Sneaker Fatigue: When Did Drops Stop Feeling Special?

Remember when a sneaker release felt like an event? When you'd mark your calendar, plan your day around it, and feel that rush of anticipation as you waited in line or refreshed your browser? In this candid exploration of modern sneaker culture, we dive deep into the phenomenon of "height fatigue" – that growing sense that sneaker drops just don't hit the same anymore.

The sneaker landscape has transformed dramatically. What was once a handful of carefully orchestrated releases each year has morphed into a constant barrage of drops – literally multiple releases every single day. We examine how this oversaturation, combined with the relentless pace of social media leaks, has fundamentally altered the collector experience. When shoes are revealed a full year before they hit shelves and "mock-up culture" creates false expectations, can any release truly feel special?

We take you behind the scenes of how releases used to work – from the athlete unveiling to the in-store experience, comparing those glory days to today's clinical online raffles. Remember the Jordan 1 High 85 "Banned" release at Soul Play in Atlanta, complete with white-gloved staff and a premium private room experience? Those moments of theater and excitement have largely disappeared from the culture.

As brands recycle the same colorways repeatedly, we make the case for diving deeper into archives instead of constant retros. Why not bring back truly forgotten gems like the Olympic 7s, Ginger 16s, or Cherrywood 16s? The conversation extends to the community impacts of this shift, both positive (more accessible prices) and challenging (diminished excitement).

Whether you're a seasoned collector experiencing burnout or a newcomer trying to understand why OG sneakerheads seem so nostalgic, this episode offers perspective on how we got here – and perhaps how brands might recapture some of that magic. Share your thoughts on what was the last release that genuinely excited you, and join us in asking: can we ever get that feeling back?

🎧 First Wear Podcast: where sneaker culture comes first and hype takes a back seat. New episodes every Tuesday — audio drops at 6 AM EST, video at 6 PM EST. Follow @firstwearpod to join the conversation and share your sneaker stories with the community.

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome back to the First Word Podcast . I am your host , edot Reap , and today we're coming back with episode seven . So episode six I touched on the fake epidemic and TikTok really took offense

Welcome to Episode Seven

Speaker 1 0:16

to that , which is crazy to me . But you know , hey , I put myself out there . I knew it was gonna be a controversial topic and you know it is what it is . But if you haven't done so already , follow us on all socials . At FirstWarePod that's FirstWarePOD Definitely type in . I'm definitely posting clips on , you know , on TikTok , you know engagement interacting with the comment section there , and as well as Instagram . So yeah , first word part everywhere that you do Fuck . So yeah , everywhere that you get your you know social content , go ahead , tap in .

Speaker 1 1:01

So height fatigue is real . Are sneaker drops even exciting anymore ? And that's a big topic , especially on Twitter over the past few months , because it's really it's kind of

Height Fatigue in Sneaker Culture

Speaker 1 1:17

crazy where sneakers has evolved . You know it used to be a few releases a year . Now you're getting like a few a day . You're definitely getting weekly drops , but I feel like there's something dropping daily . If it's not a restock , it's like a new release . It might not be on like a hype level , but there's a new shoe that you can purchase every day . If you tap down with with soul retriever , if you look at the calendar , pretty much every day there's like a list of shoes dropping a good five to ten per day . It seems like it's really crazy to me . But I'm just glad that . You know .

Speaker 1 1:58

Sneakers has evolved to what it is now , definitely a a very mainstream . The sneaker culture is growing daily . The community is growing daily . So you know there's pros and cons with everything . People might say it's oversaturated or you get people infiltrating culture , vultures and stuff like that . But if it sheds a positive light on the sneaker community and the sneaker game itself , I'm all for it . Sneakers are definitely becoming more accepted socially , you know . So you can wear kicks pretty much on every occasion . Nobody's going to look at you crazy or like turn you away . It was like a dress code type thing . So I mean I think it's cool personally , but that's not what this episode is about . So , yeah , when did it stop feeling special , I want to say for me personally , but I definitely want y'all to you know , to drop your opinions on , you know when you think the shift was . But I think you know the social media , media era , the internet era definitely changed drop days because you know you can get stuff super early . I think I touched on that episode five , I want to say . But you can get stuff super early , so

When Releases Stopped Feeling Special

Speaker 1 3:16

it's like the release day could be september 14th and you can get the shoe in hand in June . So it's like release days don't really matter .

