Kicks Week: Brooklyn man's love for sneakers leads to fulfilling mission

There's a story behind every pair of sneakers that Sean Williams owns.

Nadia Galindo

Sep 16, 2024, 11:02 AM

Updated 18 days ago

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There's a story behind every pair of sneakers that Sean Williams owns.
The East Flatbush native has owned 4,000 pairs of sneakers over the years. Needless to say, he's obsessed with sneaker culture.
In 2007, he started the world's first podcast about sneaker culture called "Obsessive Sneaker Disorder." Then he turned his attention to the sneaker industry itself.
"We saw the lack of diversity of thought from the people of color perspective and a very sincere lack of the women's perspective," said Williams.
He cofounded Americas first sneaker business and culture academy called Solecial Studies Community Academy.
Through it, he's helped train thousands of people for nondesigning jobs in the sneaker industry for roles in human resources finance, logistics and more.
"The ability to help somebody else have a happy life doing something they love, that is easily one of the best feelings I get every day and that I am proud of," said Williams.
News 12 is highlighting stories about sneaker culture all week long ahead of Sneaker Con being held in Brooklyn this weekend.