We chat to Offspring Community member Eddie aka @eja_sneakerheads
Tell us about yourself.
Hey guys, I’m Eddie! I was born and raised in West London, and from the age of 14 I trained as a plumbing and heating engineer which cemented my career in the industry. I eventually co-founded my own company which is coming up to celebrating its 10th anniversary. Wow, time flies!
I live with my beautiful partner Jayne, our wonderful son Austyn and not forgetting @frankie_funchkin – our four-legged fur baby.
How long have you been into sneakers and how did you get into them?
Although I’ve had an interest in sneakers for around a decade, I spent most of my early 20’s building my company with my friend and business partner, working 7 days a week in our work gear so the desire to have dozens of sneakers wasn’t the mindset at that stage. Once our brand was better established, with our families growing and our working weeks becoming a little shorter, I had a little freer time to explore hobbies other than boilers, pipes and tools, one of which was sneakers.
After all, I couldn’t always be seen in my stinking work shoes!
When I met Jayne, we bonded over a mutual love of sneakers. Living with a fellow sneakerhead made it and all the more exciting experience where we encouraged each other to get the pairs we really wanted, and we could share the W’s and L’s together. This led us to set up our sneaker Instagram page; a place to fill with kick-checks, full fits, and family shots.
Do you have any early sneaker memory?
When I was young there was no such thing as Nike or adidas in my house, it was all about the cheap and cheerful; Lotto’s, Ellesse and Patricks. Not having to worry about beating them up in the cages, if anything the more marks on your kicks the better – using your trainer as a brake on your pushbike; if you know, you know.
Do you have any sneaker regrets and what is your sneaker grail?
I had a pair of Air Max 97’s vintage coral orange, one of my favourite pairs at the time of their release, which after a while I stopped cleaning, stopped caring about them as much and eventually started wearing them as my work shoes where they got destroyed. Looking back, I wish I’d looked after them better and still had them in my collection.
Jayne surprised me with my all-time grail; the Nike SB Sean Cliver holiday special. I had wanted them in my collection so badly, so to be surprised one Christmas with these was a truly beautiful moment. Thanks baby!
What sneakers are in your rotation currently?
New Balance Tiago’s are my work wear currently, I find the comfort of them unmatched. A great shoe for being on your feet all day, and no need to stress about creases – ha!
On my days off, I bounce between Jordan 1’s, 3’s, 4’s and 5’s, Nike SB’s and Dunks. Tom Sachs general purpose are the official dog walking beaters, but still get cleaned religiously after every walk. #stayfresh
Aside from sneakers what else are you into?
Weekends are family time, and I cherish making memories with the important people in my life. I have a huge interest in streetwear and fashion, and on the two days a week I don’t have to dress like a Gas engineer, I love putting together outfits to head out on family days, walks in the park and lunch dates with friends.
Recently, you attended some of our latest activations at our new Kings Cross store. How was your experience and what would you like to see more of?
My first visit to the new store was for the first IRL podcast hosted by the guys at Hoops and Recreations @sneakersandrecreation which was amazing. I had the pleasure of meeting some lovely people from the Community, lots of laughs, jokes, sharing experiences and memories. The layout of the new shop is epic, I love the concept of The Platform being for events and use of the Offspring community.
My second invite to the store was to ‘Break Bred’ with the Community, which was insane, everyone got involved in discussing their opinion on the Jordan 4 Bred Reimagined and the OG pairs; the vibes were all round humble and good energy flowing. Keep the invites coming ;)
Finally, what does community mean to you?
Community is bringing together likeminded people who have a passion for something, in this case sneakers. I’ve met some of my closest friends through the Offspring Community who I may not have crossed paths with otherwise. I don’t just call them friends anymore, they’re part of our family. It’s nice to be part of a community where you can see people shine in their own individuality through their collections and fit checks.
Thank you Offspring, for bringing @mckeownnicole @gregsweethughes @mysnkrjournal @augustinaleggs together and creating friendships that now run deeper than just sneakers.
Check out more from Eddie on Instagram @eja_sneakerheads