Speaker 1 3:31

I remember they had you get a nice rollout , the marketing rollout . You'll get the athlete who she would belong to , like the signature athlete , or you get a celebrity to endorse it , or a combination of both , and that's the first time that you would see the shoe was on their foot or in the commercial or in the ad . And then you'll start seeing billboards or like certain activations , kind of like what they did with the band , the recent band um high 85 , that felt like a classic release . They had the seated pairs of course to the you know whoever they felt were the biggest influencers . So you see them first on Celebrities , you see them at Courtside , at games or on the red carpet or whatever . Wherever they can , you know , generate the most buzz . So you'll see that .

Speaker 1 4:24

And then the stores that actually had them or they released them , they had like a crazy activation . So I know Mike Rich a shout out to Mike Rich he got his from Soul Play down in Atlanta and it was like a full on white glove joint . They changed the whole store . It was so crazy and it was like a private room . I want to say when you actually got your pair so crazy and it was like a private room . I want to say when you actually got your pair . So the employees , they look like butlers . Like I said , you know tux , white gloves they had . Like the serving trays , they brushed your shoe . You can sit down on the couch , a nice leather couch . They handed it to you so you can try them on , check them out , whatever . Like it was very premium . Like the service , the experience looked premium . He recorded premium . Like the service , the experience looked premium . He recorded everything .

Speaker 1 5:09

I wasn't in the area that did all that and if the , if it did happen , I was not aware of it and I want to say it was like an invitation type thing . I forgot , but it was . It was a crazy like experience and I feel like that rollout that made that shoe that more special at the end of the day is a bread one , so they were going to sell out regardless , like , just given that extra experience , right , that extra touch definitely changed . You know how I felt about the shoe . Luckily I did get them from like a random raffle that I forgot that I entered because I got the charge on my card one day and I was like yo , what is this ? And I had to do my research . I was like , okay , wow , that is crazy that I entered . I got the charge on my card one day and I was like yo , what is this ? And I had to do my research . I was like , okay , wow , that is crazy . That was really like an overtime buzzer beater type joint , but yeah , so that was like . That made it feel like the old days . I'm sounding like an old head , but that made it feel like the old days with releases Now , like I said , internet you can get shoes whenever , it doesn't matter .

Speaker 1 6:04

The release dates mean nothing these days , so it's like it takes away from the overall feel or experience of the shoe . To me personally . I mean , a shoe is a shoe like . If you like the shoe , you're going to get it regardless . But as far as you know , the excitement to an extent is not the same . But I say , in my opinion , especially , you know , by getting them in store , like on release day , being able to , you know , use their connections or doing the ground work to go to certain stores that most people probably wouldn't . Or , you like , cream is a local boutique . You get it with them here and there .

Speaker 1 6:47

There were two instances where

The Problem with Leak Culture

Speaker 1 6:50

I was able to come up on a shoe because they released it like at a weird time , like the Fair God ones , the Oatmeal , colorway . I remember randomly getting off work early . I want to say we got off at noon but it was a short job so I'm getting off noon . I think I'm heading back to the parking lot and cream posted . They said fear of god , one's in store now and I was like yo and I was working in the same city at the time , so it was it kind of worked . It was like destined , it felt like destiny , so I had the cream . Boom . It was a little line , but you know it's noon so it's like most people are at work or getting off their lunch break , depending on what it is . So it wasn't like a time where everybody was able to pull up .

Speaker 1 7:49

So I was , luckily enough , I was able to cop that shoe and also the KD for All-Stars . I had to get a 13 , which a 12 would have been ideal , but you know it is what it is , couldn't try them on whatever , but yeah it was . So that felt like a hunt kind of sort of you know . So it's like I was waiting on that particular shoe . I was like clocking ig all day until they posted it said boom in the store and luckily you know pretty close to them so I was able to pull up boom . But yeah , it's like you don't really get that too often now because with the raffles and online and then the early pairs and everything I don't know , like I said , the shoe game is the shoe game , like you , if you like the shoe still going to be special to an extent , but it's not like being able to like search for it and then walk into the store and buy them . That gratification you get purchasing in-store . This is like you don't even .

Speaker 1 9:01

It's hard to build the anticipation because you find out about shoes so far in advance . Now it's like after a while you either forget about them to a certain extent . If you want the shoe , you know it's going to come out at a certain time , but it's like when you know about stuff a year in advance . After a while it's like , okay , I've been seeing this shoe for months now . It's like , all right , are they going to drop them or what . It's not like you know , I don't know . It's hard to explain , man . Hopefully it's making sense to you guys , because I don't even know if I'm making sense to myself right now to you guys , because I don't even know if I'm making sense to myself right now .

