expo, held at Wide World of Indoor Sports in Oakdale, drew 350 people.
The tickets themselves have even become a business. Students selling them earn a commission of 25 percent of the $10 ticket price. Of the remaining amount, 25 percent covers Expo expenses and 50 percent goes to O’Neal’s marketing class to pay for a field trip.
For more information about vendors and tickets, call (860) 861-7301.
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