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BOOK: Sneaker Obsession by Alexandre Pauwels
At 11, I received my first pair of proper sneakers: a pair of DC shoes. It had a distinct black suede material with pink, purple, and green plastic design on the side. My late mother gave it to me as a gift for my academic achievements.
Prompted by swagger and above-normal popularity in the school halls, I would flaunt these shoes every civvies day for the following year. I wore them until the stitching became frayed and the mud from playground soccer could not be scrubbed away by my father's determined hands. When my mother gifted me the shoe, I am sure she did not predict it would begin my sneaker ("takkie") obsession that would continue into my late teens.
