The culture of sneaker buying, selling, and collecting is thriving in 2016. Whether you’re an old head hell bent that the Black Cement Jordan 3 is the best shoe of all time, or you’ve caught the inevitable Boost-by-way-of-Kanye wave, the sneaker game is riding high. Social media saturation ushered the underground world of sneaker collecting to the mainstream, transcending simple style. Flexing in your best pair became a way of life, and a business, for shoe enthusiasts around the globe.
High end boutiques and consignment shops are popping up from coast to coast, but none more polarizing than Urban Necessities in Las Vegas. Co-owner and shoe aficionado Jaysse Lopez is determined to raise the bar, injecting heart and soul into his shop by factoring in the human element to sales and service. Urban Necessities has quickly become a must-visit staple out West.
As Sneaker Con NYC invades the Javits Center November 5th and 6th, it’s only fitting that Jaysse took some time from his hectic grind to shine some light on his brand, the sneaker culture in Vegas, and why it’s vital to pay it forward.
Yo Teach: How has the sneaker culture evolved in Vegas?
Lopez: I’ve been in Vegas sixteen years now, and the scene has really changed. There’s a pressing need (for shoes). Nas has his store, 12AM:RUN, and Feature is holding it down with the runners. Vegas is getting more attention in terms of the sneaker game.
YT: The game itself is changing. There’s so many drops, so many choices, so much money changing hands.
Lopez: Collecting is evolving. People are really into runners. Foams and Nike Basketball are pretty much dead out here (in Vegas). We have many more pairs of Adidas in the store now rather than J’s. It’s changing for the better. Older collectors will complain that Dunks, SB’s and Jordan’s aren’t as popular as they once were, but it’s great. It reminds me of back in the day, I’m 37, so I remember when Reebok was killing it, then Jordan came in and left Reebok behind. And while Nike won’t go out of business, the fact that Adidas has this crazy buzz pushes all brands to come with better presentation. It’s addressing what was lacking for so long.
Even the purchasing process is evolving from standing in line, to getting raffle tickets, now to reserving pairs online through brand apps. Is it making it harder? Sure, but it should be, because you’re getting better products than you were back in the day.
YT: Why sneakers? What’s the draw to this business?
Lopez: The thing I get the biggest kick out of is being able to help. I’ve only been selling shoes for about three years. When I was reselling out of my trunk, I had a lot of free time on my hands. My wife traveled out of state for work, so I would go with her and turn those trips into a sneaker hunts. I would visit all these stores, and I’m consumed by the culture, so when I’d look at these stores on Instagram they seemed like meccas or cathedrals. Then I’d go in and the experience was bland, no one was helpful, it wasn’t fun. When I look at sneakers, especially older shoes, it takes me back to fond memories. I just wanted to extend that vibe. I never wanted, and still don’t want my brand to be about you coming into the store, and me taking your money. I started with nothing, and I understood that word of mouth and taking care of our guests was would not only grow the brand, but take it where I want to go.
YT: What makes your shop and your Urban Necessities brand stand out?
Lopez: Look, at the end of the day there’s a million people selling sneakers. The upside to social media as a collector is now you have options. From the very beginning we understood, you don’t have to come here, you don’t have to follow the shop, or my Instagram feed, or go our website. My staff and I are on the same wavelength, we have to acknowledge how valuable each customer is. I would say ninety percent of the traffic in my shop is from out of state or out of the country, which is very different from most shops in the United States (besides your Flight Clubs, Stadium Goods, etc.). Those guys get tourists.
I understood from the beginning that we needed everyone to know we appreciate their time and their business. The average visitor is spending money to get to my store. We’re a few minutes from the strip, but that takes time and effort. We have to acknowledge that. People are here on business or vacation. You can shop anywhere, so if I don’t make it a warm and inviting experience, why would you talk about it? Why would you promote the brand?
YT: You’re focused on giving back, and on being a shop about its customers, not just the product and the almighty dollar. It’s an interesting business model.
Lopez: My whole thing is helping the community that is helping us. We’ve done shoe drives, toy drives, canned goods drives, there was a barber whose son died unexpectedly and we did a fund raiser to pay for the funeral. There was a man who needed a heart transplant, and I didn’t have a pot to piss in when he needed help. But, I spent two weeks going to Floyd Mayweather’s gym before he fought Pacquiao, hoping I could tell him the story in order to get tickets (to raffle) and get the guy into the right donor program for a heart transplant. But, it didn’t happen through Mayweather.