Speaker 1 9:44

But it's like you know , something is coming out 12 months from now , this time next year , and you do want to shoot right , or there's part of you that it might not be a must cop , but it's like , oh dang , okay , they're dropping . I haven't seen them in 20 years . I'm interested in those . By january you're not even thinking about them joints , february for sure . You're like , all right , what's what's dropping right now ? And then you'll get that reminder . You're like , oh damn , I forgot about those . But now I was like I don't know if I want them as much as I did initially and I feel like that hurts the brand you know to like to a certain extent . I feel like a good three to six months is like a plenty of time to build the hype and , you know .

Speaker 1 10:38

Showcase a shoe that's about to drop because no one was coming out next christmas is crazy to me . Like I know , we live in the society of the social media era , where everybody wants to be first , so that's why early pairs are going crazy . You have accounts posting information as soon as they get it , not even doing their research to see if it's true or not . These are going to be the first people to drop the news , kind of like TMZ . Tmz is changing the game . It's crossed over the shoes . Now Every person wants to be the first one to either show the shoes , drop the information , make the mock-up and I hate mock-up culture like I .

Speaker 1 11:28

I really despise it because you're building hype on a colorway or an image of a shoe that is not even official , probably not even in production yet . You're just going off the color description and it's like okay , you post a joint like hey , these are rumored to drop , this is the color way or the color description , this is what they could look like . So you got a shoe that you know , you hyping it up for months and as soon as the official images drop , it's a totally different shoe . Now that can work one of two ways . I've seen it firsthand the mock-up could be better than the actual shoe that released . So now that hype that was like surrounded that shoe , you lost it because the mock-up , like it , ruined it for the you know what I'm saying For the actual rollout , or it does the opposite , where the actual shoe is 10 times better than that initial mock-up , that random page .

Speaker 1 12:39

Or you know , z Sneakerhead , they're the king or he's the king of the mock-up game . I think he's done a better job with , you know , kind of putting that disclaimer out there , like hey , they may or may not look like this .

Too Many Releases, Not Enough Excitement

Speaker 1 12:53

This is what I think personally . He's starting to get a little better . You know , sometimes it's been way off , like the mocha wines were way off , but yeah , it's just like that culture right there , man , it's like it's never going to .

Speaker 1 13:10

I don't think it's going to change because you're getting engagement , you're getting the traction that you want , want , you know , and we're feeding right into it . So getting paid for posting , you know that's what's gonna happen . People are gonna do what they have to do to boost that engagement and I understand you gotta do what you gotta do to get your bread , but it's like it's , it's watering down the , the releases . To me personally , like I said , it's like it's watering down the releases . To me personally , like I said , it's just so much information at once .

Speaker 1 13:42

It's rare that you get like real shock drops . Like you'll get a shock drop and you know about it at least two days before . Like a shock drop used to be at a random day , at a random time . Somebody's gonna post a link like oh , these are live right now . Your people are prepared for a shock drop , so it's not , is no longer a shock drop , it's just like an early release type thing .

Speaker 1 14:08

Now , you know , and that's how I feel with these releases as well , you don't really get to walk in the store and see something on the shelf Frequently . You know there are times where you can , you know , walk into certain stores and you'll see something like oh damn , I ain't know these drops . I think the last shoe that surprised me to see , like to actually see in the store where the the new loved ones , because I don't believe that they had a release day at first , and then I seen them in the shipment or I've seen them on the counter , whatever . I was like oh damn , these are coming back out like I didn't even know and you know I'm tapped in with shoes , so you know for me to be surprised . That's pretty impressive in my opinion . You know what I'm saying . So I'm like , oh , so you know for me to be surprised , that's pretty impressive in my opinion . You know what I'm saying . So I ain't know these are dropping again . I was like , okay , bet , so that was like the last shoe that I can remember and that's , that's more . That's a recent pickup for real , like a recent release , but before that everything you're you know , like a half a year to a year in advance . Now it's just like I don't know .

Speaker 1 15:15

The leak culture is just crazy and I see that nike is trying to combat that , which is I applaud them for seeing that . You know it's becoming an issue and they're definitely trying to crack down on the early leaks , because you can't even like build or roll out the product the way you want to . A lot of stories or storytelling goes behind these releases and the early leak culture . It ruins it because instead of building that actual story piece by piece and then you end it with the actual reveal of the shoe , or if you have like a whole marketing plan that you set up for like two or three months or whatever the rollout is , however it's supposed to last , or however you figured it out , you got some random page posting a blurry picture and now they just took all the buzz away . I don't know , man , maybe maybe I'm the only one that doesn't care for the . You know , elite culture , early culture .

