story

Sophia Chang
@esymai
Illustrator – Designer
Co-Founder – Common Ace (@commonace)
Queens, New York

''...that was really just all the inspiration I needed in my city. I got into the sneakers at an early age. And definitely in New York, you never know when you have to run for a traffic light. So I did a watercolor painting of my first pair of Air Force...''

''...1s that were so meaningful to me, with the yellowed sole, the toe cap was super creased, super dirty. It's just a symbol of my youth. And when I actually shared it on the internet, someone got a tattoo of it and emailed a picture of it to me.''

''These are a pair of CLOT Kiss of Death Air Max 1s, and they came out in 2013. Some of my favorite details of the shoe is definitely the sole. It has this Chinese acupressure illustration diagram...''

''...that a lot of Chinese medicine practitionists have. It also has a mesh vent toe cap, but the actual insoles of the shoe are super awesome because it also has more Chinese acupressure diagram stuff.''

''These are a pair of Air Max 90s from sacai, and they came out in 2014. I learned about the sacai brand through these pair of shoes. I was immediately in love with the entire collection that Nike had done with sacai. It was very early days. I've always been a fan of Air Max's...''

''...Air Max 90s, but these were more of like a slip-on style, with the tongue attached to the shoe, there was no lacing. I also think they're super slept on because everyone's obsessed with the VaporWaffles these days. And these are really rare.''

''These are a pair of Air Max 95 Ultras. They are my go-to sneaker anytime I'm traveling. They're so light. They're so comfortable. Nike, please bring these back. Love the color way, very reminiscent of the original 95s...''

''that are neon yellow. This pair has been to Japan, Taiwan, probably other places that I can't remember right now. But anytime I have to walk for a long time, I wear these.''

''These are a pair of Free 4.0 Wovens. I got these when I was visiting Japan. One of my favorite things about traveling is a lot of times you get to visit sneaker stores and you come across sneakers that may not have dropped in the US yet. I saw them, they came in my...''

''...size, I immediately fell in love. Even people who are sneaker lovers don't know what this pair is. Maybe because it never released in the states, I don't know. Because these are just so rare, no one's really seen them or heard of them. It's hard to pinpoint. They rate pretty high in my collection.''

''Thanks so much for watching. I'm Sophia Chang, and this is What I've Got.''

What You Got

62 – Sophia C.