Lexington sneaker convention draws vendors to Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Sneaker fans, buyers and sellers made their way to the Central Bank Center Sunday afternoon for Snkr Bst’s sneaker convention.

The Midwest-based group aims to bring all local sneakerheads together under one roof, with some coming from other states to sell their sneakers.

“I started off by cleaning shoes and then trading shoes to the point where I was like, ‘oh, I could actually start making money off of this’,” said Edgar Rivera, Jr., a 16-year-old shoe seller from Chicago, Ill.

He was just one vendor who made his way to Snkr Bst’s Lexington event.

“I’ve been able to meet a whole bunch of new people, other resellers that are as young as me, older than me, people who give me more knowledge into the sneaker game,” said Rivera, Jr. “Reselling for me is something that I really like to do, and if I get to do that as well as travel to different states, that’s a win-win because I get to travel somewhere, I get to make money, and I get to do what I do.”

Edgar made the journey to Lexington from Chicago with his parents by his side.

“The experience, of course, to help my son with his shoe sales, started as just a way to support him, no matter the distance because it was something he really enjoyed,” said Edgar Rivera, Sr., Edgar’s father.

For Snkr Bst’s co-founders, the event symbolized their growth as a group.

“We started off in a small gym, and now we’ve worked our way all the way up to the Central Bank Center,” said Matthew Sullivan, co-founder of Snkr Bst.

Their conventions in states throughout the region serve as a place to unify all sneaker lovers.

“Any sort of barrier that you would think would be between people, we can kind of knock down with a love of fashion and shoes,” said Tyler Foley, co-founder of Snkr Bst.

Snkr Bst will be holding another convention in the Cincinatti-area on Dec. 17.

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