Speaker 1 16:28

Just take me back to the . Put the shoe out on the shelf , man , walk in the store , boom , new release . I mean the raffle , I get it . You know , safety , blah , blah , blah . All right , cool for the actual release of the shoe , you stick to the raffle or whatever you gotta do . But , like the introduction of the shoe , I want to see it on the court . I want to see it on the court . I want to see it from the brand officially unveiling what's dropping . I don't want to keep seeing it online a year in advance . That's just me . Let me know what y'all think about it .

Speaker 1 17:17

Like I said , it just waters down the releases and then so it is so many shoes dropping , like it's kind of like , you know , on to the next one , man , even if usually well , I mean not usually , but you know , a few years back it would be a certain release that you've been waiting for , like probably for the whole month , and it's dropping at the end of the month and that's like the release of that month like is that one main release and if you you don't get that release , you might have a consolation prize in mind , but if not , it's like you're going to keep trying to get that shoe until something else drops . Now , so many shoes are releasing , it's like okay , if I don't get this , something else will drop in tomorrow , or something else will drop in next week , or there's going to be a restock down the line . So it's kind of like you know , I don't know , man , it's the feeling is different . I know for me personally like I'm just speaking on my personal opinion , my experience with singers certain shoes still give me that feeling , if I can cop them , but like , for the most part , they're just another shoe in the collection , unless it means something to me like an emotional attachment or something like that . Like a grill , it's like all right , cool , like today , as I'm recording right now it's Saturday , august 2nd . I don't want to jinx it , but Right before I started Recording this episode Shout out to Soul Retriever I got a link , followed the link , had a few trial and error , but I think I was able to Successfully Check out and hopefully that shoe will be coming pretty soon to the crib .

Speaker 1 19:22

But you know , you know a drop . Today you had the steel tens as well as the undefeated fours , and that particular shoe the steel tensens was one that made me feel like dang , I'm missing out , like usually these past , like the past few Jordan releases , like the past year or two , maybe three years , it's like a handful of Jordans that I could say , like dang , I missed out on , and that was one of them . I tried to cop this morning , Unsuccessful of course . Then I felt

Time for Brands to Switch It Up

Speaker 1 20:00

like dang , I missed out . I really wanted this shoe and I guess it . Just like I said , it depends , man , so many shoes coming out and it's hard it was like few and far in between now to get that feeling or recreate that feeling for me , like I said . So , this was one of those shoes that you know brought that feeling back for me and I feel like the way the sneaker game is now you don't get that like you used to . It's just I don't know , it's just too much dropping in a short window . Man , spread them out again , you know I'm I'm saying Like the Retro 11s .

Speaker 1 20:36

They used to be a special release . You know they were coming out Christmas . Now you're getting random 11 drops throughout the year , mostly the lows and , like the IEs , I think they save the highs for like holiday time . But even during the holiday you might get three or four Retro 11 releases . I mean it used to just be that one highs for like holiday time , but even during the holiday you might get three or four retro 11 releases . I mean it used to just be that one and I get it because that would definitely make a break christmas for a lot of people . I've seen it firsthand working in retail .

Speaker 1 21:08

When those 11s drop and you can't secure a pair , it's it rough . Like the parents were like this is all they wanted for . You know it's all they wanted for Christmas was a pair of these 11s and it's like you don't get them . It ruins everything . So like I understand why they were like dropping more from that standpoint . But you know , just like the feeling of the Jordan 11 , which was held to a high standard at one point . Now you know you get a pair of 11s easy , like it's 100 colorways now . So it's not the same .

Speaker 1 21:43

I don't know , maybe it's just me being in the sneakers for so long . It's just like I'm not going to say it's like a burnout , because like I don't see myself stopping anytime soon , slowing down for sure . I think this year , like I stated in the past , I'm not copping like I used to . I'm definitely picking and choosing a little bit more and , of course , my picking and choosing is like different for , like , the average person . So , just because I'm picking and choosing , it still feels like I'm buying shoes 100 miles an hour . But yeah , it's like you know , after a while it was like it's just a shoe . You know I can't wear them like I want to .

Speaker 1 22:38

I'm starting to , you know , shout out to the podcast . This is making me like get into wearing them more , making more of an effort to wear new shoes for sure , like first wear , trying to really lean into that name . So I'm un-DSing a lot more than I have been recently , which is good for me . You know what I'm saying . Yeah , this helped me , you know , put my feet in these joints . But it's like , you know , once you get to a certain amount , or like a certain level , then it's like you're really starting to see everything circle back and I feel like they're recycling the same colorways when there are plenty of shoes in the archive for Jordan to re-release .

