I remember my 8th birthday present like it was yesterday, well one part of it. I had begged for a new pair of tennis shoes, but the parents wouldn't budge.

A week before my 8th birthday, my mom sat me down in front of the computer. To be slightly dramatic, my life would never be the same.

Nike’s new NIKE iD program was pulled up on the computer screen. To an 8-year-old who loved tennis shoes this represented a magical place with endless abilities to design my own pair of court shoes.

I anxiously awaited the orange Nike box to arrive at our house. And arrive they did.

I mean they looked like a blue Smurf threw up on them but I LOVED them.

First Pair of Nike iD

Blue Sole. Blue Lining. Blue Tongue.

(In case you’re wondering, my sneaker collection is still predominantly blue.)

Blue everything.

Just like I wanted. Just like I designed them. Just like I ordered.

GO4IT

On the tongue and back heel of the shoes read my own customized and personal message of encouragement - “GO4IT.” To this day, I have never ordered a Nike iD pair of shoes without the saying on them.

I remember trying to figure out something less than six characters with my mom that would fit on the small section of the shoe to be mine. To remind me of something. To stand for something. “GO4IT” did and does that for me.

They were beautiful. They were art. And they were my art.

That's the first time I realized I loved sneakers.

I don’t know why I fell in love with them, but I imagine it’s similar to the same feeling someone gets who loves or collects purses or cars.

Sneakers are my version of art.

The difference in fabrics. The stitching. The ability tell a story through shoe design.

Sneakers express so much more than a shoe. They tell a story. They tell something about the person wearing them. They are an extension of their personality.

Shoes take you one step at a time. They carry you to one destination to the other. They guide the journey you walk.

Most people plan their outfits around clothing then pick shoes. I pick the sneaks for the day, then clothes come next.

In this section of the website, I plan to post opinions pieces, reviews, shoe release schedules and more.

Thanks for checking this out!

Kendall