With a collection of over 3000 pairs of rare pairs, Chris Robinson is ambitious to change the way we look at sneakers. After reading his insider story, you will understand that there is way more than glues and soles involved, it is a whole new world, a world of art that is booming all around the globe.
Not only Chris but all sneakers collectors worldwide are going to extremes to acquire pairs of limited edition and this booming trend is becoming mainstream. Entire communities are growing and thriving on platforms like Instagram and TikTok and their engagement is through the roof.
Chris Robinson (born on June 30th, 1992 and also known as SBcollector) is one of the most prominent sneakers aficionados and collectors nowadays. But his beginnings are those of a regular young kid with his heart filled with passion. He grew up in a small town like many others, in Jersey. While he was a child, his family could not afford to offer him very much but this didn’t limit his vision or curiosity. Regardless of his humble background, Chris did not give up on his dream and mission. He was 14 when he got his very first pair of Nike. This is where everything started.
On his journey to success, Chris Robinson early realized that he has a special eye and talent for sneakers and how to spot them and grab them, not only in bog box stores. The best find are those spotted in garage sales, smaller marketplaces and online forums. How could it be differently ? You cannot spot a rare and antique painting in the art store downtown. But that can be found, if you are lucky enough, in the back of a closet of an old lady in London.
The sneaker collector’s industry is really interesting and it gained mainstream attention in the past 3-5 years. If you are lucky enough to find the right pair at the right time, you might be the owner of the most desirable pair of sneakers. The prices are not always affordable tho and also the market fluctuates like crazy. Just to give you a better picture, there is an interesting fact.
Chris bought his third pair of FLOMS (collaboration with Futura out of NYC) for 7 grand. Travis Scott bought form Project Blitz in LA and wore them on his Instagram story. The hype and therefore the demand and value soon after skyrocketed and Chris sold one of his three pairs for $50 grand.
SB Collector is not only a very successful and one of the most popular collectors, he has always been an entrepreneur at heart. He was clever enough to transform his passion into a business and soon he will celebrate 10 years since he opened one of his shoe stores. Yes, it was one of his biggest dreams. However, even if he is up high in the industry Chris has more ambitions and dreams he is pursuing.
“After achieving my initial goals set as a kid, my next goal is to get my net worth to $5 million, buy a Rolls Royce truck and have them customize the ceiling to the constellations from my birthday.”
Chris Robinson has given an enormous contribution to the collector’s community and he is highly respected by his fellow collectors and “hypebeasts”. If you follow him on Instagram @sbcollector, you will dive into a world of sneakers, colors, rarities and collector pieces. It is a new world of fashion, brutal competition, and why not, pieces of art. Every pair has a story and its unique features. Most of them are even customized by hand, one by one, by artists. You will be amazed to see that you can analyze a pair of sneakers exactly the way you analyze a piece of art. Starting from colors and shapes to materials and features.
How all this is happening ? Well, Instagram has played a big role in this. And brands like Supreme or Off-White, with their “limited editions” and “drops” have brought the one-of-a-kind and the “high exclusivity” concepts to masses of teenagers and millenials.
After reading Chris’ story, we hope that next time you see a pair of Dunks, you pause a second and think that there is something more behind and not just a sole and a bit of glue.