Poppa Said Knock You Out

Stuntin’ at school started around this age for me… -the pleated khakis, hairspray, and mushroom style haircuts were the wave! I had it all in check except for one thing, the Bi-Way Straps on my feet was WHACK..

Mike was just starting to make headlines in the League and so did the historical Black/Red 1s.

My parents had a shoe rack just by the front door, and before I left for school one day something caught my eye. There it was, a Black/Red pair of Air Jordan’s.

They were my Dad’s. But they were a lil different though. I quickly grabbed it to see if they were my size- in hopes that I could fit into them! Checked for the size and noticed the “Made in Thailand” mark on em… curiosity kicked in and I noticed the all canvas upper, even the wings logo didn’t say “Air Jordan” on it… I asked myself, “A-J-K-O?”

I asked my Dad when I got home from school if I could wear them out someday and he quickly responded “No.” and added that typical, sarcastic, Filipino grunt.

Fast Forward almost 20 years later since that day and I come across the same pair on Flight Club going for $5,000.00 (back then)! BET! I quickly called my pops and asked him about that shoe and even his interests were peaked!! Not like mine though, because he wanted to sell them!! Later on that same week I drove down and with my dad we tore that garage up! Searching for the AJKOs! No where to be found… LLLLLLLLLLLs!

— Fast Forward to last year. 2016 —

A pair goes up on the FB buy/sell boards.. the infamous “Mold Issue” pair that was slated to drop Summer of 2015 but JB cancelled it and pushed the release date to a later time.

“With shocking news, the Air Jordan 1 High KO “Bred” has been cancelled until further notice due to mold. There were a lot of produced pairs that have been defected with some funk which has lead to retailers being forced to cancel their release due to not meeting the Jordan Brand’s high quality standards. Stay tuned for further updates and be sure to check your pairs if you have already purchased a pair. If yours has a defect, you can return them and get a full refund.” – (taken from sneakerbardetroit.com)

I lucked out with my pair. I got them.

No mold ’til this day. Brought them to my dad to show him and his quick response was – “Sell them! $5,000.00!”