Images: Brandon Todd for CNK Daily

WE ALL HAVE A STORY.

If you have a number of sneaks in your closet, it can be hard to pick just one. For many who have been drawn to sneaker culture and to the shoes that occupy quite a bit of space in our lives, there's usually more behind our favorite pickup than just a fly colorway. If you dig deeper, you can discover that certain sneakers have stories, life experiences, and a history that often is more about a connection to the owner than to the actual shoe. Welcome to my CNKDaily Sneaker Story.

GROWN AT HOME

Wilmington, NC is not only the birthplace of Michael Jordan, but it’s also where your girl grew up. Not born, but most certainly raised. (so we’re basically both GOATS). And to be honest, you usually saw more flip flops than sneakers all year around. Well, that wasn’t cutting it for me. I took advantage of the skateboarding culture in this beach town and that's when I really started to get into sneakers. BUT I’m six feet tall and while I was playing every sport I could in school, volleyball became my game. Eventually, I took my love of sneakers from the board to the court.

NAME: KASSIE MCROSTIE // CNK SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

LOCATION: CHARLOTTE, NC

SHOE: NIKE FLYKNIT TRAINER+

BIRTH OF A SNEAKHERHEAD

It wasn’t until high school that I really started paying attention to not only what I was wearing on the court, but off the court as well. Whenever we were done with a game, girls would take off their court shoes and just go home in their slides, flip flops, or just regular old tennis shoes. I already stood out by being one of the tallest people in school, and I thought, why not make these dope sneakers something that made me standout as well. I started to save my money and buy sneakers every chance I could. I was into Nike Roshes for a while, and then the Air Max 2010-2014. They were cool and I liked them, but I knew I hadn’t found my one true sneaker love quite yet.

(NIKE) YEEZY TAUGHT ME…

It was my senior year of high school and online shopping was becoming my thing (my feet were not growing anymore, which meant I was pretty solid on not having to try on sneakers to prove to my parents that I wouldn’t grow out of them). I had also found out about all the amazing sneakers that were online that I never saw in local stores. This was a time when Instagram started to become pretty popular. I was scrolling through Insta and I saw Kanye West wearing this white and black Nike shoe with Flyknit technology that I had never seen before. From that point on I was determined to find the sneaker he was wearing. I was so fascinated with seeing this athletic looking shoe in a high fashion setting. It was the Flyknit Trainer+.

STALKING THE SWOOSH

Instantly, I went on Nike.com and every color was completely sold out. I searched as far as I could down the Internet hole...nothing. I started to check Nike.com EVERYDAY. I would literally go on the site, check both the men’s and women’s section, click on latest, and see what new sneakers had popped up. I had taken a bathroom break at school and checked the Nike page randomly. There she was, the Nike Flyknit Trainer+ in a multicolor colorway - which is better than the oreo colorway in my opinion. Immediately I added them to the cart, purchased, and it just snowballed from there. Finally, 4/14/14 at 3:02pm (a girl’s got receipts…) was the day that changed my sneakHER life.

SHOP THE SNEAKS:

DO IT FOR THE ‘GRAM

From that point on I became obsessed with this silhouette and the Flyknit technology. Going on to buy multiple colorways, including one blue and pink colorway that I found in good ole’ Texas and then to one of my favorites, 'sunset tints', which is perfect for Spring. This was also the shoe that really started my hobby of taking and sharing pictures of my shoes on Instagram. Seeing my friends respond to this sneaker that I had fallen in love with, really opened my eyes.

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A post shared by Kassie McRostie (@kassiemcrostie) on Apr 17, 2014 at 9:52am PDT

That sneaker inspired me to show kids around me that there was more to the sneaker world than just what you saw at your local sneaker store. Slipping these beauties on after a game during my high school and my college volleyball career, getting compliments and stares at my shoes, was life changing. My knowledge of finding these kicks for myself led to helping my friends and teammates find kicks that they could then rock off the court. The Flyknit Trainer+ for me exhibited that there was a whole culture outside of little Wilmington that could really impact people’s lives. It goes to show that one pair of sneakers could create progressing sneaker communities developed from an online fashion world and an offline athletic court. I knew from that point that I could really do something with my passion for sneakers. And to think it all started with that Flyknit Trainer +.