Senior finds his path … and the shoes to get there

You’ve probably heard of the saying, “Take a walk in someone else’s shoes.” But if you are taking a walk in senior Aaron Heimbuck’s shoes, you better be careful not to get any scuffs on his prized possessions. For Heimbuck, sneakers are more than just protection for his feet. They tell a story.

His passion for shoes began with the Retro 3 White Cements. “I saw a pair of Retro 3 White Cements on Twitter and fell in love with the way they looked. I thought to myself I need a pair of those, and from then on I just started buying shoes,” Heimbuck said.

After seeing the 3’s, Heimbuck began looking at all sorts of Jordan shoes and other performance shoes. This shoe browsing on the Internet led Heimbuck to find his ideal footwear. “My favorite shoe to wear is the Jordan Fear 4’s because it’s a simple colorway that you can wear with anything, but it’s still eye catching,” Heimbuck said.

Heimbuck tends to stick with the classic “buy what you like motto,” which means he purchases the shoes that he finds stylish and appealing.“I have a wide spectrum of silhouettes and colorways. I tend to lean more toward Retro’s and simple colorways, but I’m never opposed to good performance shoes like Lebron’s and Kobe’s. Really it’s about whatever’s eye-catching to me.”

Heimbuck’s collection has grown substantially in size over the past few years. He’s up to around 20 pairs now and plans to continue his collection. “There was a period of time during junior year where I did a lot of buying and trading. That was when my collection had the biggest increase.” He said he hopes to continue his collection throughout the years and let it grow.

For Heimbuck, each shoe has some sort of meaning whether it be the history behind the shoe, the way he obtained it or simply what he likes about the shoe. “The thing I love about sneakers, especially Retro’s, is that each shoe has a story behind it. It’s not just about what they look like or the hype behind the shoe. Shoes also allow me to express myself through style and are a statement of who I am. Everyone has things they are passionate about, and collecting sneakers happens to be one of those things for me,” Heimbuck said.

Most people would say that buying so many shoes is a waste of money, but to Heimbuck, it’s not. “I’ll admit it’s not the smartest hobby to be involved in, especially when you’re young. I’ve spent plenty of paychecks and used up a lot of Christmas money on shoes, but I feel good being able to say I’ve worked for something,” Heimbuck said.

But it’s not all about a hobby. Heimbuck has a method to the madness. He wants to continue collecting and eventually be a prominent name in the sneaker world by selling new and used sneakers. “I want to go to college for business with a focus in marketing and advertising, then use that to help start my own business on the side. I plan to start small by selling sneakers online. Eventually I want to get big enough to put all my focus into my business and expand,” Heimbuck said.

He has already been an active seller and trader online. The ideal for him is to become a widely known sneaker seller and eventually expand into clothing. He is all about chasing after his dreams. Heimbuck said, “If you’re not passionate about what you do, then odds are you’re not happy. And if you’re not happy, you’re not really living.”

Heimbuck plans to do what he’s passionate about, and if the shoe fits, he’s gonna wear it.