The Gateway Drug.

Who: Nike Air Jordan 1 Retro High “Game Royal”

What: Blue High Top Leather Basketball Sneaker

When: Released 7/18/18, Purchased Sometime in 2018

Where: Made in China. Cultivated in Hawaii. Found in Original Grail.

Why: Individuality.

Everyone has their gateway drug. I had been in private school my entire life, and with that came uniforms and dress codes, but in 2016, the veil finally lifted. For the first time in my entire life, I could wear what I wanted on my feet.

My best friend Ryan had been a sneaker guy and he told me I should get Jordans. I begged my mom to take me to this new sneaker shop called Original Grail in Honolulu, Hawaii and she bought me these Game Royals.

In 2022 I would submit my application to work at the same sneaker shop that I bought these at in 2018, and I wore them to my interview. The box still has the shop’s SKU sticker “1244” hence them being written on the sneaker heel tab.

If these were a Counter Strike skin, they would proudly bear the condition of “Battlescarred” They are wartorn. I wore them every single day up until I got a new pair in late 2018. The game royals would proudly serve as the introduction to my ongoing addiction to sneaker collection. It got my “foot in the door” so to speak.

More to come.

KF