By Nathan Hakakian on behalf of the YU Observer
Each month, the YU Observer aims to highlight one SSSB club available to the YU undergraduate community. For the November issue, the YU Observer is highlighting “YU Sneaker Club.”
Club Name: YU Sneaker Club
Heads: Joey Kalish
Relevant Campus(es): Wilf
What is your club’s mission statement? Create a community of students interested in sneakers and educate them about different career opportunities within the industry.
Why is this club important? A passion for sneakers is not something you can tell from a person just from looking at them. This club gives students an outlet to share their love for sneakers with others, while at the same time learning and hearing from experts in the field. Hearing from different speakers will expose students to many different aspects of the sneaker industry and will allow them to be more educated about the field.
What was your pull to get involved in/start the club? I spoke with many people who loved sneakers and the sneaker industry but thought there were not many like minded people. Also, SJ Tannenbaum, president of the YU Menswear Club, helped me and guided me on how to run a successful club. SJ does an amazing job at running his club and I am thankful that he took the time to help me.
What are some things your club has done in the past? For our first event of the semester, Brendan Dunne came to speak to us. Brendan is the GM of Complex Networks and hosts the Full-Size Run talk show and the Complex Sneakers Podcast. More importantly, he is a huge sneakerhead with over 500 pairs in his collection. He spoke about his background and his career. The highlight of the event was that for the last 40 minutes, everyone was able to ask Brendan their questions.
What are some plans you have for this semester/future semesters? Before school closed, I was planning on running an event with the Footlocker on 181st street. They loved the idea of having an event with our club. I hope that if everyone is back on campus soon, we will be able to run this event. For this semester, I am currently working on bringing in more speakers to talk to us. I also make it clear to my members that if they have any ideas for a potential event, they should not hesitate to reach out to me.
With COVID, how is your club adjusting? Covid has impacted every club, not just the YU Sneaker Club. The ability to have in-person events is something that all clubs miss. However, I chose to take advantage of the situation. With the power of Zoom, I can get speakers who either do not live in New York or would not be able to commute to [Washington Heights] for an event.
What is your advice to someone looking to get involved on campus? If you are looking to start a club, talk to people around campus and gauge interest in the potential club. [It is] [m]ore than likely you will find that many students share your interest. When I was asking around about the sneaker club, many students said they were surprised that one did not exist already.
Anything else to say about your club: Next semester, I will hopefully have a presence on Beren. I understand that there are probably many women who share my passion for sneakers, so I believe it is a good idea to have one. My goal for the YU Sneaker Club is that eventually, instead of students joining the club because they love sneakers, students will become interested in sneakers because of this club.
Are you a YU undergraduate club head interested in seeing your club featured in a future edition? Email us at theyuobserver@gmail.com with your club name and the names of the club heads!