Lifestyle

Meet Small Town Sneakerhead Ashley Dawson

May 12, 2021

Hampton, Virginia native Ashley “Daws” Dawson says it’s definitely not easy being a female sneakerhead, but that hasn’t stopped her from doing whatever it takes to grow her collection, from camping out pre-launch to traveling to neighboring towns for a chance at copping her next favorite kicks.

Watch Part 1
In her room, stacks of bright orange, elephant print and black and white Nike and Jordan boxes line the back wall. Housed within are some of her most-coveted grails like a pair of Sean Wotherspoon Air Max 97s, a brightly colored pair of Air Max 2 Lites and one of her most recent pickups, the Atlanta Air Max Plus. This colorway, Daws shares, pays homage to her father who lives in ATL.
Watch Part 2
Her collection also includes the Duck Camo Air Max 90, clean white Air Max 270s and the Air Max Viva, which released as part of Nike’s 2021 Air Max Day lineup. When she first got into sneakers, Daws remembers there being more women’s releases and less competition from male sneaker collectors for those releases.

These days, she says, the lines between gendered releases and sizing have blurred, making styles more difficult to shop. Having a Hibbett Sports in nearby Norfolk has helped though, especially while she was attending Norfolk State University.

More From Small Town Sneakerhead
Small Town Sneakerhead is a multi-episode video series that showcases the diversity among footwear enthusiasts, taking viewers through a day in the life of several footwear aficionados and sneaker collectors as they share their stories about how they got into sneaker collecting, what's in their collections, and what they are most excited about for the future of sneaker culture.
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