We chat to brand ambassador, bestselling author and Offspring Community member Carl Reader.
What do you do as a job?
This is probably the most difficult question that I ever have to answer! I own and invest in a few businesses and sit on the boards of a couple of companies and a national charity called Young Enterprise. I also am the Chair of the Practitioners Panel at the ACCA (the regulator for accountants in the UK) and a brand ambassador for a few corporates.
I'm also a WHSmith bestselling author and international speaker.
How long have you been into sneakers and how did you get into them?
Far too long, and I’ll be giving my age away here! It was probably when I was around 8 or 9 that I really cared about what trainers I had, but in truth I came from a fairly normal upbringing and my family couldn’t really afford them. By the time I was about 13, I’d save my own money from paper rounds but still only be able to buy a pair or two per year. When I was a late teen, it went up to begin with, then slowed right down as I had kids etc. Now I feel really fortunate that I'm able to buy most pairs (within reason) that I want.
As a kid I wasn't really aligned to any one brand and would have been happy with Nike, Jordans, British Knights, Adidas, Converse, even those light up LA Gears! I think Dunlop and Gola were pretty much the only no-gos for me.
Do you have an early sneaker memory?
Loads. The first pair I remember getting was a pair of Troops, and I remember wanting the Reebok Pumps around the same time. I think my first pair of Nikes were ACGs, and the first pair I bought myself were a pair of Air Max Classics in the early/mid 90s (as we called them then, now known as BWs). Thanks to Instagram, I now know the name of the colourway, which was Pine Green with a white swoosh.
Do you have a sneaker regret?
Again, loads! Whilst I have a ridiculous collection, I’ve passed on far more than I’ve bought (or got L’s on) in my life, but I have regrets on both those I’ve passed and those I’ve bought! Even in the last year or so, the number of ‘pass’ regrets where I didn’t enter anywhere is high, but perhaps the biggest recent ‘pass’ regret is on the Bred 4 in 2019. I got the EA on SNKRS from the scratch away, but my card failed as I was abroad... I then saw news that there were loads available so I slept in on the release day thinking I’d just cart online that day – one thing led to another and I just didn't manage to get them, whilst mates were doubling up on raffles everywhere!
One thing led to another and I just didn't manage to get Bred 4s, whilst mates were doubling up on raffles everywhere! Yep, definitely a big regret.
Purchase regrets are of two types – ‘rabbit holes’ and designer pairs. Designer pairs because, generally, they’re really uncomfortable and I never get round to wearing them, but the ‘rabbit holes’ are worse. Sometimes I can get drawn to a certain silhouette and try to snap up all the GRs I can find – before trying them on! I seem to remember this happened with the Cortez around 2013ish I reckon, I saw someone wearing a pair with no swoosh apart from pin holes and ended up buying about 5 or 6 pairs that were too narrow for me. I fell into the same trap with Stan Smiths when the pony hair and RAF Simons collabs dropped.
What sneakers are in your rotation currently?
I don’t really have a small rotation – we’re really lucky that I've got a spare room I can dedicate to ‘stuff’ so I try to mix it up as much as possible. About half of my collection is on racks and the other half are still packed in boxes from when I last moved home; however right now I'm tending to gravitate towards my Patta Air Max 1s, Sacai Vaporwaffles and Travis Scott Fragment Lows as my go-tos. I'll probably be back to Dunk Highs and J1 Highs as the weather gets cooler!
What else are you into other than sneakers?
I’m really boring to be honest! I don’t drink, don’t have caffeine, don’t smoke etc so I try to keep myself sane by having a few things to focus on outside of work. Football is a big thing for me, I took over a National League South club a few years ago and am currently looking to acquire my hometown club right now. Most of my time is dedicated to family though – in particular, my youngest son is non-verbal autistic so needs a lot of day-to-day care.
What does community mean to you?
That’s a good question, and I think that the answer has changed over the last couple of years after what we've all been through. I think community is any group – large or small – who are aligned in their views and look out for each other. Once you’ve got that, it develops naturally. Until 2020 I’d have said that it's something that comes from human connection and meeting people, but the last couple of years have proven that the connections of community, and even the building of communities can happen at distance.
Check out more from Carl on Instagram @carlreader
