Sneaker Politics Shakeback Sunday - January 2022
What is Shakeback Sunday?
Shakeback Sunday is an in-store event hosted by Sneaker Politics on the first Sunday of every month that brings the sneaker community together at each of the Sneaker Politics shop locations. Beginning usually at 12:00 p.m. and concluding at about 1:00 p.m., people can enjoy whatever Politics has set up at their Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Dallas, or Austin stores. Typically, people can expect free drinks, sometimes free food, music from a live DJ, fun games, sneaker raffles, Politics apparel giveaways, and a good time discussing sneakers and life with people who have a common interest. In addition to giving back directly to the people in the community, Politics also uses this moment to take donations for organizations with good causes. This month, people donated $5 at the door to be given to Pasos for Oak Cliff. Overall, Shakeback Sunday is an event for community that brings people who interested in sneakers together.
Why you should participate.
The main reason people get excited about participating in Shakeback Sunday is because they have the opportunity to purchase a limited sneaker that is releasing that month at Politics. There are a couple ways in which Politics gives people a shot to cop. First, Politics hands out raffle tickets to each person at the door. This month, that raffle ticket was purchased at the door by providing a $5 donation upon entry. That’s not always the case, but this month, that was the way in which Politics wanted to charitably give to an organization. These raffle tickets were then placed in a container, and a couple tickets were later pulled during the event. Whoever’s ticket was pulled got a chance to cop one of the sneakers being released. Between the raffle and the games being played at the shop, winners are selected until all of the sneakers are sold. If they aren’t sold, then people tend to just simply ask for one of the leftover sneakers that weren’t chosen by a winner.
Secondly, as I just mentioned, Politics usually sets up a game or two for everyone to play and earn their right to walk away with a sneaker purchase. Based on the Sundays we have attended, the games are mainly cornhole and beer pong (no drinking involved) in which everyone forms a line and gets a turn to throw a bean bag into a hole or throw a ping pong into a triangle of cups, respectively. If a person makes their shot, then that person immediately goes up to the register and purchases their sneaker. When a person misses, then that person just goes to the back of the line to try again until all winners from the games and raffle collect all of the available sneakers.
Shakeback Sunday in New Orleans
This particular Sunday on January 2nd, approximately forty (40) to fifty (50) people showed up to Politics on Decatur Street in New Orleans. At the entrance, everyone received a wristband and a raffle ticket upon the donation. The wristband was used to keep track of the winners during the games and raffle. Whenever a person won and walked up to the register to cash their win in, their wristband was cut off so that they couldn’t win a second time by trying to play the games again. In addition to being given the wristband and raffle ticket, the first thirty (30) people were also welcomed with a pair of free Politics socks which was an unexpected, pleasant gesture.
After settling into the shop, the employees split everyone up into two (2) groups that would participate in either beer pong inside the shop or cornhole outside the shop. In the end, several people made their shot during either cornhole or beer pong and ended up at the register getting their name, phone number, and size written on a list. The winners would then pre-purchase either the Air Jordan 4 “Red Thunder”, sacai x Nike VaporWaffle “Sail”, or Nike Lebron 9 “South Coast” to be picked up on the release dates of each of those sneakers. For the amount of people there, it felt like a lot of people walked away with a purchase.
Conclusion
In general, Shakeback Sunday was a great time because we got an opportunity to be around sneakerheads, discuss sneakers, enjoy beverages, and cop sneakers for retail. It was refreshing to converse with people about things like sneakers we could see on-foot at the event or more specific topics such as the traction that New Balance is gaining in the sneaker industry. That interaction combined with the games and the pre-purchasing of a pair of Jordan 4s made the event a truly enjoyable experience for us and the people in this community. I highly recommend people come out on the first Sunday of every month to simply take in the feeling of community that comes with being a sneaker enthusiast.
Comments