Speaker 1 23:30

You get the Brares again , the Black Toes again , the Cement 4ss , the white and black , the white cement threes , black cement threes and what else keeps all the 11s ? I think you know after a while , I feel like a good 10 years , if a shoe hasn't dropped in 10 , I think every 10 years you should drop the scent , like you should recycle the shoe . But he had plenty of shoes that I don't think have released in a good minute man . The Olympic Sevens 2012, . That was the last time we got the Olympic Sevens and that's my favorite shoe of all time . So I will be doubling up if they ever release . Well , I'm going to try to double up anyway .

Speaker 1 24:16

The Ginger 16s I don't think they've had a retro . The Cherrywood 16s I think we just got the 18s not too long ago . 19s , 21s , 21s Drop the 21s . 22s . Let me get a pair of the 2009s . The silver joints what else haven't they dropped in a while ? I can't think of anything off the top of my head , but I feel like there are plenty in the vault that probably either never got a retro or only received one retro .

Speaker 1 24:53

So , jordan Brand , just switch it up a little bit . You know I understand you got to do what you got to do for business . You know certain colorways are going to sell every time and I get it . The classic colorways , the OG colorways , are definitely going to sell . They might not sell as fast but people are going to buy them just because it's the OG . And you know you get new sneaker heads daily that probably don't have them . They want to start their collection . They see this , that whatever , whatever the OG is a good place to start . I get it . I get it for sure . But just you know I switch it up a little bit . What else ? Let me see . Let me see , I don't know For this topic .

Speaker 1 25:35

You know I really want to hear what y'all have to say about it . So tap in on social media for sure TikTok , ig , twitter or X , whatever you want to call it . First Word Pod . I will be dropping clips , but I think this is a good community joint man . I might go live after I drop this episode sometime during the week . Like I said , tap in with me on TikTok so you can join the conversation or wherever you see this clip , let me know if y'all want me to go live . That's the thing you'd be interested in . I think this is a good , you know , conversation topic Instead of me just talking to you , being able to have that dialogue , especially for this particular topic because it's really subjective , like I have one way of viewing it , but you may think it's you know a different way of viewing it just , it's probably better for a lot of shoes to drop at once or like in a short time frame , because that drives resale prices down for real .

Speaker 1 26:46

Because if you only have one drop a month , then you know the reseller is going to that's the hot shoe , everybody wants it . So you know the price is supply and demand , like naturally . But if you have five or six a month , some joints are going to , you know , fall through the cracks , as you see now when you're getting a lot of shoes sitting and going on sale faster than they ever have before . So you know , I understand it , I feel a certain way , but you know , not to the extent where you know I'm gonna crash out or nothing like that . You know we're just talking , having a conversation . You know that's what sneakerheads do . That's what the community is all about dialogue , conversation , love , back and forth never hurt anybody . So let me see social hour . What are we gonna do for social hour ? Okay , let's boom .

Speaker 1 27:35

The last sneaker that you were hype about , like the last drop , aside from , you know ,

Social Hour and Final Thoughts

Speaker 1 27:50

the steel tens , the Kobe two , the Adidas Kobe two Cause , like I said , that was one of my grills and that shoe , if I'm not mistaken I don't think it . I don't remember the last time that one dropped and that was one of those shoes I never thought I would own . So when I found out they were releasing , I struck out on the initial release I think that was like the charcoal or like a black color , I can't remember but that silver joint , yeah , I had to get that . So I was excited to get that confirmation . I was excited to spend my money . I proudly gave that bread up real smooth and , yeah , I was , I was hyped for them . So , yeah , let me know what's what hype .

Speaker 1 28:36

The last , the last drop , that y'all for showing love . Honestly , I never imagined making it to episode seven Getting I think we were at like 63 downloads , 64 or something like that . Like , I still like I can't believe that 64 people actually are listening to me talk Now . The clips on social media are definitely gaining more traction than the actual episodes on the streaming platforms . But it's all good , man , slow motion is better than no motion . But , like I said , I appreciate y'all man .

Speaker 1 29:33

This is like one of those things where , you know , trying something different , I'm actually having fun .

Speaker 1 29:40

You know , I kind of wanted to pivot from the YouTube , like reviews and unboxings , because you know the attention span on YouTube is , you know , very short . So I try to keep those videos . You know , I try to cut them , you know , keep them under a certain time and I feel like with this podcast , I can be long-winded on certain topics that I feel passionate about or , you know , that needs more clarification , or that deserves a longer discussion or whatever , whatever the case may be . So I'm using this platform to , you know , for those type of videos or those types of topics and everything . So , like I said , I'm having fun with it . It's my outlet , something different and keep the you know what I'm saying the creativity flowing and I can really get my shit off if I need to , for lack of a better term . But yeah , man , buy what you like , wear what you love . This is the First Word Podcast , and I don't know who needs to hear this , but yesterday you said tomorrow the time is now .