A backstage pass to the world beyond the public face of your favourite organisations.

Paige Saville kicks her heels up Behind the Scenes with the owners of a sneaker store and gives you the low down on high tops.

Sneak and Destroy

Once a humble sporting shoe, sneakers have transcended the athletic arena and exploded into popular culture. Duck, one half of the duo behind Mermaid Beach store Sneak & Destroy, helps stir up some sneaker hysteria.

Tell us a bit about the calibre of sneakers you stock...do you ever carry rarities?
Companies like Nike use tiers to send out product. Tier 0 is the most limited edition, impossibly hard to get shoes. I'd say we fit in just below tier 0, so yeah we definitely sell some good shoes.

What's behind the passion for sneakers, where does it develop?
I think it's because they can evoke memories from when you were young. For example, a school kid who was knocking about in the Air Pegasus '89, back in 1989, comes in and sees them - it's like 'oh my god, I used to have that shoe' - and buys another pair. Obviously it was status thing in the Bronx in the 70's and 80's, or even back in the 60's and 70's people from Liverpool in England would travel to Germany to buy Adidas, it was a big thing, just to have it.

Is there a sneaker culture on the Gold Coast?
There is definitely a growing scene here, and there's culture behind it, but at the end of the day there just sneakers. You can be as heavily into it as you like, listen to as much hip hop as you want or own every pair of collaboration shoes ever made. Then again you could just be a dude wearing sneakers because you like them. Rob (business partner) and I love sneakers but it doesn't rule our lives.

What's an example of a kick a true Sneaker Freaker would never be seen dead in?
I think Diesel trainers are fucking awful, they look like those euro sneakers. You know the white leather look, like a slip on metro sneaker. Not cool.

How about something that kills it?
The Adidas Busenitz. It's a pro skateboard shoe that's a hybrid of about three different styles, the Samba 50, a Spezial '79 and a Copa Mundial '82.

Bluffers Guide: Sneakers