Kickin' it at Sneaker Exchange 2016

Sneakers or takkies as we traditionally call them here in Africa's dirty south, are more than mere shoes covering your feet, or just fancy accessories people wear to look suave or hip, their more than a fashion statement defining you from everyone else, their more than a fashion trend which comes and goes with each hot new design. Hell to the no! Sneakers are a lifestyle. Businesses, careers, livelihoods can all be successfully funded by living, breathing and eating the sneaker hustle, sneakers aren't just for kids but for serious grown ups in  business suits too who run serious companies with serious board members. SNEAKERS ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS!  This was clearly demonstrated at Sneaker Exchange 2016 at the posh Sands nightclub in snooty Sandton, Johannesburg last Saturday...

...Sneaker Exchange is an annual event that takes place in Joburg and Cape Town respectively, allowing sneaker connoisseurs to buy sell and even exchange sneakers which hopefully aren't infected with athletes foot. Admittedly, it also introduced me to a local sub-culture I really under-estimated, not only were sneakers on sale but i was really impressed by the entrepreneurs who set up sneaker cleaning stands where they literally scrubbed and wiped dirty takkies until they were fresh enough to look as though they just came out the shoe box. Tattoo and graffiti artists were also present, mashing their respective sub-culture with sneaker culture, because at the end of the day these respective sub-cultures sync up like Voltron to give us this alternative lifestyle the mainstream is always trying to control. Ok, before I go into a rant,  here are some of my favourite pics I snapped at the event...

Do you think Sneaker Exchange has ascended South Africa's sneaker culture up a notch?

What do you think of the event?

Please let me know in the comments section.

Twitter: @SXC_ZA
Facebook: Sneaker Exchange

Photos originally published as Sneaker Exchange @ The Sands by JHBLIVE

The "unfuckwithable" In City Ink tattoo gang

“We’re at a point where we’re unfuckwithable …” snarls Kortez as we start the interview.
He’s part of the three-man team that started In City Ink (ICI), a professional tattoo and piercing studio neatly tucked between an internet café and an African hair salon, right next door to 012 Central in Pretoria CBD.

ICI had been interviewed on Cliff Central several days before; the buzz it gave them on social networks and the streets is louder than the tattoo gun’s humming in the studio. It’s also inflated Kortez’s ego a bit. Since holding the audio recorder, he’s spilling everything out.

“I’m not bragging, but we have the highest foot traffic of any tattoo parlour in Pretoria; our piercing standards are among the best in Africa. Currently we’re the only black-owned piercing studio that is accredited with STUDEX – the largest piercing manufacturer in the world, and we’re the only tattoo parlour in Gauteng registered to use and sell Studdex products exclusively, which is something usually done by licensed pharmacies and clinics.”

Looking at the bustling rush hour traffic and the congested sidewalks outside, it’s easy to see why there are customers visiting the store since we started talking a few minutes ago, but ICI is far from being the only tattoo parlour on this busy inner city strip. Many of the ubiquitous internet cafés and hair salons in PTA central rent out claustrophobic spaces to makeshift tattoo and piercing studios; this is also where ICI had its humble beginnings.

“The first space we rented was a small corner in an internet café in 2010, but we were forced to relocate abruptly because they had to renovate the place. Fortunately in 2011 we rented a much better space in an upstairs room in a nearby hair salon.”

The trio built their reputation from this noisy hair salon, with Kortez winning the ‘Most Ambitious Hustler of the Year’ award at the 2012 Hall of Fame Awards and ICI scooping ‘Most Influential Organisation of the Year’ in 2013. They opened this shop in 2014, which employs three full time artists, a piercer and an assistant, and schools two interns. Depending on size and detail, tattoos start at R350 while piercings go from R150, but they don’t tattoo under-18s or pierce under-16s even with adult consent.


“What sets us apart from the other studios here is that we focus on providing high quality tattoos and piercings, we have strict hygiene rules and we’re obviously the only downtown studio that’s not inside an internet café or hair salon. We also throw events, sell In City Ink clothing and are planning on opening a website for online orders.”

Though they’re the only black-owned registered parlour in an industry dominated by white artists, ICI faces similar challenges – battling negative stigmas associated with tattoos and the boredom of drawing clichéd designs like stars, birds and infinity signs. But they do possess one advantage their Caucasian counterparts in the suburbs might envy, dark-skin clientele.

“Because of our location in town, the majority of our customers are Africans, and any artist can tell you if you can tattoo dark skin you can kill any other skin. Many customers from reputable parlours have come here requesting touch-ups because the original artist thought he could tattoo black skin using the same techniques as white skin.”

