Lifestyle & Culture Sports

Where the Kicks Can Cost Up to $60,000 …

By Jeffrey Kone
Spectrum staff

Shoppers at Flight Club’s Manhattan store—the company’s other outlet is in Los Angeles—say they step into that sneaker spot because it’s the only place of its kind in New York City.

Some of those sneaker-lovers just browse the shelves where price tags on a pair footwear are as high as $60,000. Yes, that’s what a buyer would have to hand over for a vintage pair of the first Nike Airmag “Back to the Future” limited edition kicks, produced in 1981. The least expensive kicks at Flight Club are the $125 Kyrie, which come in white.

“… Since I was little kid, I saw my friends with the dope-est sneakers, the newest retros. I never could afford them,” said Matthew Atmowinoto, of the Bronx, as he exited Flight Club recently. “Even to this day, the sneaker prices are through the roof. It’s like a luxury to have a nice pair of sneakers … [And] Flight Club is that place.”

“Flight Club is just the spot, the mecca, it’s like the Madison Square Garden of sneaker shopping,” added Atmowinoto’s friend, Carlo Perez, of the Bronx, also standing outside the store. “We go over and we expect to buy something. It’s a little over expensive but, hell, it’s worth it.”