Some may easily argue that Michael Jordan was one of the greatest athletes of all time. The silhouette of the man dunking in mid air, having withstood the tests of time, has become as classic as any Mcdonald’s golden arches or Lacoste crocodile. The only other silhouette to make it this big is ET on his bike in the moonlight, but even that alien nigga couldn’t sell a shoe. The Air Jordan, a household sneaker since 1985, moved Nike to the top of the corporate food chain. With more than 20 different models, this shoe created a following so strong that kids would sleep outside stores for exclusive models or sell crack all day in order to cop a fresh pair of Jays by sunset.

Ether is well renowned to be on top of his Jordan game. Walking through his crib, Jordans line the walls so high it feels like I’m shopping at Footlocker. Boxes over boxes, exclusives after exclusives, his stash room feels like Ali Baba’s treasure cave for any sneaker head out there. I think even Mike himself doesn’t have these many pairs.

The addiction all started at the tender age of 8. While most of us were still thinking about GI Joes and Hot Wheels, Ether was already swagging it out:
“It began in 1990, when my older brother just got a fresh pair of all black Jordan 5′s and it just blew my mind. The shoe game was nothing to me back then cause your mom would buy you what she could afford, so I’d go to Zellers and buy the normal LA Gears and I thought shit was fly just cause of the lights in them. But when I saw those all-black original color Jordan 5′s with the Nike in the back it was just… BOOM! So I hustled and did all kinds of odd jobs and chores and soon enough had my first pair, the same as my brother’s. And that’s when the disease kicked in.”

As the same Jordan models wouldn’t come out the following season, you’d have to wait a few years down the lane to see the same sneakers. But by the time it would re-release, Ether was grown now and could afford to get the same models he fell in love with as a child. He couldn’t overlook all the other models he missed out on while growing up, and from there, like any other collector, the more you dig.. the more the addiction gets into your veins.

“People always ask me, why Jordans over other shoes? First and foremost there’s the history behind that, the man has 6 championship rings and he just pretty much dominated the NBA at the time. As a little kid I’ve always looked up to that, its heroic. It’s the myth”.

Spike Lee autographed Spizikes and movie. Shoutouts to Mookie, keep hustling them pizzas.

For those who aren’t in the know, these here soles are so exclusive you can’t even buy ‘em. The Jordan XII all-white model with the red jump man was released in 2009, but with a rising sun flag on the sole. There was a strike in Asia because of the War emblem this portrayed causing the launch date to be pushed back and a worldwide recall of the sole. No stores were allowed to sell these, and Nike were checking every size of every order done by retailers that way no pair could have been sold with this sole. This here isn’t even an exclusive anymore, it’s a unique piece. “I got a pair somehow, I can’t tell you how… Santa came early this year” Ether says with a smile.