While his partners Ernest and Sparks are the hard-core tattooists, Kortez specialises in piercings and even went on a rigorous six month course in Sandton where he learnt the delicate art of genital piercing. "I've completed many genital piercings without mutilating anyone. Though the vast majority are vaginal piercings, I’ve done a couple of Prince Alberts too,” says Kortez triumphantly.

We wrap up the interview so he can assist the queue of impatient customers accumulating at reception.

He’s soon stretching latex gloves over his hands, preparing to pierce a couple of excited young girls.

How do you rate In City Ink compared to other high end tattoo parlours?

Would you trust these guys to pierce your privates  if you wanted genital piercings?

Please leave your comments below, don't forget to like or share...

Where? 393 Elang House Church Street, Pretoria
Trading Hours? 9am – 5 30pm daily
Contact? Sparks 0713655359 / Ernest 0822624390 / Kortez 0724964668

Social Networks? Facebook; In City Ink Tattoos and Body Piercings, Instagram: incityink_tattoos

Originally published as You Cant Mess With In City Ink on JHBLIVE

You Snooze You Loose In Cop Capital

After years of collecting sneakers, I thought I pretty much knew everything about them. Like the best places to cop them or which brands are the coolest. Well, that’s until I stepped into Cop Capital, Pretoria’s first & only sneaker boutique, damn I got schooled!

The lesson began with the founder of Cop Capital; a 2 meter tall, hundred and something kilogram sneaker eater named Werner Olckers whom I attended the nearby Pro Arte Alphen Park High School with back in the early 2000s. He’s just as cocky as he was in high school, and talks like a no BS kind of hustler, but his business acumen and life experience gained after matric sticks out like a scuff mark on a cream white sneaker when he starts explaining why the streets shouldn’t sleep on Cop Capital.

“I founded CC in early 2015 after the band I was in released the final record for our record label.

“After the music venture, I naturally decided to open a sneaker shop in Pretoria firstly because I’ve been collecting sneakers with a passion for over 15 years and also because I love my home city. I’m from Pretoria, we’re SA’s capital city, and I wanted a place here where sneaker heads can cop rare, hout couture sneakers without venturing to Joburg or Cape Town, hence the name Cop Capital.”

He pauses to gaze around his store, pride sparkling in his blue eyes, and continues “Everything you see in the store is handpicked by my staff who are avid sneaker heads. We research and consult suppliers before buying stock. We specifically cater to the individual who doesn’t want to wear sneakers everyone else is wearing. Once a sneaker is brought here it’s gone forever so you either cop it or drop it, you snooze you lose.”

Indeed, looking around the small shop, I don’t recognise most of the 50 pairs on sale selling between R1000 and R3000, but surprisingly there aren’t any Nikes or Jordans, standard brands for any sneaker head, “In terms of the tier we’re supplying, many other competitors have the Nike market cornered and I don’t sell my clientele what everyone else is selling because we’re all about individual expression.”

The current stock is still very impressive though, “We have the only pairs of Puma’s Chris Stamp collection in Pretoria. We also have the Adidas ZX-Flux Split Packs which I haven’t seen anywhere else, most of the New Balance stock is exclusive to PTA and we also have interesting collaboration packs from Asics.”

As we’re talking, a couple walks into the store. Ziggy, the dreadlocked salesperson on duty springs from his counter to assist them, he says something to them that distracts me from Werner, “ask me about any shoe in here and I’ll tell you about it.” 

They look surprised at the challenge, so the girl points at a random shoe, but before I can hear if Ziggy can really walk the talk, my attention trails back to Werner, whose describing how travelling abroad really opened his eyes to the sneaker game.

“I visited the biggest sneaker markets overseas; from Hong Kong which arguably has the largest market in Asia, to Amsterdam and London where sneakers are more of an alternative lifestyle than a culture and New York which I believe is the sneaker capital of the world.”

Werner’s vision is to build a local industry comparable to the best out there, without necessarily selling kicks that’s the same as the rest out there. With a growing online store, it’s easy to see this vision becoming reality, “customers can also purchase sneakers online and we’ll be delivering free to major cities. We will also sort you out if you’re ordering from the smaller towns.”

Exclusivity is a recurring theme during our chat, “Our kicks are higher tier, platinum ranges which we refresh every six months.

“When you walk out of here with a pair of kicks you’ll have a spring in your step because you’ll be confident hardly anyone is wearing your shoes.”

After the interview, Werner slips back into his office and the couple who came in earlier to browse thank Ziggy for his help as they exit the boutique. They look impressed, whispering to themselves in Afrikaans, but I catch something in English I completely agree with,

“Those guys really know their sneakers!”

Do you think Cop Capital is South Africa’s leading sneaker boutique store?

What about sneaker culture in South Africa, are we on a global standard?

Please share your opinions in the comments section.

Cop Capital website:  www.copcapital.co.za

Article originally published as No Sleeping in Cop Capital on JHBLIVE.COM