After a lovely two days in Nashville and participating in the first ever Sneakers And Speakers event, I was up and at ‘em early Sunday morning to take the four hour trip to Atlanta. Sneaker Friends, hosted by the one and only DJ Greg Street, was one of the most hyped sneaker events I’ve ever seen down South and it gave me an opportunity to see what the center of Southern sneaker and streetwear culture had to offer.

I had a good time but my overall impression after leaving the event can be summed by my question to my friend Taji who I attended the event with: “Is this it?”

See the rest of my “Sneaker Friends” opinions at the very end of this post!

Me, Sean “Damn he be every where!!” Falyon, Chilly-O, and in the front of the squad Taji.

Carlos Whiteside. From Charleston but in Atlanta now making companies look good on Facebook.

AYEO Clothing is a brand new brand based out of the A. Many thanks to them for blessing me with their logo tee. Like many upstart brands, the majority of their designs were based upon graphics flips (see the Denver Nuggets logo above) but from speaking with the brand principles, I feel like they will find their lane and working towards cultivating their own brand stance.

Exclusive Game is a brand based in Atlanta but with roots all over the nation. Primarily getting their start by creating custom jerseys for some of hip-hop’s elite, the brand has moved on to create tees, cardigans, and as you can see above, New Era fitted caps. Exclusive Game is linked heavy with Rick Ross and his budding Maybach music empire so now that you’re aware of them make sure you give props to the person that put you on. And someone PLEASE get me that black Exclusive Game logo fitted in a size 8.

If you’re not brand new to this blog then you’ve already seen the Honor Roll Clothing Group before. That doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve another shout out though! WHAT’S GOOD HONOR ROLL?

Here is another Southern based brand for you to check out. Rich Lavish, ran by BIG G, is based in Atlanta and they do everything from personal shopping, styling, to custom clothing.

That guy on the left with the camera is Sean from Atlanta Got Sole. This was a first time actually meeting–and may I say, it was a horrible time to have our first in-person meeting! AGS was working, hard. From conducting interviews (as you can see) to running a full sneaker booth, these guys were everywhere at once. Next time I come to Atlanta, it won’t be for a busy sneaker event and we’ll get to sit down and have a conversation like civilized people.

Loyal K.N.G. is a brand based in Texas. Yes, they came ALL THE WAY FROM TEXAS to participate in Sneaker Friends. I hope they got a free hat, validated parking, or at least something of substance seeing that they drove all the way from TEXAS. Anyway, this brand is one I was already aware of and been in contact with before but had NO clue that they would be down here so imagine my surprise seeing them.  They obviously read my post about the 5 things SUCCESSFUL brands are doing and allowed it to fuel their inspiration to be in attendance. Kudos to them, real talk.

A brand that will be receiving some shine on H1GHER LEARNING and made a long trip as well was Miami based brand Mahvee. The majority of their graphics are sneaker inspired but dope nonetheless. Be on the lookout for these guys!

Don’t know who she is but EVERYONE took pictures of her. Why shouldn’t I do the same? “When in Rome…” right?

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The location turned out tot be an asset. I had my doubts about a sneaker show in an art gallery but, in my opinion, the layout did not deter from the overall atmosphere. In fact, it brought people a bit closer to each other than they may have normally cared for. This interaction was key because whether it just be an “Excuse me” or “My bad”, conversation was forced upon the attendees. And for those not afraid to open their mouths, it gave them ample opportunity to network. Lord knows I did.

Being that an art gallery of that size was probably not built with the intention of housing that many moving parts and people, it got hot quick. Like, as soon as I stepped in that mug I started sweating. I anticipated this so fortunately for me I had my trusty handkerchief in my back pocket for brow perspiration removal. Nothing a playa couldn’t handle.

When I stated that I thought their would be more, I figured–I don’t know–there would be more than just SNEAKERS. Maybe some panel discussions, some live artwork, a sneaker auction, just something more than cool people with cool sneakers. I still had a good time but I just felt like there were some opportunities to take this event to the next level that were not capitalized one. My impression was that this was an event to bring people together in a communal sense, not just in a “we’re all in the same room” kinda way. If they can find a way to make the next event more interactive, I think it would raise the status of Sneaker Friends even higher.

This is not to say that this event wasn’t good. But given ALL the noise I had heard about it, who was sponsoring it, and who was hosting it I certainly don’t think I was the only person left longing. Especially after leaving a similar event from the day before where there was more interaction between brands, host, and participants I was expecting to see that and more at Sneaker Friends. Maybe next time.

#SeacrestOut