Chan never planned on being a criminal. Like most dealers, the 26-year-old former med student started out as a customer.
One of Chan’s newest products is a near-perfect copy of a recently released, special edition Converse All Star sneaker, designed by fashion luminary and Off-White brand founder Virgil Abloh. Chan’s version costs $80 — which is a great deal, considering that buying a legit pair could cost you $1,500.
Buying or selling fake shoes is illegal. But it’s also a booming industry that was created, ironically, by some sneakerheads’ obsession with authenticity. Chan used to share that obsession — until it got too expensive.
While attending medical school in 2016 in the U.K., Chan found himself lusting for a pair of Adidas NMDs, a lightweight running shoe with streetwear appeal. At retail, the pair costs $170. But they quickly sold out, and resale prices on online auction sites reached up to $800.
“That was some money that I was not willing to spend on shoes that were going to get dirty and kicked about,” Chan told VICE News. “I think it's kind of a huge waste, so the next best alternative that I can think of was to look into replicas.”
By “replicas,” Chan means, of course, what Adidas would call “counterfeits.”
When most people think of counterfeits, particularly from China, they think low quality — like the luxury bags, watches, and tech gadgets sold on Manhattan’s Canal Street. But the counterfeit sneaker marketplace is a lot more sophisticated than what you’d find in the back of a minivan, thanks to a thriving community of internet-savvy sneakerheads who don’t mind buying fakes.
In recent years, Reddit has emerged as a haven for those dedicated sneaker fans who want legit-looking shoes without the four-figure price tag — particularly the r/Repsneakers (“replica sneakers”) subreddit, a 70,000-strong swarm of sneakerheads who endlessly obsess over the latest batches of high-quality fake sneakers and how to get them. So naturally, Reddit was one of Chan’s first stops in his quest for those NMDs.
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