Sneakerhead: a sneaker aficionado who can be found buying, swapping or reselling sneakers online, in parking lots or at conventions. And now, at swanky stores in SoHo like Stadium Goods. “I have 103 pairs of sneakers. It’s a fairly consistent investment and occupation. It’s an obsession. It’s my hobby. But, I can easily turn value back by selling away some of it. I collect comics too and it’s similar.” Sneaker swapping and reselling has been popular since the 1990s. But in the past couple of years, dedicated online and brick-and-mortar stores that authenticate and resell sneakers have popped up to cash in on the trend. “I’m looking for like really cool Jordan 1s. And I got lucky because they have several pairs.” Raena Anaïs is a stylist for rapper J. Cole. She was shopping for something he could wear for upcoming shows. “The people who would, like, catch an exclusive drop, they would be the ones reselling them on eBay and then you had to kind of bite the bullet and pay the insane markup for the resale without even really knowing: Are they real? Have they been worn? Like, I think this is a lot more comfortable.” At this store, previously purchased, but unworn sneakers are sold on consignment. The house gets 20 percent. The decades-old underground sneaker trade has truly gone pro. Some might even say “gentrified.” “When things are sold out, a lot of those shoes come here. We then sell them again at a higher price. This shoe right now is available on Amazon. It’s also for sale into China on Tmall, through our partnership with Alibaba.” Coveted, hard-to-find models can cost anywhere from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands. “$9,999? I think a number fell off from that shoe. ” Like these limited edition replicas of Nike Air Max from “Back to the Future II” “$29,950, that’s a pretty crazy price for a shoe. But people, there are people that will come in and buy those shoes.” Hand-to-hand trading of these products, that stuff still exists. But we’re really focused on creating a premium retail experience to elicit that trust, which is something that’s very new to that market.” Major players in the luxury world like LVMH take a note of the potential and started investing in businesses like this one. “It’s really hitting its stride. We think that honestly, it’s only just beginning.”