I only had six grand on a Thursday night, which was for bills for the shop that following Monday. I spent the six grand eighteen hours before the fight on two tickets. I raffled them off twelve hours before the fight, raised my six grand back and an additional twenty-one thousand towards the transplant. It was wild.
At that point in the short (two year) history of our store, that’s when I knew we would be ok. If we were getting that kind of support already, to be able to help someone no one really knows, I said as long as we keep doing right by people, we’re going to be ok. Every single day that we come to the shop, that’s what it’s about; being positive and helping others. For lots of places it’s pure business, and that’s not why any of us got into it in the first place.
YT: The Heat Locker is basically a carnival claw game packed with sneakers, where winners can walk away with a pair of thousand dollar Yeezy’s. Where on earth did you come up with the idea?
Lopez: When I first saw that game, it was in an electronics store and I lost fifty bucks. I felt like an idiot, but I figured maybe I could turn a buck into something I wouldn’t have the opportunity to get on a normal day. When people come in and spend a few bucks, I assumed we’d have a few winners, but I didn’t think it would take off like this. We’ve had the machines for about seventy weeks, and we’ve had over 600 winners.
YT: You also have a recent collaboration with the Popped brand involving the Heat Lockers?
Lopez: Yes, we’re using the Heat Locker concept to collaborate with Popped (@itspopped), a good friend of the shop. I noticed people were rushing into the shop and dumping money into the Heat Locker, anywhere from twenty to forty dollars, then leaving with their heads down upset, without checking out the shoes or grabbing a sticker, or buying a shirt. I wanted to eliminate that crappy feeling. Basically, the Popped machines were originally purposed for candy and potato chips, so we figured putting tee shirts in the chip bags with poker chips and scratch off tickets, making two price points of forty and sixty bucks, with two different limited run tee shirts and prizes behind each one, every single bag wins something. For the initial run we did 700 shirts, 500 at forty bucks, and 200 at sixty bucks. We gave away ten pairs of Yeezy V2’s before they dropped, we gave away five iPhone 7’s, and fifteen grand in store credit…which helps us move shoes in the store. We sold all 700 shirts. It’s great marketing. There are now 700 limited run shirts out there as a conversation piece. In total, there was thirty grand worth of prizes up for grabs.
YT: It feels (with collabs like Popped and the Heat Locker) that you’re leveling the playing field, where everyone has a chance to win.
Lopez: We understood that we have to give back. We can’t look like the greedy guy looking to take every dollar. We have some crazy ideas down the road. We’re looking to maybe do a 500 dollar shirt, but every shirt comes with a pair of Yeezy’s. Popped, like Heat Locker, is going to be something people try to incorporate into their stores, which is great. From the beginning I’ve always said the way we were doing retail was going to be the pattern or blueprint for other stores and vendors moving forward.
YT: Anyone who follows you on Instagram (@twojskicks), knows you have an insane collection. What’s the pair you rock to truly break necks?
Lopez: I’ve been very, very lucky the past two years to be able to get some of the crazy stuff you just don’t see every day. One pair that comes to mind is the Kanye Air Max 180 (friends and family), a sample size 9, which is the only pair in existence. I had no clue how much that shoe was. A collector on IG always posted the pic of his pair, and I always used to comment that one day he’d sell them to me, not knowing what the shoe goes for. At a sneaker event that collector brought the shoe, and I told him he was selling them to me. The guy said his last offer was six grand. I told the guy, if you sell me that shoe, it’s the last time you’ll ever see it in person and the only other time you’ll ever see the shoe is on my IG or when I wear them. He knew I was going to make him an offer that would be hard to turn down. I paid $8,500 for the pair, and once I handed him the money, I instantly put them on my feet. ----
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That’s true flex. Major thanks to Jaysse and Urban Necessities for sharing their story. Be sure to find him lurking around Sneaker Con this weekend and say what’s up. Next time you’re in Vegas, make it a point to visit the shop at 3680 S. Maryland Pkwy Ste 128, or visit online at www.urbannecessities.com. It’s a completely one of a kind experience.
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Lifestyle
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interview, Feature, shoes, fashion, las vegas, urban necessities, jaysse lopez