SG: My name is Adam G aka @soleyghost / The Ghost on IG. Born and raised in New York. I've been collecting kicks for over 15+ years.
TH: How has the whole Eastcoast Boutique experience been so far? What has been the response from people in the community?
SG: The East Coast Boutique experience has been amazing thus far. The shop has exceeded a lot of my expectations for an up and coming consignment sneaker store. The response from the people in the community has been overwhelmingly positive. We try to supply kicks for the best prices and cater to our customers. With that said, we have a lot of repeat buyers and created numerous networking opportunities for the shop by doing that.
TH: What has been the most important lesson you have learned since opening the store?
SG: The most important lesson I've learned is that you can't please everyone and to just go with the flow! You will always have haters and people who even if you sell them a shoe below retail will still complain. So I've realized you have to just "do you" and not worry about next man.
TH: If you could be a Nike Executive for the day what specific shoe/colorway would you bring back immediately and why?
SG: If I could be a Nike executive for a day I would bring back the AJ 11 Columbia Blue. We have been teased for several years now with the return of this particular All Star color way. I would bring back that exact shoe with no color additions or modifications. Rumors have surfaced it's releasing this year around holiday time but from my resources I heard it will be different than the original color way. I guess we will see.
TH: One of the things we admire about what you do is that even though you have some of the rarest sneakers to ever release, or in some cases never release, you still actually wear your shoes no matter what. If you could speak directly to those people that only stock those rare gems instead of actually using them for what they were made for what would you say to them?
SG: Since I started displaying my collection on Instagram, I think wearing my shoes no matter how rare they are is what I'm known best for. I couldn't imagine it any other way. Personally sneakers are made to be worn. So I do just that, wear them. To this day for personal use, I won't even buy sneakers unless they are my size 9-10 bc I couldn't just look at them in a box.
People who stock rare gems to me is pointless. Clearly, I understand the whole resell concept bc I am a store owner but I've been wearing these gems way before the idea of store arose. My advice to them would be to collect art, diamonds or something else you can appreciate and that will go up in value substantially over the years. Part of the fun of collecting sneakers is to enjoy the moment when you put them on your feet and leave the house. If you have a grail and eventually find it or buy it, wear it. There's few better feelings then that in my opinion.
Also you see a lot of new young collectors who want to own rare sneakers just to own them or say they own them. Every sneaker made has history behind it. Kids please learn your history behind the sneakers you want to possess. It's NOT cool to say you own a rare shoe but don't know why that shoe is rare or who it was made for. Just some food for thought.
TH: What was your thoughts on the recent fiasco that happened at the NYC Supreme store with the Foamposite drop?
SG: My thoughts on the NYC supreme foamposite release is that the game is changing for worse. Majority of the people who were out there were to make a quick buck. It's sad but true. It takes away from those people who actually want the shoe bc they like the design or are a fan of Supreme, of Foams or of Penny etc.
I think a lot of big future release are going to be online only because it allows for the madness to be controlled and for safety to be maintained. I've made countless connections and friendships on camp out lines and at releases. New collectors if aren't allowed to wait in lines won't be able to experience the type of stuff us older heads did which is unfortunate. Camp outs and waiting in lines is part of the sneaker culture I grew up accustomed to.
TH: If you could give one piece of advice straight from the people in the sneaker culture to the heads at Nike to make things progress in the right direction what would it be?
SG: My one piece of advice from the people in the sneaker culture to the heads at Nike would be to stick to the basics. I feel like the progression of Nike has headed in the wrong direction. Everything glows these days which sells, I get that but bring back classic shoes in classic color ways and you will have the same result. The sneakers will sell just the same.
Also I feel like they need to get back to doing more collabs. When another company and Nike join forces I feel like they put more into the shoe and we get a better quality result as a whole.
TH: What expectations do you have for the looming Kanye x adidas collaborations?
SG: To many people's surprise I have no expectations for the looming Kanye x Adidas collaboration. I don't rock Adidas shoes and never will. There is nothing wrong with Adidas but it's just not my brand of choice regardless whether Kanye designed it or not. However I do think it will do well off the rip just bc of Kanye's name being attached to it. If people can make money and the designs are dope people will buy it.
TH: Out of all the various materials, prints and patterns used on sneakers nowadays what would you say is your ultimate favorite that always grabs your attention and why?
SG: My ultimate favorite pattern is the elephant print used on the Air Jordan 3 model. To me it just sticks out and grabs people eyes immediately when you wear them. I probably own every jordan 3 made by JB just bc I am a sucker for that print.
TH: We recently had an internal debate about the “New” Air Jordan shoes, ie: XX9’s, and if Jordan Brand will ever come correct with a “New” release and progress the brand into something different and not always have to rely on just flipping retro’s from years past. What’s your opinion on the topic?
SG: Honestly, I've been waiting for Jordan Brand to come correct for years now. It seems like it won't happen though. I understand the use of the new technology in the XX9 but appearance wise to me it's just wack. I know the end result is to create a durable, light weight basketball sneaker but they are compromising on looks heavy in doing so in my opinion. I think JB should create a new lifestyle line and try to progress the brand into something that caters to that bc most people wear Jordan's casually and never play a day of ball in them. Of course they will continue to flip retroes because those designs of models AJ 1-14 are some of the best and revolutionary shoes of all time.
TH: Besides sneakers what would you say is your next biggest guilty pleasure?
SG: It's hard to name just one. Therefore, two of next my biggest guilty pleasures besides sneakers is traveling and eating well. I enjoy going to cities I haven't visited and eating there. I like seeing new places and experiencing things I learned about in history class as a kid. While at home in NY or traveling I take pleasure in eating at nice restaurants with good company. A nice glass of wine or Johnny Blue is always a nice way to celebrate life.
TH: Any last words of wisdom or advice to the people out there?
SG: My last words of wisdom/advice is for people in this sneaker community is to learn your history and to network. Networking allowed me to attain a lot of the rare shoes I own and has created life long friendships with people who share the same passion as I do. That is why the @a_tribe_called_fresh movement I am a part of has some of the biggest names and collectors in it bc we all share this love for the game. We try to educate up and coming heads to see past the hype.
Finally don't let social media like IG and Facebook fool you. If you are in the sneaker culture for fame or recognition you are in it for the wrong reasons. I did my thing for over 10 years without any recognition what so ever. It's about having a passion and love for something and doing it for those simple reasons. At the end of the day we are all just people, no better than anyone else. And I'm just a dude with some kicks. Your collection, sneaker fame, or money doesn't define who you are as a person. Remember that!!
TH: Where can everyone find and follow you on social media? And where can everyone in town go check out the store?
SG: On social media (IG) you can follow me @soleyghost. My stores IG is @eastcoastboutique and my teams is @a_tribe_called_fresh.
When in the Tri state area come check out my store. We are located at 1546 Irving St, Rahway New Jersey 07065.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and also tag your pictures on Instagram with #SOLEHYPE and #TODAYSHYPE.
Stay tuned for more as we will have much more content and inside looks into the lives of the sneakerhead's that keep it moving in the right direction.
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