GENERAL RELEASE

For some unexplained reason, I have an affinity for General Release sneakers. You know, the common ones. In a short list of favorites, majority of them are GRs (or once upon a time GRs). It's not that I can't afford heat; matter of fact, if I could be less modest about it, my collection would probably best most cats' in the game and could go toe-to-toe with the illest of them.

I don't know. I just have a thing for GRs... Something of a love affair.

One of my favorite joints is this pair of Air Max Wavys that my girl gave me (as blogged here). Sentimentality aside, I love that pair! Clean as 'f... Fresh to death. I love how it looks, I love the fact that it's efficient - that I can wear it to work, battle in it on the playground (which if I may add, performs like a dream), and wear it to church.

I shun being labeled a sneakerhead. Please, I am not. I'm not a sneakerhead... I'm just a dude with interesting feet. Feet tell stories, and it just so happens that the stories mine share, more often than not, are interesting (definitely more interesting than those of the new cats and hypebeasts, LOL!).

Anyway, allow me to share with you a story about the shoe featured above: my Nike Zoom Kobe VI - Blue Camo, or what I fondly call "Manila 6s" (know why here).

The story, unfortunately, won't be published in full; reason being I wouldn't want the people who helped me cop this get into trouble. :) Don't get it twisted though! Nothing illegal, nor inappropriate went down. Ha ha!

When photos of the Manila 6s surfaced on the net, I went bananas over it immediately. And that's a rare thing; when I see a hot pair, I usually just nod my head in approval, with this look seemingly saying "ayt... ayt!".

But I slept on it. And slept on it like the dead! Priorities came first (bills, business expenses, other essentials). And before I knew it, it was long gone. My favorite hoop store Titan ran out of sizes in a couple of weeks. Nike retailers 'round the Metro sold out on my size quick. That Kobe visit didn't help either. Resellers had them, but no one in their right mind would pay a peso above retail for them.

So I had no choice but to live with regret. The thought of a solitary pair floating in an outlet store somewhere, waiting for me, still got me excited... But I wouldn't count on it. It's been way too long, and way too late.

Fast forward to a week ago. I was chillin' in my room; book on one hand, remote control on the other. The white noise coming from the TV usually helped me concentrate, but that particular evening it broke my focus and made me look. Star Movies was on, and they were showing AVATAR. Damn... Really? Avatar? Just when I thought I was over this whole Manila 6 drama, it came back mounted on a flying Na'vi dragon! Then and there I realized I really wanted that pair. I needed it in my life.

A recent mid-week trip to beautiful Palawan kept the Kobes on my mind. The blue of the waters and the black of its depths reminded me of the snake-skin upper. Rays of sunlight shining on the lush vegetation reminded me of the bright green/yellow heel cup. Poetic and cheesy as it may be, I shit you not, I was desperate for them.

When I got back, I got a text from a dude saying they were able to get me a pair! They'll be arriving in a day! Man... Was I stoked beyond comprehension!!! The dopeness didn't stop there. When I asked how much they were, he said that I was lucky because they were on sale! I almost fainted. LOL! It's one thing to find the shoe you like, it's another story if the shoe finds you.

This is the part where I have to cut my story short.

I'm writing this now in the comfort of my room, staring at my shoes with my Manila 6s sitting comfortably on top of the stack... Where it rightfully belongs. Copping it waaaay below retail made it so much sweeter. I look for deals too, you know! :)

I am grateful to those people who went out of their way to get me that pair. I am also grateful for their tenacity in searching for it on my behalf... They never gave up on it. You guys know who you are. Thank you.

In a game where they put a premium on hype, status, and rarity, it's nice to know that people like me are now the minority. In any given sneaker event, it's funny how many people would end up rocking the same pair they consider heat... But no one would be seen wearing common sneaks you see on outlet racks and sale bins. Nowadays, terms like "Quickstrike" and "Limited Release" get thrown around so lightly that it depreciates its meaning. All for the sake of hyping up and adding market value to a pair that, objectively speaking, is not really rare.

You hear dudes nowadays say or post on forums "Ay... Ayaw ko yan kasi GR." ("No, I don't like those 'coz they're GR), and that's fine with me. If wearing heat is your thing, I salute you... I'm not hating on you, matter of fact, I respect that. Real talk.

But that's the irony of the GR; it's the new holy grail. No one rocks them because they're, well, General Releases, you know what I'm saying? Any kid can go online, search for South Beaches and cop them on the spot. Resellers are abound, and can supply you with heat for days. Come to think of it, it's really easy to cop grails especially if you've got rich parents and money was never an issue for you.

It takes more than eBay prices, hype, scarcity, demand and status to make GRs special. It requires a lot of skill, experience... a lot of intangibles, really, to see the rare beauty in something common.